There are more than 775,000

apps on the iTunes App Store.

What can we learn from the

apps at the top of the charts?

Whether you’re launching an

enterprise app for internal

users or a consumer app for

the masses, the same best

practices apply....

Learning from the App Store Leaders: 3 Things Every CMO Should Know

An ExtensionEngine RESEARCh REpORT

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2 Learning from the App Store Leaders: 3 Things Every CMO Should Know

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©2013 ExtensionEngine LLC. All rights reserved.

TAbLE of ConTEnTS

Executive Summary .............................................................1

Anatomy of an App Listing ................................................ 2

App Age & Release Times ................................................... 3

App Ratings .......................................................................4

App Titles & Descriptions ................................................... 5

What You Should Know ......................................................6

Free Budgeting & Forecasting Tool ..................................... 7

About the Research ............................................................8

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Executive SummaryThere isn’t a CMO who shouldn’t be thinking about how web and mobile apps can enhance their business. And, whether you’re launching an enterprise app for internal users or a consumer app for the masses, there’s plenty to learn from the top-ranking apps on the iTunes Apps Store.

Creating a top is more of a marathon than a sprint. That’s the key finding of recent research conducted by ExtensionEngine, a leading application development firm that has been building web and mobile software solutions since 2000.

But whose job is it to chart the marathon course and ensure that the pace is maintained? Most companies know that their product management and application development functions play a critical role. But, as marketers become steeped in technology, the CMO has become a critical player in app creation, promotion, and management.

To help CMOs capitalize on lessons learned from the leading consumer apps, ExtensionEngine conducted research on the top 1,000 apps in the iTunes Apps Store. We looked at top apps across 23 different categories, collected marketing-related data about them, and analyzed the results to reveal patterns. Some notable findings:

• Just releasing an app to the store doesn’t cut it. Top apps are re-released an average of 19 times over a two-year timeframe.

• Top apps increase their ratings over time, which indicates that top app teams listen to their users and make focused, prioritized improvements based on user feedback.

• App titles and descriptions matter. A top app’s benefits are clearly and concisely communicated to users – both initially and across subsequent releases.

This research report explores these findings in more detail, offers tips to help CMOs apply lessons learned, and concludes with a list of action items.

The big takeaway? Whether you’re building a B2B, B2C, or enterprise app, you need a long-range plan and process based on an ongoing app release cycle, not just an app launch. You need to think strategically about how to map your teams and budgets to this release cycle. And you should consider the range of skill sets – both creative and technical – you need to create winning apps.

RESEARCh RESuLTS AT A gLAnCE

The average age of a

top app is 1.8 years

Top apps average a

new release every 35 days

Most top apps improve their

ratings over time

Apps with longer titles have

higher ratings

Apps with longer descriptions

have the lowest rankings

“Digital CMOs

think beyond

digital marketing.

They look for

opportunities to

create digital

experiences and

revenue streams…”

—Jake Sorofman HBR Blog

“The Rise of the Digital CMO”

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2 Learning from the App Store Leaders: 3 Things Every CMO Should Know

Anatomy of an App ListingHow well do you know your anatomy? Every app listing includes key areas that help you promote your app and increase your ratings. Here’s a visual reference for the app listing features we discuss in this research report.

App DescriptionWhat the app can do for users. The first three lines of the description are visible; users must click to read more.

What’s NewHere’s where you tell users about additions and enhancements to the current release. Also includes a version number that indicates how many times the app has been rereleased since its initial launch.

Customer ReviewsThis is where users let you know what they like – and don’t like – about the app.

Customer RatingsBased on a scale of

0 – 5 stars, with 5 being the

highest rating.

App TitleThe name of

the app.

UpdatedIndicates when

the app was last released.

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IMDb Movies and TV, by IMDb

Nice job, IMDb. Your app is running a successful marathon: it has a

median release time of 33 days and a current rating of 5. That shows you are rolling out

frequent improvements that users like. We predict that you’ll keep going strong.

App Age & Release TimesOur research reveals that the average age of a top app is 1.8 years. It also shows that the average time between releases is 35 days. So, when you put these numbers together, that means that top apps have been iteratively refined and extended 19 times.

When you look across the 23 categories of apps we evaluated, medical and navigation are the slowest categories for releases – which makes sense given the regulatory, compliance, and logistical requirements of these apps. Social networking apps are the most frequently updated category, at 26 days between releases. Business apps average 47 days between releases, suggesting there is an opportunity for improvement by firms looking to leapfrog the competition.

A three-month plan for the initial launch of an app is just the beginning. Said another way, if building a top app is like running a marathon, then launching the first version of that app is like making it to the three-mile marker. Apps need progressive improvement. So you’ve got to refresh content. You need to enhance the user interface. And you must keep the app current with the latest operating systems and smartphone functionality advances. So go ahead and plan for the launch. But remember: if you’re going to release an app 19 times, you need to create 12 and 24 month app release plans, which should be factored into your budgeting, staffing plan, and project milestones. And keep this in mind as well: the release of iOS 7 this fall will herald automatic updates for all applications. This is great news for developers because it will greatly reduce the need to keep legacy systems or APIs running to support old versions of your app. However, it also means that users will have higher expectations for the speed of bug fixes and new feature rollouts. So more than ever, you’ll need to be staffed to handle enhancements on an ongoing basis.

Medical .................................... 56Navigation ....................................52Education ......................................50Productivity ..................................49Utilities ........................................ 48Business .................................. 47Finance ..........................................47Food & Drink .................................46Weather ........................................45Newsstand ....................................45Entertainment ............................. 44Reference ..................................... 44Sports........................................... 44Travel .............................................43Books ............................................ 41News ............................................. 41Health & Fitness ...........................39Games ...........................................38Music .............................................36Lifestyle ........................................35Photo & Video ...............................34Catalogs .........................................31Social Networking .................... 26

TV.com, by Instant InteractiveThe numbers don’t look good for TV.com. A current rating of 3.5 and a median release time of 79 days indicate that it’s time for progressive improvement. If you can release updated content and functionality – and do it more frequently – users may reconsider their ratings.

Average Release Cycle of Select App Categories Measured in Days

EvidenceThuMBS up! ThuMBS DowN!

pLAn FOR ThE LOng hAuLTIP

AvERAgE numbER of DAyS bETwEEn RELEASES

0 15 30 45 60

26SOCIAL NETWORKING

47BUSINESS

56MEDICAL

1

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4 Learning from the App Store Leaders: 3 Things Every CMO Should Know

2App RatingsOur research shows that most top apps improve their ratings over time. In fact, top apps carry an average rating of 3.8 at present and 3.6 over the span of the application lifetime.

According to our data, the highest rated apps are in the games category. Apps for health and fitness, reference, education, and photo and video round out the top 5 categories for highest average ratings.

Successful apps incorporate user feedback into subsequent releases. User feedback is your best – and least expensive – form of market research. That feedback is served up nicely on the App Store in the form of customer reviews. In their reviews, customers offer tips, uncover

bugs, and make suggestions based on their real-world experience. You can also prompt users to review your app. Some apps use a pop-up prompt that invites users to “rate this app 5 stars” or “complete this later.” Others use a plugin for in-app feedback (Apptentive and AppBooster are two). Regardless of how you solicit feedback, make sure that marketing gets to see the reviews – not just the engineer who submitted the app. Then, work closely with your application development and product management teams to ensure that user feedback is driven back into product design.

Games ................................ 4.3 4.2 0.1health & Fitness ................. 4.3 3.9 0.4Reference ........................... 4.1 3.7 0.4Education ........................... 4.1 3.8 0.3photo & Video ..................... 4.1 4.0 0.1Social Networking .................. 4.0 3.9 0.1Weather .................................. 4.0 3.6 0.4Utilities ................................... 3.9 3.7 0.3Lifestyle .................................. 3.9 3.7 0.2Catalogs .................................. 3.9 3.8 0.1Productivity ............................ 3.8 3.6 0.2Music ....................................... 3.8 3.7 0.1Business .................................. 3.8 3.5 0.2Navigation .............................. 3.7 3.2 0.6Books ...................................... 3.7 3.5 0.2Entertainment ........................ 3.7 3.5 0.2Medical .................................... 3.7 3.4 0.3Travel ....................................... 3.7 3.5 0.2Food & Drink ........................... 3.6 3.5 0.2Finance .................................... 3.4 3.6 -0.1News ....................................... 3.3 3.3 0.0Sports...................................... 3.2 3.3 -0.1Newsstand .............................. 3.1 2.9 0.2Grand Total ......................... 3.8 3.6 0.2

Current Avg.

ovearll Avg.

Increase

Yahoo! Finance, by Yahoo!

Yahoo Finance must be doing something right – ratings have jumped from 3.5 to 4.5.

Could it be that they are building customer feedback into every new release?

We give that a yahoo!

Virtual wallet, by pNCWhat’s in your wallet, PNC? With customer ratings falling from 3 to 2, it seems like revenue from this app won’t fill your billfold. Adding improvement based on customer insight may help you climb the ratings ladder.

EvidenceThuMBS up! ThuMBS DowN!

LiSTEn TO YOuR uSERSTIP

Top Five Categories for highest Average Ratings

0 1 2 3 4 5

4.3GAMES

4.3HEALTH & FITNESS

4.1REFERENCE

4.1EDUCATION

4.1PHOTO & VIDEO

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3App Titles & DescriptionsOur research shows that apps with longer titles (25 characters and up, including spaces), have higher ratings. Conversely, apps that average 17 characters have the lowest ratings.

As for app descriptions apps with longer descriptions (almost 2500 characters) have the lowest ratings. All other description lengths were not statistically significant to ratings.

Longer is better for titles, not so much for app descriptions. Users want an at-a-glance look at what your app does – and a robust title plays an important role. Descriptions, however, are cut off after three lines – and many users will not click ‘more’ to see the full description. That means you’ve got to make a concise, compelling pitch for your app “above the fold.”

Which brings us to question of who writes the app titles and descriptions. In most cases, it’s the engineer who is launching the app to the store. But guess what? Engineers are really good at lots of things but writing app titles and descriptions isn’t one of them. In fact, when apps are updated, the only info that is submitted (other than the new app file) is a version number and a short update description. This update description must be entered before the engineer can upload the new file – so the engineer often enters something generic like “bug fixes” because he or she doesn’t have marketing content to work with.

To boost app store success, get your copywriters or content developers involved to craft the information the engineer needs: detailed titles, concise descriptions, and compelling content for updated descriptions. Ditto for keywords.

37.5

Average App Title & Desciption Comparison

TaxCaster by TurboTax, Free Tax Refund

Calculator, by Intuit Inc.You’ve got the long title/short description formula down, Intuit. With a 50 character

title and a 669 character description, you’re giving users the information

they need, the way they like it.

American Airlines, by American AirlinesAmerican Airlines promises “something special in the air” but isn’t delivering anything special with this app. The app features a short, generic title and a 1,912 word description that begins, “Notice: due to performance issues, older versions may not be supported.” Time to fly higher!

EvidenceThuMBS up! ThuMBS DowN!

051015202530

17

16

20

23 27

26 27

19

19

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

2409 1798 1422 1517 1652 1630 1650 1894 1668

Average App TITLE CHARACTER Count Average App DESCRIPTION CHARACTER Count

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

WRiTE ThE MARKETing COnTEnTDOn’T LET ThE EnginEERS

TIP

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6 Learning from the App Store Leaders: 3 Things Every CMO Should Know

what You Should Know…Creating a successful app is a long-term commitment, and you may need to transform your marketing function accordingly. But where to start? Here are some action items…

Get the skill sets you need You already know you need skilled application development resources to build and maintain an app. You also need strong project managers to keep the initial launch – and subsequent releases – on track. But CMOs should broaden the app team to include design and user experience experts that can reinvent the way you approach app development. And you need copywriters to promote the app across marketing channels and within the app store.

Create compelling experiencesApp makers in several categories – particularly business apps – have a prime opportunity to create compelling apps for mundane tasks. Explore ways to use video, images, and graphics to create richer user experiences over time. We’re not suggesting full-on gamification with incentives, badges, and rewards. But CMOs should consider ways to make business apps more visually remarkable, easy to use, and yes, fun. After all, users want an engaging experience whether they’re playing Angry Birds, going for a run, or doing routine tasks like filing expense reports. And if you create a business app that delivers this experience, you just gained a competitive advantage.

Know where you’re going — and chart the courseIf your initial release succeeds, ongoing maintenance and upgrades costs could end up exceeding your initial development investment. Don’t fall victim to your own success! Make sure that you have a roadmap for app enhancements – and an adequate budget – that will get you from the first release to the 19th. Obviously, this budget will vary if you use in-house resources or an outside web and mobile development firm, so you’ll need to plan accordingly.

Create a feedback loopUser feedback is your secret weapon – and it’s not even a secret. Everything you need to know about revisions and enhancements resides with your users. Be sure you have an app feedback loop in place so you can incorporate user insight into new releases and drive up your ratings over time. Some apps solicit feedback — but chances are this feedback is sent to the developer who submitted the app. Make sure it funnels back to marketing.

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Free Budgeting & Forecasting ToolWhat does it cost to create a top app? You’ll need to budget for the first release, of course. But ongoing maintenance and upgrade costs could exceed your initial development investment.

We built an App Budgeting and Forecasting Tool to help you determine the resources and money you’ll need to build a winning app. You’ll get a customized assessment that includes a breakdown of the key cost drivers for your planned app.

In juST 5 mInuTES, you CAn:

Get an overall

estimate of app costs

Determine initial

development vs. recurring costs

See how costs will be

allocated over time

Generate a breakdown of

key cost drivers

Download a PDF of your

customized app assessment

gET STARTED now!

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8 Learning from the App Store Leaders: 3 Things Every CMO Should Know

About the ResearchIn March of 2013, ExtensionEngine identified the Top 1000 apps on the iTunes App Store. We collected data from these apps to uncover commonalities among highly rated apps. Then, we analyzed a variety of metrics and shared the most meaningful insights in this research report.

AbouT ExtensionEngineExtensionEngine has been building web and mobile

software solutions for some of the world’s most

dynamic companies since 2000. headquartered at the

harvard innovation Lab in Boston, with a wholly owned

engineering campus in Split, Croatia, our team of more

than 125 engineers, product managers, and designers

serves a growing list of clients. Over the past 13 years, we

have created hundreds of app submissions, in a variety of

categories, across a range of industries.

Contact michelle Arundale at ExtensionEngine to discuss

how we can help you build winning web and mobile apps.

617.651.1132

michelle@extensionengine.com

Skype: michelle.arundale4

headquarters Harvard Innovation Lab 125 Western Ave Boston, Massachusetts 02134

Contact Michelle Arundale, Principalmichelle@extensionengine.com617.651.1132Skype: michelle.arundale4

Boston • Croatia www.extensionengine.com