The 5 best things to do before you redesign your app

Redesigns are vital for any user-facing apps in order to stay fresh and current in an ever changing market.

In our case, we've been around for 18 years, but as we're now competing with newer apps (some launched 2-3 years ago), we have to stay on top of our game and solidify our position as leaders in the digital publishing media space. So about 2 years ago we decided it's time for a full redesign, including a complete platform upgrade (web and apps) and server migration which brought a brand new (and very fresh) look, new features and improved speed and performance.

I remember even to this day that feeling we all had the morning of the launch...it was truly a nerve-wrecking experience... although at the same time excitement to see how our customers would react.

What followed was as far as possible from what we imagined... Our most valued customers, people that have been with us for years, were extremely angry with us giving us 1-star ratings and posting negative reviews all over social media, to the point where our App Store rating dropped from 4.1 stars to 2.1 stars in a very short time.

We quickly started reaching out to our unhappy customers trying to understand what were the main problems. Some of them, the most obvious ones which we knew would be inevitable, were caused by the server migration, and couldn't be fixed. It was a risk we had to take, however where we failed, was communicating this issue to the customers in advance before implementing the change.

So we took this experience as a lesson to draw up the main steps to follow in case we ever decide to a do a full redesign again... :)).

1. Before deciding what new features to introduce and which old features to get rid of, send surveys asking your app users which are the features they enjoy the most, and make sure that those features will be kept in the new version. 

2. Do intensive research and prepare as many negative scenarios as possible, and for each possible failure find the best way to minimize customer impact - i.e. user login details are not recognized by the system on the new app, or reset password link not working, or the content downloaded previously is no longer available, etc. Make sure that for each scenario there is a back up solution. 3. If the UI (user interface) of the new app is fundamentally different than the old one, ensure you have a proper on-boarding experience to help users get accustomed faster to the new app and understand how to use the new features. 4. Most importantly alert users and give as much advance notice as possible through as many channels as possible: email, social, web banners, push, in app comms, etc. Set up a multi-step program, where users will receive at least 3 messages including reminders, to make sure they are prepared for the change. This is also a great opportunity to get them excited about the new features, perhaps providing incentives in the form of vouchers which can only be redeemed on the new platform. 5. And finally: have ready an outlet for unsatisfied customers to provide negative feedback, in order to avoid as much as possible public backlash, and to divert negative reviews and comments from social networks. And make it as easy as possible for customers to contact your support team. 

#appredesign #customerreviews #publicbacklashstrategy