Today, most businesses that desire an app already have one. But just having an app isn’t enough. App makers and businesses behind mobile applications still have to make it work.
Because more people are using apps, many businesses are focusing on the bells and whistles to help them stand out — instead of designing the apps to reach optimal efficiency. The app developer is often focused more on getting a bigger share from users of the app than seeing a third-party entity get a big revenue cut.
Consumers are often caught in the middle, having to download and install mobile apps only to have a bad user experience. They also have to tolerate shoddy — and even potentially dangerous — app performance.
Both the developer and the company are affected by this. Apps that are flashy do not enhance user experience unless they can perform the tasks required. It is important to make sure that an app can be used by both parties, for even the most basic tasks. This will ensure a quality application, which all the participants in the business find useful.
SDK Risks
Both business owners and developers must admit that app functionality often falls short. To provide their customers with an engaging and fully functional app, business owners need to identify the shortcomings of their own apps. As mobile app use continues to increase, the pressure increases.
Hank Schless is senior manager of security solutions for Lookout. He says that the problem stems from a dichotomy between creating an app with a good user experience and monetizing it. App developers face constant pressures to keep their users engaged and to find new ways to monetize.
Mobile users often view advertisements as intrusive, and they feel that this cheapens their overall experience. To monetize an app without ad banners that cover the entire screen, some developers integrate mobile advertising SDKs that run in background mode.
He added that the Mintegral SDK, which is a invasive advertising SDK designed for iOS applications, was the most notable example. This SDK dubbed Sourmint has extensive user device visibility, it sends URL request from an app that is integrated with the SDK back to a server third-party, and it can report on false clicks.
He explained that “these capabilities make any app using this SDK a riskware app. This means it may not have malicious functionality, but could still violate the user’s privacy or corporate data usage policies.”
He warned that organizations need to be able to see their entire mobile fleet in order to determine if there are any risky SDKs on the devices of employees, such as Sourmint.
The software code may be hidden in advertising SDKs, but they are still capable of invasive behavior.
If app developers are under pressure to release new versions of their apps, it is possible that they do not perform a thorough security check on the SDKs.
Misdirected Efforts
Mike Welsh, Chief Creative Officer at digital consultancy Mobiquity, says that a big part of the problem with functionality is the fact that the developers often miss important points for the app’s business. Here, the concept of silent utility can be put into action.
This can happen when the developer of the app focuses on features that the retailer does not want. It can be the shopping experience or selling of their products and services.
The average consumer only uses 20 percent of an app’s features. Welsh, a TechNewsWorld reporter, said that developers do not put any effort into improving the user experience of the app’s onboarding or checkout.
App developers are scattered across an array of features and functions which users don’t use. He explained that the retailer will not be able to make sales despite spending time, energy, and money on features which aren’t going to be used.
You don’t want to be rated one star for a feature that you like. Welsh said that there is an incentive for companies to carefully consider whether their functionality is useful for the users and achieves its silent utility. It is not important to me that you rate and review my app. I consider it a liability.
Consistency Is Essential
It is the responsibility of the website or retailer to first identify, and then fix customer service problems. Research is the key, and not just data or surveys which nobody completes but are still self-selecting. Welsh said that the solution is to use real, actual research on this behavior.
Many businesses use PowerPoints and spreadsheets to create all sorts of nonsense. He added that they let this guide their behaviour, which is all internal-focused.
Both retailers and developers must be in agreement about what an app should do. Both must know why an app exists. An app is typically developed to increase revenue. If this is the case, then the app developer will remove everything that hinders revenue growth.
Retailers who have a variety of digital channels, such as an app or website, along with physical stores and other locations must maintain consistency. The retailers will then have to start making choices based on a vision that they would like for their clients.
Welsh believes the issue of consistency to be one of key factors for connecting mobile applications with the overall ecommerce operation. The devices that consumers use are varied. Every device offers a unique user experience. It is important to maintain consistency in these experiences.
I don’t mean like iOS or Android. This is not about iOS or Android. “I mean there must be a certain mentality among these companies in order to build a platform that consumers can use,” said he.
The companies have to realize that the system they build is for transactions. Welsh wants the consumers to enjoy the same experience on all devices. It is important that the user experience be consistent, whether it’s via a mobile app, a website or retail kiosks.