Let’s face it, the majority of users download the app based on it’s first impression. Most of the time, the first impression users usually have is the reviews left for your app on the app store. You have spent time and money to build your mobile app and launched it. As you steadily get users, there will come a time when you will get a dreaded one star review. To add to your trouble, the user leaves vague feedback saying “This app does not work at all. Fake app, uninstalled it”.

The whole world seems to come crashing down on you. We know, we have been there. At times like these, take a deep breath and formulate a plan on how you plan to encounter this negative review. At AppDevelopers.ie, we have helped our clients monitor their app store review, and always strive to keep it at 4-5 stars – but occasionally things slip through. Based on our experience, here’s how you should handle negative reviews:

Crash Detection

Most of the time users frustration might be with the app crashing on their devices. Ensure that you use a service like Crashlytics or Fabric to know about crashes way before users complain about it. Crashlytics / Fabric allows you to see everything about the user right from their device model to the cellular network, so you don’t have to ask the dreaded “Can you please tell more about this bug?.”

Inform the user when they reach out to you, that you are working on the bug fix and will release a version.

Device Support

When you launch your app ensure that your app is supported on most of the devices and well tested on it. If you are unsure of a device model then don’t provide support for it. If you think, however, that the device is important – test it using a service like AWS Device farm and provide support.

If you don’t provide support for a device model, users of that particular device model won’t be able to download your app and leave negative reviews.

Communicate with Users

When I install an app I look for negative reviews and see how the company has responded to it. Both Apple as well as Google provide the ability to reply to reviews. So when you see a negative review, inform the user about the issue or ask more details politely.

If you do this on every negative review you get, it sends a message out to potential users that you care deeply about fixing the bugs in your app and will solve it.

This message could be something as simple as “Hey User, Sorry that you are facing issues with our app. Could you please drop us a mail with support@ourapp.com and we will look into it.”

While building apps, we have to understand that it is a long term process and it will take time to perfect your app. So when you get your negative reviews don’t be discouraged. Rather take it as an opportunity to improve your app and answer them promptly.

At AppDevelopers.ie we stick with our clients and help them fix bugs that users report on their review section. This is what making us become the leading app development agency in Ireland. Contact us today and we will set up a free consultation for your app idea.