Hi, everyone. Let's talk about first impressions.
It's the moment of truth, right?
Make a good first impression
and the user can become your app's next superfan.
Make a bad first impression and you might be tossed aside.
Now, you might be thinking about the moment
when a user opens your app for the first time.
But let's take a wider view.
Way back in 2005, Procter & Gamble popularized the idea
that there are actually two moments of truth,
not just the first time the user experiences the product,
but also before, when they select the product from the shelf.
It was so important,
their CEO at the time created a whole new team
just to focus on what they called "the first moment of truth."
So let's take a look at how you can make a great first impression -- twice.
Here are the top five tips to win the moments of truth.
P&G described the first moment of truth
as the 5 to 7 seconds after a shopper
came to a shelf full of products and made their selection.
Now, I hear you asking, what does this have to do with my app?
Well, I would submit that the first moment of truth
is just as important today as it was back then.
Though, instead of happening at a retailer store shelf,
it happens when the user comes to Google Play,
right before they make their selection.
If you want to get that install, you'd better win the first moment of truth.
Tip number one: Attract users with compelling packaging.
On Google Play, that means building out a first-class store listing,
and here's how to do it.
The two most important elements to win the first moment of truth:
your icon and your title.
Make them unique, but still accessible.
With just these two assets, the user should recognize your brand in an instant.
Video can have a big impact.
Show users the actual app experience and get right to the point.
The first five seconds are everything.
Use your screenshots to tell a visual story.
Show off your app's core value proposition.
How will your app help the user?
Prioritize the most important message in your first screenshot.
Your short description is actually the most visible,
so don't overlook it.
It should be able to stand alone, explaining your app in one sentence.
Your full description can provide additional details
for users that need more convincing
but still keep it concise and easy to scan.
Before we move on to tip number two, here are a few more pro tips:
In addition to your app category,
you can choose up to five tags to help users find your app.
Look for this in the Play Console to improve your discoverability.
Adding translated text and assets to your listing
can help you attract a larger global audience.
And, lastly, don't forget your release notes.
These appear prominently when users return to the store listing.
Make sure you are giving existing users a reason to update.
So now you should be equipped to build a terrific store listing.
But I'm guessing some of you were hoping for something more.
That secret formula for creating a fool-proof store listing.
A listing that can help you consistently win the first moment of truth.
Well, get ready, because I'm going to share that secret with you in tip number two:
testing and iterating.
Sorry if I got your hopes up,
but there's no such thing as a fully optimized store listing.
It's no secret.
Even the most advanced developers rely on A/B testing
to continuously make improvements and optimizations.
The good news is that Google Play can help
any developer run their own tests with store listing experiments.
You can find this feature right in the Play Console and it's easy to use.
I recommend starting with your most important asset,
that app icon.
But no matter where you start, ensure you only test one element at a time.
You may be tempted to play it safe, but I'd encourage you not to be shy.
You'll learn the most by testing assets with distinct differences.
Oh, and let your experiments run for two weeks
to make sure you capture enough data.
If you were thinking one experiment is enough, think again.
In this example from Rovio, you can see how,
even after seeing an improvement of 7.2% from their first experiment,
they went on to test another set of iterations
and were able to get an additional 3.2% lift.
Here's another success story: the brain training app Elevate
used store listing experiments to test out their screenshots,
and saw a 13% increase in their store conversion rate.
These experiments can really pay off.
With these two tips,
you should be prepared to win the first moment of truth
and earn that install.
But the journey is only just beginning.
Now, let's turn our attention to the second moment of truth.
The second moment of truth happens when a shopper gets the product home
and tries it for the first time.
And just like a physical product,
the second moment of truth happens when the user installs your app
and tries it for the first time.
These next three tips are designed to help you win
the second moment of truth
by ensuring users get successfully onboarded and engaged.
Tip number three: Get to the core action.
But you might be asking what is the app's core action?
Your app's core action is at the heart of your app's value to the user.
Completing it once delivers a high-quality engagement
and communicates the value proposition.
Then, as users complete the core action over and over,
they keep having your app's core value reinforced.
You'll find that your most loyal users
engage with the app's core action more than anyone else.
So here are a few examples.
Hailing a ride is the core action of a taxicab app.
Completing a workout might be the core action for an exercise app.
And liking someone in a dating app is also a core action.
Of course, your apps for action might not be as clear.
If you don't know what your core action is, that's okay.
Try asking your users by looking at your data.
Hopper, a travel booking app, saw users that watched a flight
were the ones that had the highest retention,
so they built that core action into their onboarding.
Lead your users directly to your core action,
and you're already doing a lot to win the second moment of truth.
Now that you know what your core action is,
you've got to get your users to it as quickly as possible.
You are on the clock.
78% of new users abandon apps after just three days.
Get them seamlessly to the core action
because it's the most effective way to show users your app's core value proposition.
Don't get hung up on all the nice-to-know features.
Leave that until later.
Of course, one caveat: users are different.
Some users come in and they already know what your app is all about.
Let those folks skip right to the core action.
Others are browsers,
and you'll have to do some more convincing first.
More than anything, just keep iterating.
You can always find more efficiencies in your onboarding.
And a successful onboarding is the key
to winning the second moment of truth.
Pro tip: Registration can be a super important tool for apps
but it can also be a big drop off point.
If you haven't yet, take a look at Google OneTap.
It lets users on Android sign up and sign in much faster
using the Google account they already have.
Pinterest saw a 126% increase for sign ups using One Tap.
That's a major improvement.
Tip number four: Help make it a habit.
Getting a user to incorporate an app into their daily routine is hard.
It doesn't just happen,
but if you have a strong value proposition, you can design for habitual use
and give users a reason to keep returning.
When thinking about designing for habitual use,
there are four elements you should be considering.
First, motivation.
Your users already have that need inside them.
It's what drove them to install your app in the first place.
Now, it's your job to help them remember that need.
Build features into your app that can help them set short- and long-term goals.
That can go a long way towards making your app
part of their daily routine.
Action: Make it easy for users to keep coming back to that core action.
The more they do it,
the more they will experience the value of your app
and want to make it a habit.
Trigger. We all get busy and we all lose sight of our initial motivation.
Remind users why they want to come back to your app
in a way that speaks to their individual needs.
And reward: Reward not only provides the payoff.
It also drives that itch to come back again and again.
The workout app Seven uses a seven-month challenge
to motivate and reward users as they go through their core action:
completing a seven-minute workout.
Wondering how you might make your app a habit?
Here are a few thoughts to spark new ideas.
The best way to know what motivates the user is to ask.
Let the users share their goals,
and then make sure your experience delivers customization
to best serve that particular motivation.
Don't give users the opportunity to use your app for the first time
and never take part in the core action.
Make it quick, easy and inevitable for the user to complete it.
Push notifications make for great triggers,
but they can be even more meaningful if you let users set them up on their own.
Let these notifications be from the user,
a reminder to themselves that triggers their action.
Lastly, rewards can be so powerful and they come in many different forms.
Find more milestones that can be celebrated.
Use all of the tools at your disposal, from explosive visuals, sound design, animation.
The better it feels,
the more likely a user is going to want to get that reward again.
With these tips, you'll have a good chance of building
a really seamless onboarding experience
that activates your users and sets them up to understand the value of your app
and begin using it habitually.
And now the last tip, and it really is the most important of all:
You win the second moment of truth
by delivering on the promises made in marketing
and exceeding the user's expectations.
And nothing disrupts those promises
more than an app that crashes, freezes or slows to a crawl.
I can't overstate this.
Technical performance is make or break.
When leaving a one-star review, 42% of the time,
users mention the app stability and bugs.
And, conversely, when leaving a five-star review,
73% of the time, the user mentioned speed, design, or usability.
Do you know what your crash rate is?
Do you test your app on high-end phones like the Pixel 6 Pro,
as well as lower end phones that bring Android
to the widest range of users?
If you're not sure,
check out the Android Vitals section of the Play Console.
Once you've optimized your performance, you want to get as much feedback as you can.
Critical feedback can help identify areas in the app that deserve further attention.
Positive feedback acts as social proof and can help you in the first moment of truth
with the next user that visits your Play Store listing.
So prompt users to give you feedback.
Read it and respond to them.
Anyone willing to spend the time to fill out a comment is an engaged user.
Plus, responding to a negative review can increase that rating
by an average of 0.7 points.
And, lastly, once you've won the second moment of truth,
make sure it's easy for them to share with friends and family.
No marketing compares to word of mouth
and your satisfied users are your best ambassadors.
So let's do a quick review to help you in the first moment of truth,
when a user makes their decision at the store,
we recommend you build the strongest store listing you can.
And since there is no secret recipe,
the only way to keep optimizing is to use store listing experiments
to identify those incremental opportunities to increase your store listing conversion.
Next, we talked about winning the second moment of truth,
the moment when the user actually opens your app for the first time.
We talked about identifying your core action, the one that demonstrates your app value
and is used over and over again by your most loyal users.
Next, use motivation, action, triggers and rewards
to help users integrate your app into a habitual routine.
And lastly, and most importantly, invest in your app performance.
An app that crashes in a user's first session
may never be able to come back from that.
If you manage to have your app in tip-top shape,
you'll be ready to read and respond to your glowing reviews
and help win the first moment of truth with your next store listing visitor.
Are you ready to practice?
You can do it.
All it takes is commitment, focus,
and some help from tools provided by Google Play.
But before I go, I can't leave until I confess something.
There's actually more than two moments of truth.
Google can tell you all about the zero moment of truth
on Think with Google,
and lots of companies have third or fourth moments of truth.
But here's the real truth.
Any moment your users interact with your product or brand
can be a moment of truth,
a moment when they'll decide in a matter of seconds
whether they become your next superfan or just another churn statistic.
Remember that any moment can be a moment of truth.
So always strive for excellence and make every moment count.
You can do it! And I can't wait to see you succeed.
Thanks, for even more tips and interactive courses,
make sure to check out Play Academy.