Consumers Crave Smartphone Apps and Texts Alerts

Physicians aren’t the only ones going mad for mobile. As cell phones, iPads, iPods, and other mobile devices continue to dominant the nation’s tech-crazed population, it only makes sense that consumers are taking to text messaging for their health alerts. According to a survey by the Consumer Health Information Corporation, a whopping 41% of consumers prefer to receive a reminder to perform a health-related task through a text message. That beats out the 15% who prefer to receive their reminders via email, although there is a strong likelihood that some of those preferring email communication are actually receiving via their mobile device anyway. In other words, it makes a lot of sense for pharmaceutical companies to come up with various programs designed to alert consumers about prescription refills, taking their meds, and any other pertinent information related to their medications. It’s just another way to ping consumers, and the assistance with their daily routine will be sure to encourage brand loyalty.

Here are some other interesting findings from the survey, which included 395 respondents:

• 26% of apps are downloaded and used only once
• Of the people who confirm using their apps, 74% drop out by the 10th use
• 26% of smartphone applications retain consumer loyalty and are used repeatedly
• 90.6% of respondents said that “ease of use” was the top feature that made applications favorable
• Consumers were most likely to use a health app to find information about drugs (42.2%) or disease states (26.5%
• 39.8% were willing to use such a health app several times a day
• The majority of consumers were either somewhat influenced by (55.8%) or very much influenced (32.2%) by consumer ratings of apps

So, after digesting the information above, what are some of the key takeaways? Well, for starters, an app should only be released when it is completely ready. A premature launch is too risky because consumers will surely uncover the faults of the application and expose them on message boards and in the “reviews” section of the app markets. This means that no app should be released until it is as user-friendly as possible. As seen above, 90% of consumers are looking for applications that are easy to use, and if things get too complicated it’s almost guaranteed that they will uninstall the application. The good news is that, if these pitfalls are avoided, chances are that a user-friendly, practical app will lead to 1) good reviews, 2) brand loyalty, and 3) word of mouth referrals and social media sharing.

The best strategy for uncovering ideas for worthwhile applications is to investigate the blogs and social media pages of whatever condition you are looking to create the app for. These are the best places to find the most outspoken consumers, and you may even consider reaching out to some patients to ask for their opinion before laying out the features you are looking to include. In the meantime, check out some of the links below:

Read more about the Consumer Health Information Corporation study at http://hcp.lv/kSTtvT.
Read more about pharma’s foray into the mobile marketplace so far at http://hcp.lv/iMMQKi.