AutoTrader Iphone app goes live...

We have just launched our new iPhone app for motoring website Auto Trader yesterday, which contains car listings and reviews, as well as a number plate recognition tool.

It's potentially a very useful app, so I've been seeing how user-friendly it is...

Car search tools

Users of the app can search by make and model, while a postcode is also required. This can be typed in, or the app will detect your location and use that as the starting point for a search.

To select a make and model, users need to scroll down and select these from the drop-down menu, which can be a bit annoying, especially if you want to search for VW or Volvo.

With 100+ car manufacturers in the list, this could be made easier, by allowing users to key in the first letter and jump to the relevant point in the list.

Users can specify other parameters in their search, such as distance from the postcode entered, or price. Price and mileage can be adjusted by using a slider tool, which looks good.

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For more specific searches, there are advanced options, allowing users to specify mileage, transmission, fuel type and more, as well as adding a keyword to the search, which is a useful addition if you have a particular model in mind.

Search results

The results are clear, and give key details on price, model, mileage etc, as well as a small photo of the car. Results can also be sorted by price, proximity, mileage, age etc.

Car details

Depending on the level of detail and the number of photos added by the seller, the listings can be very useful.

Technical specifications, such as performance and economy are included for each car, which could very useful when checking out cars on a dealer's forecourt:

A detailed review is provided of each car, examining different aspects of performance, safety, reliability, and providing an overall score:

Larger version of photos can be viewed by turning the phone horizontally or clicking on the pictures, though it is unclear how to get back to the car details page after viewing pictures:

Number plate recognition

The USP of the Auto Trader app is the number plate recognition tool, which allows you to take a photo of a number plate, then returns results for that make and model.

This removes the need to spend time searching, and allows you to quickly look up details of a car they have just spotted on the roadside and find similar cars for sale nearby.

It also allows for easy price comparison, so if you are looking at a second hand car on a dealer's forecourt, you can easily check other dealers in the area to see if you are getting a good deal.

Crucially, it works well, as long as you take a clear photo in the first place. One you have the photo, simply pinch and zoom the photo so it fits in the rectangle on the screen, and then submit the photo:

Within a few seconds, you will see details of the make and model, with reviews and technical specs, as well as the option to search listings for similar cars.

The Auto Trader app is one of the first apps to do used car searches!

With an excellent review score on the App Store so far (No.1) , hopefully it should become a very popular app...

What does it take to make a successful iPhone application?

Before answering what does it take to make a successful iPhone application we have to define what makes an application successful. Sapient always asks why are we building something, what are we trying to achieve, and how are we going to measure it; so starting from top down, what are the business objectives, the key performance indicators, and all metrics. iPhone applications usually serve one of two purposes: drive brand or drive revenue.

Objective: Drive brand
Applications that drive brand most likely are free since they have to target a broad reach. Objective is usually increase awareness, brand recall, or word of mouth, and is traditionally measured based on simple downloads, usage, and extended with how many share with friends, stickiness, and engagement levels. A good way to take it one step further is tie in social media monitoring and analyze share and velocity of voice, general sentiment, and overall impact of the application within social conversations.

Now that we understand how to measure it, what will the application do? Nowadays brands cannot push messages to the consumers, they have to provide value and we generally call it brand as an enabler. Applications that drive brand usually fall under one of two categories: be entertaining or be useful. Entertaining applications usually have a wider adoption, more downloads, but less engagement as users open it just a few times before they get bored. Useful applications have a smaller reach but higher engagement; less users will download the application, but they will use it much more than simple entertainment applications. However the key for both types is simplicity.

Objective: Drive Revenue
Revenue can be driven directly by the application, or indirectly but multi-channel tie-in with retail and stores. Indirect revenue usually aims to drive users to store fronts, partners, or provide reasons for the user to purchase products or services. Whereas direct revenue is generated by the application. Measurement towards these objectives are always dollars.

Direct revenue can be generated from advertising or downloads, and both have different strategies. Revenue from advertising is similar to brand-driven applications: it aims to reach as many users as possible by providing free entertaining or utilities, and collect revenue through 3rd party advertising. However, download revenue can be a little more complex as it involves pricing strategy.

The secret to maximize download revenue is pricing. The most popular paid applications are priced between $0.99 and $3.99, with predominant 99 cent applications. These applications are what we call the big-fast-sales. Most users download them and use them once or twice; they’re predominantly entertainment and provide small value to the consumer, but the mass download provides great initial revenue and then stops. The most grossing applications are actually priced between $4.99 and $9.99 at 44% and account for 44% of revenue. These applications are downloaded less, but used much more often as usually they do provide value.


Conclusion
So what does it take to make a successful iPhone application? You need a strategy, know what you want, how to get there, and how to measure. Keep it simple, make it engaging, and provide means to share and pass-along