It seems like there is an app for everything. In many cases, there are often multiple apps available to perform the same tasks, but in different ways. Given the plethora of choices, many users are wary when it comes to using new SaaS apps and if you don’t take the necessary steps to ensure that your app instills trust right away, they’ll stop using your app just as fast as they created an account.
It seems like there is an app for everything. In many cases, there are often multiple apps available to perform the same tasks, but in different ways. Given the plethora of choices, many users are wary when it comes to using new SaaS apps and if you don’t take the necessary steps to ensure that your app instills trust right away, they’ll stop using your app just as fast as they created an account.
If you want to deliver a great product that your users will want to use and pay for, you need to increase trust in your app. A 2014 study, conducted by the PR firm Cohn & Wolfe, found that the #1 quality people demand of big brands is honesty about their products and services.
Fortunately, there are design features that you can include that do just that! Here are 5 features that increase trust in your SaaS app.
1. Useful Real Time Notifications
Creating a user experience that alerts users when different processes are taking place within your app is the best way to help users feel that they are in control. Notifications about app processes, such as loading notifications, will help to prevent users from worrying that your app is malfunctioning during a normal app process.
You should also consider adding warnings when a user is performing an action that might produce results that user probably doesn’t want. For example, letting a user know that there are scheduling conflicts when scheduling a task or that the design options selected are not within their printer’s capabilities are user-friendly notifications that your SaaS app should include.
2. Transparency
To instill trust, your SaaS app should be transparent with regard to how information that is stored by the app will be used. Most businesses are already wary of using third-party apps for business, given the inherent data security risks. In addition, you’ll also need to gain the trust of the IT professionals who will select SaaS app vendors for their companies.
Make sure that you let your users know what your app does to protect a company’s proprietary data and to secure users’ financial information. You should also make the terms and conditions and privacy policy for your app highly visible by including links to them from within your app, as well as, the sales website where your SaaS app is available.
3. APIs
APIs allow your SaaS application to interact and share information with other firms. Making sure your app works with products that your users already use can help to instill trust because users know that established SaaS companies will only allow your product to continue interfacing with their SaaS apps if you provide a quality and trustworthy service that is beneficial to the larger company’s users.
Likewise, you can also use APIs to make your own services available to third-party developers across many different platforms, including tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs. This is a strategy that the Harvard Business Review says can help to establish a competitive advantage for your company.
In fact, Uber used this same approach to deploy UberFresh, a food-delivery system and UberRush, a package delivery service. Using APIs demonstrates to potential developers that you are confident enough in your product to open it up to third-parties so that they can build new services on top of it.
4. Reliable Support
If you want users to feel comfortable with using your SaaS app, let them know that help is just a click away. When customers contact support, their emotions are already running high. They’re likely to be upset that a feature of your app isn’t working properly.
Worse, they could be concerned about incorrect charges on their credit or debit cards that could cause them to overdraft or go over their allotted spending limits. By understanding that customers expect their issues to be resolved promptly and with empathy, you can retain paying customers and reduce the risk of negative reviews by bloggers for your app.
To reduce the number of support requests, consider providing in-app tutorials for easy onboarding. Make sure to include an FAQ section to answer common questions that users can refer to before creating a new support request or before using your SaaS app for the first time.
5. Reviews and Feedback
If you want to get more users for your app, you need to show potential users that your SaaS app has a vibrant community. You can do this by making it easy for your users to share feedback, which also lets them know that you take their opinions seriously. Consider developing a user forum on your support website for this purpose.
You should also be aware of how users use reviews in order to decide whether or not they’d like to try an app. Most users don’t only look at one review article. They also take the time to read through the blogs that have reviewed your SaaS to get multiple opinions about your app.
They are often looking for things that look suspicious, such as reports about data breaches or undisclosed charges, as well as, reports about bugs and other app functionality issues. Therefore, it is your job to deliver a superior product that will ensure glowing reviews. You can also reach out to bloggers to ask them to review your app in order to help you identify potential issues before you officially launch your app.
Final Thoughts
Great design is the main pillar of a trustworthy app. If you want to ensure that your SaaS app delivers the best first impression possible, you should consider investing in User Acceptance Testing (UAT). This offers users a chance to test your app so that you can get feedback on it. Their responses can help you to identify obvious flaws that could hinder the growth of your app.
At Achievion, we have worked with some of the world’s top companies, delivering secure, reliable SaaS apps that feature user-friendly designs and flexible features. To learn how we can help you design a trustworthy app that is positioned for rapid adoption by your audience, take 30 minutes to talk with us today.
