PRESENTATION DECK FOR SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD MARKETING LAB

ALDRIC CHANG

Founder of Swag Soft and Media Freaks aldric@swagsoft.com

ABOUT SWAG SOFT

1. MOBILE APPS

2. GAMES

3. AUGMENTED REALITY

4. IBEACON TECHNOLOGY

5. APP MARKETING

A USER-CENTRIC APPROACH FOR MOBILE

THE PROBLEM WITH SOME WEBSITES

1. POOR SITE NAVIGATION

2. CLUTTERED INFORMATION

3. TOO MUCH/LITTLE INFORMATION

4. TOO MANY/LITTLE IMAGES

5. BAD LAYOUT

6. BROWSER INCOMPATIBILITY

7. NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY

A POORLY-DESIGNED WEBSITE

Problem #1 Graphics and text are all over the place. There is no proper structure. Where do users focus? __________________________________ Problem #2 There are too many links and no proper categories to compile and organize the links for the visitors. __________________________________ Problem #3 This website is obviously not mobile-friendly. __________________________________ Problem #4 There is no ‘About’ section to tell visitors what this website is all about and no ‘Contact’ information.

EXAMPLE OF A ‘POORLY’ DESIGNED WEBSITE

A WELL-DESIGNED WEBSITE ON DOG-TRAINING

IT IS CLEAR WHAT THIS BUSINESS OFFERS FROM THE START

WELL-CATEGORIZED DROPDOWN MENUS

JUST THE RIGHT NUMBER OF GRAPHICS TO HELP CONVEY SUBTLE MESSAGES AND MAKE THE SITE ATTRACTIVE.

UNDERSTAND WHAT VISITORS ARE LOOKING FOR GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION THEY NEED

UNDERSTAND WHAT VISITORS ARE LOOKING FOR WHO ARE YOUR DOG TRAINERS?

UNDERSTAND WHAT VISITORS ARE LOOKING FOR WHAT DO OTHER CUSTOMERS THINK ABOUT YOUR SERVICES?

THE SECRET – KEYWORD RESEARCH

REASONS TO GO MOBILE

WHY YOU NEED TO CONSIDER GOING MOBILE

1. PEOPLE SPEND MORE TIME ON THEIR MOBILE DEVICES THAN THEIR DESKTOPS

2. PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS MORE ON MOBILE THAN DESKTOPS

3. PEOPLE ARE BUYING MORE ON MOBILE AND THIS TREND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE

4. MOBILE APPS PROVIDE A LESS DISTRACTED ENVIRONMENT THAN THE DESKTOP

5. MOBILE APPS CAN NARROW DOWN AND STREAMLINE SPECIFIC TASKS

6. MOBILE APPS CAN BE USED TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS BETTER & WITH URGENCY

7. MOBILE APPS ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH MULTIPLE WAYS

THE PROBLEM WITH SOME MOBILE APPS

1. TOO MANY FEATURES

2. TRIES TO BE TOO MANY THINGS

3. OVERUTILIZATION OF SPACE

4. TOO MANY/LITTLE IMAGES

5. BAD LAYOUT

A POORLY-DESIGNED MOBILE APP

Problem The description offers a vague description of what the app user can expect. But it lacks vibrancy and looks boring. Remedy Nice pictures of products and humans would help prevent first-time users from being turned off by the app. And they would help sell the functions offered by the app much better.

EXAMPLE OF A ‘POORLY’ DESIGNED MOBILE APP

Problem #1 Nothing is showing as data is loading in the background. Remedy A loading icon would inform users that something is happening and there is no bug with the app. __________________________________ Problem #2 Users are not required to register or log in. Remedy Users should be required to register for a free account or log-in via Facebook so that the app developer can establish a relationship with them.

Problem #1 Empty space on top. Remedy It would be good to feature a banner that showcases some unique products or vendors from Thailand. __________________________________ Problem #2 Pure text is unappealing. Space is underutilized. Remedy It may be a good idea to consider using a grid system with pictures or icons accompanying the text to make this page more attractive, especially since this is the Home Page.

Problem #1 Text is hard to read even thought this is on an iPad. Remedy Enlarge text. __________________________________ Problem #2 There is a lack of intro what this section is about. Remedy A simple intro would tell helpfully tell users what this page is about. __________________________________ Problem #3 Sellers are not sorted in a systematic way. Remedy Users should be able to sort according to Alphabetical Order, Location and Product Category

Problem There is no easy way to quickly zoom in to what the user is looking for. Unfortunately the search feature at the top is a global search function. Remedy Include a Quick Search Feature.

Problem There is an overwhelming amount of features here which seem quite unnecessary. Remedy Keep it simple and offer only the most important features that the users are likely to want to use. For example, do users of this app really want to read ‘Press Releases’, or view ‘Media Relations Contacts’?

A WELL-DESIGNED MOBILE APP

BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR SOLUTION ALLOW FACEBOOK SIGN UP

WHEN IT’S LOADING … GUIDE YOUR USERS

BE INFORMATIVE & INTERESTING BE VISUALLY ORGANIZED

QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK WHEN BUILDING A MOBILE APP

WE ARE DESIGNING FOR PEOPLE

START BY UNDERSTANDING WHO, WHAT, HOW

WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?

WHAT PROBLEMS ARE YOU SOLVING FOR THEM?

HOW ARE YOU PROVIDING THE ANSWERS / SOLUTIONS?

ARE YOU GIVING THEM WHAT THEY ARE SEARCHING FOR?

ARE YOU GIVING TOO MUCH?

OR TOO LITTLE?

DON’T TRY TO BE EVERYTHING AND SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM.

KEEP IT SIMPLE, UNCLUTTERED AND STRAIGHT TO THE POINT.

FIND OUT WHAT FEATURES YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE USING.

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE AND DISLIKE.

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BUILDING APPS PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO USE

STEP ZERO – IDENTIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS, THEIR NEEDS AND HOW YOUR BUSINESS CAN SERVE THEM BETTER THROUGH A MOBILE APP.

STEP 1 – ESTABLISH WHAT YOUR APP DOES AND CORRESPONDINGLY, ITS FEATURES

STEP 2 – CREATE A SIMPLE BLUEPRINT (DON’T BE TOO CONCERNED ABOUT GRAPHICS AT THIS STAGE)

STEP 3 – REFINE THE BLUEPRINT AND CREATE GRAPHICAL MOCKUPS

STEP 4 – PUT IT TOGETHER USING A PROTOTYPING TOOL

STEP 5 – GET PEOPLE TO USE YOUR PROTOTYPE

STEP 6 – OBSERVE, REFINE AND RE-ADJUST

HOW TO MARKET YOUR APP

WHEN MARKETING YOUR APP, PULL PEOPLE TOWARDS IT. DON’T PUSH YOUR APP TOWARDS THEM.

USE A SEARCH ENGINE KEYWORD TOOL TO DETERMINE THE KEYWORDS THAT PEOPLE ARE COMMONLY SEARCHING FOR.

If people are looking up these keywords on the search engines, chances are they would search for the same on the App Stores.

KEEP IT RELEVANT

1.RELEVANT NAME

2. RELEVANT CONTENT

3. RELEVANT KEYWORDS

4. RELEVANT CATEGORY

5. RELEVANT DESCRIPTION

GET WEBSITES AND BLOGS TO TALK ABOUT YOUR APP

USE APPLE’S NEW FEATURES

MAKE A THAI ADVERT

KEY TAKEAWAYS

WE ARE DESIGNING FOR PEOPLE. OTHER PEOPLE. UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS AND GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.

START SMALL AND PRIORITIZE

IF THEY LOOK UP A KEYWORD ON THE SEARCH ENGINE, CHANCES ARE THEY WILL LOOK IT UP ON THE APP STORES.

WHEN MARKETING YOUR APP, PULL PEOPLE TOWARDS IT. DON’T PUSH IT TOWARDS THEM.

CONTACT@SWAGSOFT.COM.SG HTTP://WWW.SWAGSOFT.COM.SG