A.Pantazopoulos

The Evolution of App Development: Guides to Consider and Approaches to Avoid

Ispahany (2018) depicts three concepts as the main focus of businesses;  to increase sales, improve efficiency and establish customer loyalty. Loyalty has been identified as the determinant towards 20% more sales, compared to companies that lack a loyal customer base. The author explains that mobile applications offer one of the most successful communication channels when engaging with customers. Thus, it can only be expected that many brands are currently focusing their marketing initiative on developing smartphone applications.

A lot of research has been conducted aiming to determine the correct approach when developing a smartphone application. Wang et al. (2019) focused on catering applications and developed a research model, aiming to meet customer expectations more effectively (see figure 1). One of the main qualities of applications, is to portray a high-quality product, however, quality is correlated to the extent that the consumer’s needs are satisfied. These can either be objective or subjective. Objective quality is measurable and relies on the technical features of an application, compared to subjective quality which is affected by the consumer’s opinion on the overall excellence. The researchers found that if the products and services offered in an application, fulfill the customer’s expectations, they are more likely to view the transaction as a valuable one. Additionally, it is also predictable that if consumers cannot achieve their main objective they will not be satisfied, suggesting that system quality is vital in the development of applications. The factors affecting the customer’s perception on the application will dictate their intention to reuse the specific application and deliver eWOM; a crucial variable affecting the promotion of the application.

Branded applications are another effective way of developing applications, and have been highly considered by firms due to their increased effectiveness. Bellman et al. (2011) believe this is because branded applications portray the brand’s identity through the application’s name, logo and throughout the user’s experience. The researchers claim that there are higher levels of user engagement compared to other applications. This results to users developing positive attitudes towards the brand and increasing the likelihood of being persuaded by the messages conveyed in the application. Thus, applications are considered to be one of the most powerful advertising approaches developed.

Comparably, Boyd et al. (2019) claim that to increase engagement, applications are developed specifically with multiple touchpoints during the prepurchase, purchase and postpurchase phases of customer journeys. These interactions positively affect returning customers and increase of sales. The researchers also explain that there are three main features to consider when designing branded applications. Primarily social-oriented features, which are any peer-to-peer interactions regarding the brand that may occur at any phase of the customer journey, allowing customers to use social media and write reviews. Secondly, personal-oriented features involve interactions that occur between the user and the brand, usually when searching for specific information. Finally, transaction-oriented features refer to the purchasing phase of the customer journey. This may be a facilitated process specifically designed to occur from the application. It has been identified, that applications focusing on social-oriented features will offer a high cash flow, enhancing the positive impact of branded application to a brand’s value.

There are also risks that affect an application’s effectiveness. Dennison et al. (2013) identified several risk factors that may cause customers to not download an application or discontinue using them, depicting approaches to be avoided. Primarily, consumers expressed the necessity for efficient and convenient applications that do not require too much battery power or memory space, and are not too complicated or time-consuming. Moreover, highly credible and accurate information is expected and absence of this is not tolerated.  Similarly, privacy and security are of high concern to the consumers. The researchers explain that consumers were anxious about third parties getting access to their information. This is directly linked to the final consideration that affected application usage, as customers were uncomfortable about what applications do without their consent.

Furthermore, Biel et al. (2010) explain that the development of an application should be based on the consumers’ requirements. To develop an understanding of whether this has been succeeded, they provide an evaluative model that assesses the application by comparing its offerings to the initially identified requirements (see figure 2), allowing analysts and software architects to examine drafted scenarios of the application and identify any potential usability deficiencies.

To conclude, it can be acknowledged that the correct approach of developing a smartphone application, dictates its success. Research has shown that factors such as quality and efficient usage are crucial in the effectiveness of applications. Branded applications perform excessively well as they require high user engagement. Furthermore, social-oriented, personal-oriented and transaction-oriented features are the three elements that branded application’s design revolve around, Boyd et al. (2019). Risks are also crucial for the application’s effectiveness as they should be identified and avoided, according to Dennison et al. (2013).

 

 

References |

Bellman, S., Potter, R.F., Treleaven-Hassard, S., Robinson, J.A. & Varan, D. (2011), “The Effectiveness of Branded Mobile Phone Apps”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 191-200.

Biel, B., Grill, T. & Gruhn, V. (2010), “Exploring the benefits of the combination of a software architecture analysis and a usability evaluation of a mobile application”, The Journal of Systems & Software, vol. 83, no. 11, pp. 2031-2044.

Boyd, D.E., Kannan, P.K. & Slotegraaf, R.J. (2019), “Branded Apps and Their Impact on Firm Value: A Design Perspective”, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 76-88.

Dennison, L., Morrison, L., Conway, G. & Yardley, L. (2013), “Opportunities and challenges for smartphone applications in supporting health behavior change: Qualitative study”, Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. e86.

Ispahany, A. (2018), ‘How Can a Mobile App Help My Business?’ Forbes [Online]
< https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/07/16/how-can-a-mobile-app-help-my-business/#f9759f22eb61>
[Accessed 20^th February 2019]

Wang, Y., Wang, W., Tseng, T.H., Shih, Y. & Chan, P. (2019), “Developing and validating a mobile catering app success model”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 77, pp. 19-30.

 

La Prairie – The Leading Luxury Skincare Brand

About|

La Prairie began as a clinic in Switzerland in 1931 where its prestigious clientele made the Clinique La Prairie internationally recognized. The brand has now established itself as one of the leading luxury skincare brands, with two of its core competitors being La Mer and Orogold Cosmetics.

FIGURE 1 | LA PRAIRIE

FIGURE 2 | LA MER

FIGURE 3 | Orogold Cosmetics

 

 

 

 

Website Effectiveness and Competitors|

Luxury brands use their official website to effectively attract and inform customers, whilst positioning and delivering their products and messages, according to Simeon’s (1999) AIPD framework. La Prairie as well as La Mer and Orogold, are no exception. All three websites have focused their atmospherics on attracting customers with capturing visual content on their home page and positioned their brand logo in a central location. Incorporation of their brand identities is evident in the websites through the use of relative colour co-ordinations, which McKinney (2004) believes, impact customers’ purchasing behaviours. La Prairie delivers an informative website by providing adequate information regarding the products, stores’ location, the ability to contact them and an option to track orders. No advertisements are evident in any of the websites, positioning the brands’ focus on portraying a luxurious image. La Prairie provides the largest product range and offer free chosen samples with purchases, comparably to La Mer. Regarding delivery, the trustworthiness provided by all three bands reassures secure payments. Customer support is available in all of the websites, however La Prairie and La Mer provide complimentary assistance through live chats. Finally, it is important to note that all three brands and especially La Prairie and La Mer provide an effortless flow in their website usability, allowing customers to fully engage.

 

Market Segmentation and Personas|

La Prairie exists in the top results when searched into Google by the brand’s name. As a leading skincare brand, La Prairie has established its products around the concept of preventing signs of aging, therefore markets its products primarily to a global female target audience, above the age of 35, that aims to eliminate signs of aging without invasive procedures. The rare nature of the materials used result to high price levels excelling up to $2,250, thus targeting an audience of middle and upper-class individuals. Considering this, two buyer personas have been developed to provide a thorough understanding of La Prairie’s market segmentation. Mulder and Yaar (2006) define personas as a fictional character developed by a company to depict the primary characteristics of a target group, based on target segmentation. The first persona is Amelie, a 36 year-old woman, who represents young working mothers, which are able to purchase lavish products that will protect their youthful skin and ultimately enhance their everyday confidence. Similarly, the second persona is a woman named Susanne, who is 72 years-old. She is committed to looking as you as she feels. Susanne, represents the older generation of women La Prairie targets, who want to nourish and preserve as much of their youthfulness as they can. Detailed descriptors of the personas can be found in the Appendices.

 

Customer Journeys|

La Prairie’s website is a straightforward user interface, allowing for a more practical navigation for the customers. Clarke (2013), defines customer journeys as the experience of customers describing the multiple touch-points that illustrate their interaction with the brand, its products and services. Two examples of customer journeys can be found in figure 4 below.

 

FIGURE 4| TWO CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

Amelie represents the younger audience of La Prairie, which is more likely to engage with the brand digitally. This is illustrated through her customer journey; social media is the driving factor of attracting her to the brand, which she explores further using her mobile app. She completed her purchases after careful research and conversion from her desktop and through the company’s website. On the contrary, Susanne represents the older generation of La Prairie’s customers who were introduced to the brand through WOM and complete their purchases in the brand’s stores.

 

 

References|

Clark, D. (2013) Using social media to map the consumer journey to the customer experience. My customer report, 3 May, available at <http://www.mycustomer.com/feature/experience/ keys-engagement-mapping-customer-journey-customer-experience/164707>, [Accessed 22^nd November 2018].

La Mer (2018) Home Page [Online] < https://www.cremedelamer.co.uk/ > [Accessed 18^th November 2018]

La Prairie (2018) Home Page [Online] < https://www.laprairie.com/ > [Accessed 20^th November 2018]

McKinney, L.N. 2004, “Creating a satisfying internet shopping experience via atmospheric variables: 1”, International Journal of Consumer Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 268.

Mulder, S. & Yaar, Z. 2007, The user is always right: a practical guide to creating and using personas for the Web, New Riders, Berkeley, Calif.

Orogold Cosmetics (2018) Home Page [Online] < http://www.oro-gold.co.uk/ > [Accessed 11^th December 2018]

Simeon, R. 1999, “Evaluating domestic and international Web-site strategies”, Internet Research, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 297-308.

 

 

Appendices|

APPENDIX 1 | PERSONA 1

APPENDIX 2 | PERSONA 2

 

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