Often times, marketers focus solely on getting their product installed by as many users as possible. Although high numbers of product installs are important, retaining users may be more valuable in the long run. W3i understands the importance of user retention and has a few different ways of finding the right user for your product using InstallIQ℠, the installation manager for smart software distribution.

One way W3i assists their clients with finding valuable users is through the Affiliate Feedback System (AFS). AFS is an optimization tool that gathers information on users’ computers compatibility that would show preponderance for an advertiser’s application. To implement AFS, W3i provides the advertiser with a unique ID for each install. The advertiser then relays performance data back to W3i for each ID. W3i uses this data to find common characteristics (similar traffic sources, browser versions, operating systems, etc.) among users and then recommends users for the advertiser’s application based on where the application performs the best.  Now that’s smart software distribution.

Another source that W3i uses to gain insight on users is the InstallIQ Updater (IQU). IQU is a resident application that provides users with an enhanced download and software usage experience. The benefit of IQU is that it tracks statistics for both installs and uninstalls, which can then be used to understand attrition, create a better user experience, and add insight into issues with installs/uninstalls.

W3i also allows full customization with the thank you page. The thank you page is the first experience users have with your product and W3i sees the value in giving clients the ability to customize it so as to see the most impact. A few ways a thank you page can be used is for remarketing, additional product information, or confirmation that the product has been installed.

How great would it be to make more money from each install? W3i has spent considerable time finding solutions to help clients make the most out of each install using InstallIQ.  When are you going to start capitalizing on smart software distribution by becoming part of the W3i Application Network?

Jessie Golombiecki, Marketing Specialist, W3i, LLC
Jessie uses her experience in internet marketing, graphic design, and testing to lead the charge in marketing management optimizing all touch points with consumers.

The Challenge
Going live with an advertiser’s offer is only the beginning when distributing through the W3i Application Network.  As with landing pages, the challenge is to optimize the critical elements so that ROI is optimized.      

The Solution
W3i provides consultative and testing services for advertisers to increase acceptance rates.  One of the first things we look at is the disclosure screen itself.  The disclosure screen is the screen shown to the user within the installation manager, InstallIQ, that discloses the required information about the application.  Ultimately the goal is to improve acceptance rates.  It works like this, W3i mocks up multiple disclosure screens based on the findings of previous tests.  W3i runs tests on the disclosure screen mocks showing the various screens to users to determine which one has the highest acceptance rate.  W3i replaces the original disclosure screen with the one that performs the best. 

The Results
An example of a disclosure screen test that W3i recently ran was for a security application.  There was a 6.45% gain in acceptance rate with one of the versions tested. Needless to say, that version was rolled out.

Here are some things that W3i found to perform better in terms of improved acceptance rates with disclosure screens, but ultimately testing can only determine what works best for each particular application:

• Illustrating what the software does instead of having multiple useless graphics
• Having the copy left aligned
• Showing the functionality of the applications simply
• Trying to limit the amount of information on the screen to avoid crowding

Following is an example of these tips at work on an internal W3i product disclosure screen:

The top image is a control disclosure screen for one of W3i’s internal products.  The bottom image is a test version that had a 2.48% improved acceptance rate.

Find Out More
To learn more about optimizing within the W3i Application Network, contact Nicole Przybilla at nicole.przybilla@w3i.com or call 320-257-7500 ext. 1020.

Nicole Przybilla, Account Executive, W3i, LLC
Nicole focuses on growing W3i business relationships, making sure the client has what they need to help them be successful. If they aren’t happy, she isn’t happy. 

Do not underestimate the value of help and support related features in your application or service. Properly supporting your users can be a key differentiator in today’s market. It can help ease the learning curve users must traverse when adopting your service and facilitate continued product-usage. To not support or clumsily support your users is like dropping someone in the middle of a jungle without a survival kit. If you don’t give your users the tools and education needed to survive: they won’t, plain and simple. Here are three guidelines I’ve followed in products I’ve managed that provide a common sense approach for properly supporting your users:

1. Help should be Accessible: Access to a Help/FAQ section should be in the same “physical” spot throughout the application or service experience. Users should always know where to access Help or an FAQ. Don’t confuse them by moving it around or making it accessible in some areas and not others. These sections should be neatly indexed and searchable.
2. Avoid Technical or Industry Jargon: Speak your user’s language. Don’t confuse them by using jargon that’s over-technical or industry-speak. Just because you understand it doesn’t mean your users will.
3. Provide Multiple Support Methods: Hopefully your support documents are so brilliant that no user needs to contact you. But let’s face it, some do want to contact you, and that’s OK. There is no better way to build relationships and gather invaluable user feedback than providing human support via multiple contact methods. A support email address and online support form are musts. Make them easy to find. Hiding them or making them difficult to access means you don’t want to talk to your users and, for this; your users will repay you by not using your service. Phone and chat support are great ways to engage your users and provide them exceptional customer service – consider these methods as well.

One more thing; your Customer Support Team is critical to developing strong user relationships. Do not underestimate the value they bring to your product.

Following these three common sense guidelines to providing world-class support will ensure your users have the tools they need to succeed when using your application or service. Do not send your users into the jungle without giving them the tools to survive, hoping they’ll find their way through on their own.

Eric Montag, Product Manager, W3i Holdings, LLC
Eric uses his experience in graphic design, mobile, and internet marketing to lead the charge in product research, planning, and execution, from both a consumer and business standpoint.

Ok, so I have a simple little app, how hard can it be to make it usable?  Not user-friendly, but truly usable.

Simple is not easily achieved.  There are several things that come into play, and the first is that if you are reading this to support your app, you are probably too close to it to make it usable.  Let me give you an example:

If you have ever lived with a toilet that required jiggling of the handle, you see this play out when guests arrive. “Just jiggle the handle” you say off-handedly.  After several minutes of your guest trying and failing, you will come in and jiggle and all is well.  Is your guest stupid? No, they simply don’t have the same time and experience that you do that makes this a usable experience for you, but not for them.  

Same principal applies for anything on the internet.  Your best expert knows nothing.

Now, after understanding that you understand too much about your application, the next approach is the VIMM model.  VIMM stands for Visual, Intellectual, Memory, and Motor (cited from Human Factors International’s Science and Art of Effective Web and Application Design).

Like most effective concepts, this should be common sense, but frequently is forgotten in the effort of software (well, actually, any) design and improved usability.  So here are the questions you should ask, in the framework of your non-expert expert’s mind:

Visually does this make sense?  Crazy examples — Is the word Red in blue type?  Are all the fonts different?  Are there more than 0 flashing, dancing, or burning images?

Intellectually does this make sense? More crazy examples — Is the download button before I tell someone what they are getting?  Does it ask for my country before the state?

Is Memorization easy or hard?  Frankly, if you take care of the first two, this one should be a no-brainer, but looking to big, successful, pervasive software companies for some standards doesn’t hurt either.

What Motor skills are required? Alright – this one is a pet peeve, probably because I have no motor skills.  More importantly, I have been asked to read through pages of information and the “Next” button is always in a slightly different place.  Seems like nothing, all I have to do is move the mouse and click. No biggie, right?  Well, I do have to say that this has prevented websites from engaging me more times than not.  It is about as irritating as if they’d cut all the pages into different sizes on the trashy paperback I read at the beach with my frozen drink, and I don’t want that experience ruined either.

Most of the time, these things are written off as “ok”; usually by the expert in the software who doesn’t care that he is still jiggling his toilet handle. 

Bottom line here…
If you assume that everyone on your website is just like you, pretty soon it will just be you.  It pays to focus on improving usability. 

Kristin Oberhaus, Product Manager, W3i Holdings, LLC
Kristin has over 13 years of product management experience and is a certified usability analyst. She is an avid believer in pragmatic marketing.