Twenty years ago, there were no mobile phones or apps and people purchased things based on word-of-mouth feedback and advertisements.
But, the times have changed and, today, the world has shrunk to the size of your handheld mobile devices and the apps installed on them.
Millions of apps are downloaded by users every minute and this thus generates revenue for app developers. While the inflow of revenue is great, securing positive reviews can be quite challenging.
While trying to choose an app from the millions of options, users often only look for five-star ratings. So, if you are an app developer who is perturbed with the onslaught of one-star reviews, then read on.
Step 1: Make the Product Perfect
Diligence and carefulness should be two keywords of any developer when creating an app. To elaborate on this, you have to be extra careful and review your app multiple times to comb out any errors and bugs which might be a cause of concern.
One way to do this is to test the app with five to 10 users at first and get preliminary feedback. Once you have made the changes and polished the edges, you can target a larger group.
Another reliable way to test the waters is to release your app in a different market than your targeted one. For example, if your target audience is Japan, you can release it in Singapore or Malaysia first.
Step 2: Treat It Like Your Baby
Is this your first app? If so, then consider introducing your app as a “beta” version.
You would not let your infant out into the big, bad world without some sort of protection and armour! Similarly, releasing your first app to millions of users and expecting them to be gentle with it is not sensible. If your app has some bugs to be fixed, you can always fix those and release a second version.
If your app is for iPhone users only, you could be doubly lucky, as the app store only shows reviews for the current version of the app.
Step 3: Pay Attention to the Reviews
It is as simple as treating each review left by an app user as a treasure as soon as the user has submitted it. As noted in this Help Scout consumer feedback facts, for each bad review that a user has voiced, there are about 26 other users out there who do not bother to leave behind feedback.
So, when you come across an honest review, pay attention to it and make changes or improvements as necessary.
As an additional step, you can also make it easier for your users to leave behind feedback. When the user goes through an installation step or if they are stuck somewhere, which can be frustrating, a pop-up menu to help them through the situation can prove to be rewarding for you.
Step 4: Involve the Big Brother (if Required)
Sometimes, there are spiteful reviews or even malicious content presented in the review field. In such cases, both the Apple App Store and Google Play can be pulled in for intervention.
If the review is against Apple’s policy, then you can click “Report a Concern” and if Apple agrees with your allegation against the review, they will remove it. For Google Play, you can downvote reviews or discussions which are off-topic or flag spam material.
However, this step is only applicable when you have some genuine concern and should not be used to boost your review status!
Step 5: Remember the Customer Is NOT Always Right
If there is a way to connect with your user about their feedback, do it. You can use social media, send a direct email and even leave behind an update note for a specific user or problem.
It is a good idea to apologize, if there was a genuine problem with the app, and it helps to create a goodwill with the user.
Yet, you will find users who crib about anything and everything and do not leave any constructive criticism for you.
In such circumstances, you simply have to let it go and understand that they might just be venting their feelings due to a bad day in their lives.
Ratings and reviews can be a stressful aspect of building and publishing an app, but do not let it take away the joy of creating something new and exciting. We hope that these steps will help you come out of your blues and allow you to focus on improving your app’s ratings gradually.