Most of the world’s largest enterprises have an app in one or both of today’s major app stores, yet; many fail to see the ROI they had expected to come from implementing an application into their mobile strategy. Sadly, 75% of apps are only used once after being downloaded, then never used again. But why is that?

The truth of the matter is that great ideas don’t always translate into great results. For enterprises to drive real business value, they need to continuously analyze their app’s business and technical impact, rethink how they connect with consumers and evolve their apps to meet shifting user needs. Problems arise when enterprises introduce new app features or technology changes without thoroughly vetting them, resulting in poor performance and users not responding as expected.

For enterprises struggling to see the ROI they expect from their mobile application, it’s essential to conduct a mobile app assessment, before deciding to put your app into retirement and exiting the market. Evaluating your app gives you insight into how well your app achieves your business goals and identifies areas of opportunity to set your digital experience apart. These insights can help guide vendors like Clearbridge Mobile, as they help you transform and revamp your app to truly meet your user and business needs.

We designed this mobile app assessment tool to help enterprises achieve the ROI they’ve always envisioned. By assessing your mobile app with this resource, you’ll gain insight into how well your app performs against your business objectives and where you are missing the mark. This mobile app assessment will show you how to evaluate an app based on business impact and technical impact. We’ve highlighted the most essential KPIs needed to assess your mobile app within each category for you to focus on, ensuring you receive the most impactful insights to drive your future mobile strategy. 

   Our mobile app assessment tool includes:

• A detailed breakdown of KPIs to assess your mobile app that includes; user acquisition, user retention, user experience, revenue impact, and technical performance
• A graded scale to help you visualize how well your app is performing
• Individualized recommendations on next steps and areas for improvement based on your score
• Detailed formula breakdowns to help you calculate your ROI metrics, including; user acquisition costs, app churn rate, app referral value, and user lifetime value
• Access to additional resources that will help grow your knowledge of concepts introduced in our recommendations

How to Evaluate an App

To get the most out of this mobile app assessment tool, you’ll need to have a basic understanding of the five key areas this assessment will focus on, and why they are important when evaluating an app. 

User Acquisition

User acquisition refers to the number of users who download and install an app from a particular location and find the app either through organic search, word-of-mouth, or paid campaigns. It is essential to analyze your user acquisition metrics (installs, bounce rate). They provide insight into what marketing efforts bring in the highest number of new users and give direction to where your marketing team should focus their future efforts.

User Retention

On a high-level, user retention focuses on the percentage of users who return to an app based on the date of their first visit. Analyzing your user retention metrics (DAU, MAU, Session length) helps identify if your app indeed provides value to your users. For example, if you’ve noticed that the number of daily active users your app brings in doesn’t meet the goal you set, it might be an indication that it’s time to re-evaluate your users’ needs as they may have changed from when your app first launched. User retention metrics can have a significant influence on keeping your app relevant. 

Revenue Impact

Ultimately app success is dependent on its ability to generate revenue or at least visible ROI. Evaluating your app’s monetization will help you make informed decisions about the future of your app and predict any financial issues that may arise.

Mobile App Performance

The evaluation criteria that fall within this area will help provide insight into significant issues related to how an app performs and operates, for example, if an app crashes every time it’s opened on an iPhone. These metrics are the foundation for optimizing an app because performance issues such as long loading periods and constant app crashes make it extremely difficult to retain users. 

User Experience

Successful mobile apps all have one thing in common: they benefit users.  If a user is going to use an app repeatedly, the product needs to be useful and offer a great deal of value. Evaluating your user experience against industry standards will ensure you are driving home value and ensuring your users’ needs are addressed. 

Are you Ready to Discover Where Your App is Falling Short?

Developing a successful app involves understanding how business strategy, product strategy, mobile app architecture, user experience design, and mobile app marketing all work together to create a seamless end-to-end experience. Clearbridge Mobile has extensive experience with providing enterprise companies with end-end product development from strategy to market launch, and we are ready to help you. If you’re ready to chat about your app’s next evolution or want to dive deeper into what improvement areas you should prioritize, our design thinking workshop is the perfect place to start. To find out more about our design thinking services and how to book a consultation, click here.