9 Ways to Ease Your Customers Through App Design Changes

Two designers going over ideas for a mobile app.

An audience can become easily disturbed and infuriated when it comes to swift and unprompted changes to things that they’ve become accustomed to. Especially in this age of technology and apps where bonds, loyalties, and dependency becomes attached with certain applications.

However, the creator’s wish to continue innovating and incorporating new ideas into their applications are usually met with the resistance and outrage of the audience. Although it may offer publicity, it’s best not to upset your following. Here we have a multitude of ways you can ease your customers through all the updates, tinkers, and changes that are to be a part of your app’s successful future.

Q&A Forums
As close and connected as they may feel with your application, your audience is on the outside looking in. This means they will have questions surrounding topics such as new features that may be coming and the status of the current features they have become used to. Implementing a forum where they can find or send questions to put their anxieties to rest will help lower the negative anticipation while giving them ample time to prepare for the changes. It will also help to have a division dedicated to the answering and public establishment of future adjustments rather than a consumer having to learn about and experience the changes as they come in.

BETA Updates
In rather large adjustments, it’s easier to show the users what the future has in store for them, this can be practiced by inviting trusted or committed users to testing out the newest version of the application that you plan to put out. These valued members will not only offer priceless feedback, but also as they spread the word of the works among their peers, it will bestow a more positive anticipation towards the new changes coming.

Walkthroughs
Before making changes to your application, try releasing a walkthrough (or multiple) for the public to see just how the app is to function in the near future. The blindsided factor so many despise will be eliminated through this process. Through this, many difficult concepts that may have taken the consumers a while to get a hold on to will be made easier and appreciated faster. Simply recording your new features or concepts along with a voice to help guide the audience through them will make all the difference to the atmosphere of fearing the change.

Listen and Learn
Just as the audience may be on the outside looking in, you’re on the inside gauging the out. The most you can learn about your application is through those who use it. Listening and actually applying solutions for what your community is anxious about will not only put an ease to their worries but build a greater connection with you and your app. You may also find out about underlying problems that they would love to see a fix added into the mix of changes in the new update, overall only adding onto the value of the application.

Public Polling
Similarly to a politician, you want to please the greatest number of people in the fewest moves possible to better preserve your application’s image in the public eye. Sending out polling to your users allows for them to place their voice in a more secluded and private setting, rather than a public forum where it may be clouded in a sea of similar comments and spam. This ensures more honest and helpful statistics, with this you’ll be able to then put the most popular options in motion, check on an issue they find inconvenient, while all the more becoming more in tune with your community.

Find Common Ground
In times of change it’s important for people to feel included and valued rather than steamrolled in this decision process. Try starting discussions on other platforms to respond to the greatest number of concerns available. This will maximize the number of voices being heard while also obtaining and implementing knowledgeable information for the future endeavors of your company. The purpose of this technique is to meet on a platform that forces all parties to lose the confrontational feeling as it would be within the actual app in question, which allows for an easier flow of honesty, greater outreach, and calming demeanor to fill with information to ease all tension found within the anticipation of your app’s future changes.

Don’t Polish Broken Glass
If a multitude of issues and bugs are at the forefront of your app disturbing your consumers, it’s best to put those issues to rest before throwing them another curve ball. After everything is functioning at full potential, and the community is in a pleasant atmosphere, that becomes the perfect time to start hinting towards even more great upgrades to be on their way. Now that you’ve gained trust and appreciation from fixing issues they have had to deal with, they will look forward to these new updates with optimism.

Help Them, Help You
As a creator, it falls on your shoulders to give the audience a plethora of ways to communicate their feelings, ideologies, comments, and concerns when it comes to the future changes of your application. You want to hear what they have to say, the best feedback comes from the consumer who has the most to say. It’s crucial to have open communication with your members so you can gain access to this feedback, and to build upon it. As long as you give them ways to communicate their passion to you, you’ll never run short of ways to make your app better, or tend to your company.

Go on the Offensive
After finally publishing the update, go on damage control. View what becomes the talk among your community. Note what they enjoyed and appreciate that’s new, but also become educated on what they didn’t favor as much and can still be improved on. Let the outcomes guide you in future updates and decisions. These statistics are only acquired through the experience of putting out the changes then gauging your audience. To find out more information about ways to ease your customers through App design changes visit us.