Marcio Cyrillo is head of mobile services and senior business manager at Ci&T, a technology outsourcing and software product engineering company. With Ci&T since 1999, he focuses on interactive services and mobile development. He also is a member of the Ci&T Entrepreneurship Program, from which he launched the program’s first mobile app, runens, earlier this year. As a result of his success developing runens, Cyrillo now serves as a mentor to Brazil-based Ipanema Games, a mobile gaming startup. He holds a PhD in applied physics from Universidade Estadual de Campinas and two MBAs in sales management and entrepreneurship from Fundacao Getulio Vargas and Babson College.

As the mobile app ecosystem edges closer and closer to maturity, one thing has become clear: the delineation between great mobile apps and bad ones is becoming easier and easier to see. And what makes a great mobile app? Simply put, it’s a great experience for the user. The best apps in the current marketplace are those that can engage the user beyond a mere day or two and become the go-to destination on their smart phones for an extended period of time.

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For developers, this is the holy grail. Whereas mobile app discovery poses an enormous challenge, one that developers are still struggling to overcome, it’s really only half the battle. If developers not only can get users to download their apps, but alsokeep them on the phone, they’re cultivating a loyal audience that’s more likely to pay attention to future apps they deliver.

Let’s take one of my favorite iPad apps, Flipboard, the intuitive social aggregation app that was named one of Time’s “50 Best Inventions of 2010.” It’s so popular, some estimates indicate that one in 10 iPads has it installed. But why?  What makes the app so special in the first place? User experience. A focus on the things that were essential to the user, including:

• A simple concept that meets a real desire for a more personalized social media experience
• An easy-to-use interface that makes collecting and organizing social updates painless and intuitive
• A visually attractive design

By adhering only to the components that it knew would provide value to the user, Flipboard ensured that the app was not just downloaded, but also enjoyed a shelf life on users’ devices far beyond that of the typical app. The Flipboard example presents a perfect case study of how, by focusing on user experience above all else, developers can make their apps more essential to users.

Apps For The Enterprise

Focusing on user experience when developing an app doesn’t only apply to those consumer-driven apps like Words with Friends and Evernote. A great user experience is also vital when creating applications geared toward the enterprise. To find a key “customer” for an enterprise app, you don’t have to look too far outside your office door. Your internal employees are these primary targets.

Whether your company wants to build an app that allows all employees to bill their hours remotely or an app for each specific department to allow them to perform their jobs more effectively while on the road, user experience is just as important when catering to this internal audience as it is when you’re focused on driving app adoption by your customers.

When developing an app for employees, more often than not, a primary goal is to improve efficiency. Just as a consumer-facing app must have a simple concept, an easy-to-use interface, and a visually attractive design, so should an employee-focused app. Employees need to be able to easily understand how the app works and how it can benefit them so they can adapt and adopt quickly, ultimately improving productivity.

Enterprise apps also often seek to improve customer engagement and drive sales, so a killer user experience is vital. Let’s consider pharmaceutical sales reps. If they have a mobile app that offers easy access to product information, then they will be able to better serve clients and engage prospective doctors. Time in a doctor’s office is precious for a pharma rep, so just think of how an interesting mobile app, on a cool new iPad no less, could extend that rep’s time with the doctor. In this highly competitive space, these extra few minutes are priceless. 

 Here are a couple of ways in which developers can keep the people who download their apps, both internal and external audiences, coming back for more.