Surface Ripples

H-Appy Customers?

Has anyone noticed how more and more organisations have their own “app”? 

A majority of the businesses with whom I now deal have their own app to assist their clients in carrying out various activities.  For regular users of that business, this is great).  In my case, there are plenty of businesses with which I don’t regularly interact.  I don’t need or want their app for a single transaction. 

And yet they insist on customers downloading their app. Part of this may be so that, in future, if the customer does decide to deal with them again, they already have the ability to do so.  Not a bad idea.  However, many of us will have encountered problems with his approach. 

The first is that when, downloading the app, one is usually asked to “open an account” or “register”. To do this, customers usually need to supply an email address.  Once the business has this, they can put that customer on their email marketing list and send marketing literature.  Of course, I may be ascribing unduly sinister motives to many businesses. I do, however, wonder whether there is a grain of truth in this.  Usually one has the option (when registering) to state that one doesn’t want to receive marketing emails. If not, the only solution is to “unsubscribe” on receipt of the first marketing email (if we have this option) or to divert it to our “Junk” folder for the future.  

The second problem with using an app (particularly if the business insists on it) is that the app needs to be upgraded as and when smartphone operating systems are upgraded. How many complaints have I seen that state that “the latest upgrade is no good”?  Some businesses do a great job with upgrades; some don’t. 

The third problem is that, if one has to download the app before one can continue the transaction, this extends the process and may put customers off. It gets worse when either the app doesn’t respond, internet access is limited or the app “can’t accept the new registration”.

The final issue in my experience is that certain apps will only accept registration and/or interaction if the customer is in the same country as the business. This may be due to legal or safety reasons, but again, it makes it more difficult to deal with that supplier.  The answer here is to use a VPN.

Mobile apps have a useful and growing place in our modern world.  This is only likely to continue.  We as businesses need to ensure that we define the standards and services provided by our apps and that they work as intended.  Failure to do so is more likely to result in unhappy customers and negative publicity.

Does your business or organisation have its own app and, if so, what standards are in place to make sure it does, what it says it will do?  Have you checked whether it enhances or kills the customer experience?

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website  provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  

Labels: Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 09:36