Since I work in App Marketing it’s the heaviest thing I’ve had to do … Removing and re-uploading an app to the Google Play Store is not as weird as it seems, big companies have done it, an example is Movistar with its application “Yomvi”, one day your app stopped working I downloaded the new or goodbye to all its features. Today we are going to see the necessary steps to make an efficient app change, although at the marketing level it is a put … CHALLENGE! Let’s call it a challenge ?The challenge to start from scratch, get to win positions in the top charts, migrate users efficiently, communicate a significant change for the user, manage assessments and negative ratings, etc. In short, to start over #Senior Vice President Email List
Steps to remove and re-upload an app on the Play Store
- Impact evaluation
We are already clear that we have to do it, it is an irrevocable business decision, there is no going back … First we must know what the consequences of our decision will be, which will allow us to anticipate and reduce the impact.
For example, some of the problems that we may face are; loss of users, negative reviews, drop in rankings and top chats, confusion among users, sanctions by Google for duplicity of file, problems with associated applications of Facebook, etc.
- Design of the communication strategy
To minimize the impact to the users we must design a communication strategy that explains why and facilitates the change as much as possible. We are going to lose users, it is clear, but we must try that the most faithful and active do not stop trusting us.
We can perform Email Marketing actions and use the brand channels in RRSS to communicate the change.
- Redesign of the “old” app
We must help, the most clumsy, to identify the old app with respect to the new app, to realize that it is seeing an “old” application, in disuse.
One option that I really like is to put the screenshots of the tab and the icon in gray. Also accompany it with a title that includes an “out of service”. All this without updating the file, we leave it ready.
- New look and feel for the “new” app
Our new app must have differentiating elements, new colors, more modern icon … Sensation of novelty. If we had thought to make a change of identity is the best moment. In the example of the following image you can see a change, not excessive, but better than nothing. - Upload the new app
New applications need a few hours for Google to give approval and we have them available. Once it is approved we have to be fast and be alert, right now we have two applications in the store and users can go into shock.
- If we also have a budget to carry out a User Acquisition campaign, much better. Our App Store Optimization (ASO) will rise like foam and we will make everything go much faster.
It is important to keep in mind, that being a new app, our campaigns will also focus on users who had the old app but do not have the new one.
- We update the “old” app
On the one hand, we developed a configuration so that when it opens, an error message appears that invites to download the new one.
On the other hand, we updated the Play Store tab with the changes we had set (screenshots and gray icon, new title, new description, …) It is important for users who arrive by organic search to make no mistake about the application.
