6 Ways To Keep Users Engaged With Wearables
Wearable technology has made great strides in the consumer electronics market over a short period of time. As innovators are constantly looking for creative ways to make high-quality tech accessible to everyone, marketers are still struggling to ensure users are finding value from their wearable devices.
A study from Endeavor Partners showed that although wearable devices may appear to be beneficial to people’s lives, one third of users stop engaging with their wearable device within six months. So, the big question is:
“How can we maintain user engagement and excitement about wearable products?”
To answer this, I spoke with several industry leaders during the recent Wearable Internet of Things Conference in Santa Clara, CA, and gained valuable insights into thechallenges commonly seen in the industry from:
- Carlos Ortiz, IoT Technologist from Kii
- Cayley Wetzig, Founder and CEO from BELLE
- Justin Leong, Lead Product Designer from Olio Devices
Here are 6 ways wearable companies can extend user engagement with their products:
1) Seamless Form Factor
Look at what your target customers wear everyday to better understand what form factor works best for achieving their desired goals.
The wearable device should appear natural and authentic to the users. It is particularly important to integrate fashion into the tech as the physical appeal of the device is the first step to acquiring users.
For example, the classic, luxurious look of an Olio Devices watch projects success, status, and achievement. Its physical appeal attracts young professionals who have established their careers and find that the watch symbolizes their success.
Similarly, BELLE’s wearable resonates with the female audience, as it is designed to look more like jewelry than a fitness tracker or self-defense alarm. However, statistics from a Huffington Post article show that “51% of women feel unsafe when they are alone in parks and 67% believe popular culture tells boys that they are entitled to abuse their girlfriends”. This shows that the alarm is an important feature for the target audience. For that reason, when it comes to designing a self-defense gadget, it is important for it to be concealable, yet comfortable to carry and easy to access.
2) Real-time and Relevant Information
Wearables shouldn’t be seen or used as a replacement for their cell phone. They are more valuable if a user can get things done easily on the wearable device and access the most relevant information for their current needs without getting distracted or disengaged with other people.
Justin Leong, the Lead Product Designer at Olio Devices, believes in the 3–5 second rule. If a user spends more than 3–5 seconds on a wearable device to find the information they need, then why bother to wear a wearable when he can simply pull out his phone?
Olio smart watches are designed to enhance productivity and efficiency for young professionals by providing them with the right information at the right time. Whether it be a quick reminder pop-up, easy access to their music, or a push notification for upcoming meetings, emails, and calls; it should take a user no longer than 3 to 5 seconds to extract the exact information that he or she needs to know.
A similar rule holds true for BELLE wearables in situations where users sense danger. In order to ensure users’ safety, Cayley Wetzig explained that the alarm function provides an immediate solution to users’ urgent needs. The police receive an alert within two seconds when the user presses a small button on the ring.
3) Delightful App Experience
Ensure a delightful user-experience and a smooth transition between the wearable and mobile app to help drive sales.
Customer experience is priceless.
When users see the value of owning a wearable device, make sure they also recognize the same benefits from the wearable’s dedicated app. The user should be able to navigate the app, extract data, and understand the information with minimal effort.
Once users experience an easy transition from wearable to app, they are more likely to continue using the app, proving a huge opportunity for marketers to target users through real-time ads.
Take Carlos Ortiz’s example. If a user owns a wearable and is also subscribed to a shopping mall app, brands could easily push out notifications about their promotions to the wearable as soon as the user enters the mall. Real-time ads have the potential to increase traffic to the store and lead to greater sales volume. In return, users are delighted to wear the device in order to receive discounts.
4) Community-Building
Let your user be your brand advocate. In order to keep them engaged with your brand, create a platform where they feel a sense of belonging and are inclined to share their experience.
Community — > Social Impact — > Change
“BELLE has three components -Health, Fashion, Safety. The ring is designed to symbolically represent women as beautiful, strong, and confident. My vision is to empower and help women to live their lives to the fullest” — Cayley Wetzig, BELLE
Nurturing a community of users is very powerful in building strong brand awareness and keeping your customers engaged. Make like-minded users form an inclusive network, so they feel special and want to share information with others. Therefore, your product can grow quicker if you provide an avenue for users to build a close community.
Take BELLE as an example, the company’s mission is to empower women with a wearable ring that symbolizes beauty, confidence, and perseverance. When women who wear the ring come together, they feel connected and naturally create a community where they feel comfortable sharing their stories, experiences, and knowledge. Since BELLE is also a fitness tracker, women can see the tracking app as an avenue for them to make new friends, encourage one another to stay fit, and have a social impact.
5) Everlasting Battery Life
Prolong the battery life and ensure the wearable is energy efficient.
A wearable with short battery life will lose its value very quickly. Users get frustrated when they need to recharge the wearable every day. Oftentimes, users forget to wear it after recharging and that will ultimately discourage use.
6) The WOW-ness
Think creatively and strategically for ways to WOW the customers so they are hungry for more and never want to stop engaging with the wearable.
In order to fulfill their potential as the next big thing, wearables need to be constantly evolving, upgrading, and providing new high performance features that can further enhance every-day tasks. A couple examples include having the ability to detect hydration levels or providing a hands-free alternative to car keys when a user’s hands are full with groceries. In other words, utilize the right data given by the users and offer meaningful information they don’t already have. Think of cross-selling and up-selling opportunities to WOW the customers and make them wonder how else a wearable can improve their lives.
I’m a Growth Marketer at Tradecraft working with Thomas Martino and providing growth strategy consulting for some high growth startups. If you have any questions or comments about this blog post, or interested in working with me, please drop me an email at msham@tradecrafted.com
BIG THANKS to Carlos Ortiz, Cayley Wetzig, and Justin Leong for providing the insights for me to write this medium post.
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