About 38 percent of users appear unsatisfied with the apps available to them, a survey by Harris Interactive (News - Alert) has found. The survey of 781 online adults ,who download and use mobile apps, said they are not satisfied with most of the apps currently available from their favorite brand name companies and 69 percent agree that if a brand name mobile app is not useful, helpful or easy to use it results in a negative perception about the brand.

About 76 percent of mobile application users agree that all brand name companies and organizations should have mobile apps to make shopping or interacting with them easier, the study sponsored by EffectiveUI, suggests.

The study also found that the majority of mobile phone users, who download and use applications, choose to download those apps based on recommendations and good user experience rather than the brand name company or organization that released it.

The study also suggests users have high expectations for organizations’ and brands’ mobile apps. In fact, 73 percent of mobile app users agree that they expect a company’s mobile app to be easier to use than its website.

Every company, large and small, thinking about creating a mobile application should take into consideration the fact that mobile is an important piece of the overall customer experience, EffectiveUI believes. 

“The results of our survey are quite telling, and further proof that organizations must invest more in the user experience of their mobile apps, rather than rely solely on the brand,” said Rebecca Flavin, CEO of EffectiveUI, in a press release. 

Some of the early disappointment is likely caused by brands creating apps before they really have a good grasp of why and how to do that. 

Make sure your feature set fits the mobile experience: Too often, companies try to put the same features in their mobile device as their website. While drilling down is fine on the Web, mobile users tend to act more linearly a mobile application, Flavin said.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive among 2,250 adults ages 18 and older and Oct. 5 to Oct. 7, among 2,098 adults ages 18 and older, for a combined total of 4,348 adults ages 18 and older.