Apps as Customer Touchpoints: Key Points for Utilization

With smartphones rapidly proliferating and apps becoming infrastructure, even companies outside the so-called app-related industries are beginning to focus on apps as crucial touchpoints with consumers. Beyond coupons to drive store visits or one-off campaigns, companies are devising ways to enhance the ongoing experiential value for customers, tailored to their business models. How should companies leverage apps, and how will their future evolve? This was discussed by Kunihiko Monbun of Dentsu Inc., a specialist in app-driven marketing; Manabu Takahashi of Dentsu Digital Inc., who consults on download strategies and related marketing; and Sumire Hibiya of Goodpatch, who has been involved in UI (user interface) design and development for various apps.

 

Launch minimally and grow alongside users

 

Takahashi: We're in an era where we can't overlook the importance of apps at the touchpoints between companies and customers. How do you each view apps from your respective positions?

Hibiya: With so many people spending their daily lives with smartphones, I believe what matters is whether we can cover those "Oh, I want to do this" moments for users and support the experiences that follow.

Bunbun: I've been involved in app planning since quite early on. Back then, many apps were packed with various features and content. However, I feel that recently, the focus has shifted towards truly necessary features and content.

Hibiya: Looking at the chart above, the underperforming lower-left quadrant actually has fewer established examples, making it a promising area for new challenges. The key is how closely apps can integrate with lifestyles and connect with physical stores.

Takahashi: We surveyed this data once in February too. Since then, by June when we re-examined it, some apps saw rapid download growth while others shut down. How do you view this pace of change?

Hibiya: It's not just about launching and being done. You must continuously update while monitoring user behavior, or the investment becomes wasted. It's crucial to check on-site—through quantitative data analysis, of course, but also via group interviews and usability tests—to see how far hypotheses deviate from the initial goals set.

Takahashi: So the user's perspective is indispensable, not the company's assumptions.

Hibiya: However, the most challenging and crucial part is aligning the initial goal-setting between design development teams like ours and the company. It's unrealistic to start a project by cramming in features and requirements to make it "rich" from the outset. First, the team must define the value we should provide to the target users right now. Then, we must repeatedly discuss whether users actually have that problem and whether the value we offer can solve it. Reaching agreement on this minimum line is extremely important.

Similarly difficult is the release criteria . For example, with hardware, manufacturers release products at near 100% completion. But releasing apps under that standard would be disastrous.

Takahashi: If you spend months developing aiming for 100% perfection, it can become outdated. So the question is whether you can iterate while using a beta version. Can the company build a relationship where they try various things and improve together with the customer? In digital, it's also crucial to reframe harsh reviews as valuable customer feedback and immediately apply them to improvements.

Form teams with members who hold decision-making authority. Always keep the service's core essence in mind.

 

Takahashi: Could you share what you prioritize during the development process?

Hibiya: First, it's crucial to clearly define why the company is pursuing this business and ensure this understanding permeates the entire app development team, including us. Only then do we consider how to realize it through design and technology. Furthermore, in service development, progress stalls if any of the three key roles—design, technology, and business—is missing. Therefore, from the very start of a project, we always form a team including a UX (User Experience) Designer/Project Manager, a UI Designer, and sometimes an Engineer. Everyone is involved from the discussion phase. When undertaking app development, we always request that the company assign a business lead to the project from the beginning. If they don't participate in regular meetings and daily discussions to make decisions, we cannot move the project forward quickly.

Bunbun: If the mindset is to create the service experience itself, rather than just a promotional tool, this structure makes perfect sense.

Takahashi: From the production side, apps often become just another deliverable. However, if development doesn't consider how to build customer relationships and sustain the business, the app quickly becomes unused. Isn't it precisely the apps that thoughtfully consider these relationships that can continuously respond to ever-changing customer demands?

Bunbun: I think traditional ads and campaigns often prioritized standing out. That's why there was a strong demand to create something different or unique. But with app UI, being unique doesn't always mean it's more user-friendly. We need to carefully consider where to apply uniqueness.

The app itself isn't the ultimate goal. What matters is the digital touchpoint with the customer.

 

Takahashi: For companies, apps are truly the gateway to digital utilization in the modern era. Precisely because of this, if they don't constantly face the customer's "now" as a tool for collecting consumer behavior, they become obsolete in the blink of an eye. It's crucial to have the mindset of considering how to invest in the digital future and how to accumulate know-how through apps, which are the closest point to customer actions.

Bunbun: Apps aren't the final form of customer touchpoints, so they may eventually be replaced by other tools. However, I believe the necessity for companies to continuously consider their digital touchpoints with customers remains unchanged.

Takahashi: What matters isn't the app itself, but how naturally we can create touchpoints between real people and digital technology. Considering current advancements in AI, IoT, autonomous driving, and other digital fields, it's entirely possible apps may become unnecessary in the future. Within this context, I believe it's important to view this as a transitional phase and approach it with a bird's-eye perspective. While this survey allows us to categorize the types of features companies currently offer, simply implementing them isn't enough. Rather, what matters is whether companies can consistently add the features users truly want for their services and brands. Furthermore, new technologies could enable much more advanced capabilities just six months from now. The real challenge going forward will be how much companies are aware of this and whether they can build systems capable of keeping pace with that speed.

Hibiya: Operating systems will continue to evolve, and what smartphones can do will increase year by year. Keeping up with these advancements and incorporating them into apps is essential for companies and creators.

Bunbun: It's not just about creating digital content and making it popular. Ultimately, it comes down to how we approach marketing and the business itself through digital means.

Takahashi: Thank you very much.