How to Communicate Better so Users Love You
App stores revolutionalized the marketplace by allowing users to download apps at any time. For Apple devices, the store is called the iTunes App Store. For Google, it’s called the Google Play Store. Definitions seem cliched, these days.
Interestingly, the Apple App Store launched in July 2008, a year after the first iPhone was released. It had 500 apps! Surprisingly, 10 million apps were downloaded in the first weekend.
How to communicate the removal of apps
No one likes to close shop. But, sometimes, one has to do it. Removing apps from app stores does not remove the app from the mobile devices of the existing users where they are installed and there is no way to tell users to uninstall it.
Removing the apps from app stores is one thing. Communicating to the users about the app shutting down is another.
There is no one best procedure to remove the app. A good approach is multi-fold. Here are a few ways to handle this sensitive communication:
1. Website Announcement
A formal announcement on the organization's website is the most graceful thing do to. Polar, founded by Luke Wroblewski wrote this blog about the last days of Polar app. Here is another crisp announcement from Last Vesper.
2. Send an email
Mayfield Robotics who built a lovable robot called Kuri had to close shop. They announced the shutdown on their blog and also sent an emotional email to all the registered users and fans across the world. Kuri was very personal, so the last goodbyes were also very emotional. Online media was flooded by personal stories of Kuri and how it had augmented the people who had bought it.
3. Display a message on the app before the shutdown
Program the app to display a pop-up to the app users a few days before the shutdown informing them about the shutdown and suggesting to uninstall the app. This particularly helps users to download any data relevant to the app well in advance. Polar app was one such example, where users were allowed to download all their online polls as an archive before it was shut down. Note that not only did Polar allow users to download an archive, but also made the archive retrievable easily for later use. This act was epic!
4. Forced Shutdown
Another way to shut down the app is to follow a forced upgrade approach. This approach pushes an app update that freezes the app and displays a message about shutting down. This approach works well if user is warned before hand like in option (3) above. Else, it creates friction and makes users feel cheated, especially if they paid for that app.
In many cases, if users can continue using the app without further updates (maybe static content based apps like Polar app), allow them to use it. In this case, a formal website announcement/email will suffice to inform the user. There won't be bug fixes or updates as the app no longer exists, so the app may not work forever.
Graceful Closure
An ideal way to remove the app is to plan the announcements beforehand on website/blogs, email, etc and give users time before pulling out the app entirely from the store.
A graceful closure reminds users that you care!
This is the most gentle way to close shop if you must!