A couple of years ago, if we asked around, every business would have expressed interest in developing a mobile app. Even today, businesses are eager to develop mobile apps, motivated by a number of factors. With more than 3.5 million Android apps and close to 2.5 million iOS apps, it might seem like you are missing out on a lot of things by not offering an application to your users. Yet, more than just getting a mobile app developed, assessing customer needs, your market strategy, and industry scenario are all more important factors to consider.
A successful mobile enhances user satisfaction and brings value to your customers. Sometimes, enhancing a website for mobile use may be a better option. Even more important is the task of finding the right agency which will help you to develop a winning mobile app.
To make your mobile app a success, spend some time assessing your needs, market situation, and your customer requirements. In this article, we help you do just that by listing 7 important questions you need to ask before getting a mobile app developed.
What started out as a game-changing development soon became a trend, leading to businesses developing mobile apps whether they needed it or not. Playing catch-up, or doing what everyone else is doing, is not the way to go when it comes to technology adoption. There may be a good reason why your business does not need mobile applications. If your product or service is more likely to be accessed over a website, investing in mobile-optimised responsive web development might be a better solution.
Progressive Web Applications (PWA) and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) may prove to be better solutions for your need than a mobile app developed for iOS and Android platforms. Progressive Web Applications are also great when your users are located in places where the internet connection is unreliable or slow. Flipkart’s Flipkart Lite is a great example of Progressive Web Applications.
Hastily developing a mobile app to impress your target audience or your competitors may have just the opposite of the intended effect.
If you think you do need a mobile app, and that is a matter of concern for your profitability, competitiveness, and customer experience, explore what the purpose of the mobile is going to be. The app could serve the purpose of selling a product or service, or it could simply enhance customer experience. The purpose of developing a mobile can greatly vary. Sometimes, a mobile app may serve multiple purposes. Spend time deliberating on why you want the mobile app, which problems it is going to solve, and what its long-term purpose is going to be.
Developing a mobile app without a purpose may cause long-term damage to your brand, and may result in the wasteful expenditure of resources. Many studies indicate that people uninstall or stop using a majority of mobile apps after downloading and installing them.
For a mobile app to be successful, it should be developed with the target user in mind. Always try to understand your audience deeply, and use data insight to do so. Data analytics helps you to test and retest your ideas for efficacy so that your investment in mobile development is not wasted. A mobile application should suit the lifestyle of your target users and should be intimately tied to their personal identities.
We recently developed a mobile game for a US veteran who lost his eyesight and wanted to launch a mobile game for people who are visually challenged. There was a clear understanding of who the target audience was, and the challenges they may encounter while playing the mobile game. To compete with the millions of mobile apps that are out there, make sure that you understand your target user at an intimate level. Otherwise, your mobile app will risk being ignored.
Every mobile app should not only help you make profits, but also solve a customer problem. If not solve a problem, it should enhance the user experience. If your mobile app is not going to add value to your target users, then it risks being ignored after being downloaded. To help develop a mobile app that truly solves your customer problems, understand their pain points and explore how your mobile app could address those pain points.
If there are no pain points to be addressed, explore if you can bring a “wow” factor to the table. If your mobile app is going to present a revolutionary experience or concept to the user, then it is going to be successful. Sometimes, reducing the duration of certain processes and making your customers’ lives simpler are reasons enough to develop mobile apps. However, you will need to back up your reasons with deep data insights.
Before you decide on developing a mobile app, consider how and where it is going to be used. You will have to choose between native mobile apps and cross-platform mobile apps. Native mobile apps are developed for iOS and Android (usually) using programming languages that are native to the device’s OS, such as Objective C and Swift for iOS devices, and Java for Android devices. Native mobile apps offer a better user interface and excellent user experience. They also make use of all the features a platform has to offer. However, they tend to be more expensive, challenging, and time-consuming projects.
Cross-platform mobile apps can be used on both Android and iOS devices, and multiple versions of the code need not be written, leading to reduced expenditure and saved time. However, the user experience will not be as great as that of native apps and your mobile app will not be able to make use of all the features that each platform offers.
A successful mobile app needs to have a monetisation strategy. If you do not plan to monetise your mobile app, and simply want to launch it as a value-added service to your target users, you will make a huge mistake. Make sure that you consider in-app purchase models, running contests, third-party endorsements, display ads within apps, subscription models, etc. A truly experienced consultant will help you to monetise your app so that it is not just an ego-trip.
A mobile app is also a great way to run successful customer loyalty programs. Use your mobile app to offer discounts, coupons, and targeted rewards. In addition, do bear in mind that a mobile app is sometimes the best way to promote your brand. And brand promotion has both direct and indirect monetisation benefits.
Once you have decided on the kind of mobile app you want, and you have a rough idea of what you want, speak to the professionals. They should be able to advise you further, make changes to your rough ideas, and give it a form that results in success. Choose a mobile development agency that comes with years of experience. Experience truly matters when it comes to mobile development.
Look for client references and seek case studies to study their previous work. If they have won any awards for their work, you should give them brownie points. Also, make sure that the partner gives you a holistic technology solution and not just a partner who specialises in one language or platform. They should be able to tell if you need mobile website optimisation, a cross-platform mobile app, or a native app, and should be able to help you with whatever your business needs.
Do not forget to consider their work culture, customer service, and post-development maintenance before signing a contract.
Seek the digital help you need
As you can see, developing a mobile application a lot more complicated than it might seem on the surface. There is a good chance that you may need a mobile-optimised website than a mobile application. If you actually need a mobile application, you need to ask both business and technology-related questions, before choosing an agency that will help you reach success. The upcoming Digital Success Summit (DSS) – 2018 aims to help businesses to adopt digital technology smoothly.
As today’s digital growth is driven by mobile adoption, Indus Net Technologies has decided to encourage industry leaders, business entities, and entrepreneurs to carefully deliberate and pose both simple and hard questions before deciding on mobile app development. Mobile adoption will continue to grow phenomenally, and the decision between developing a mobile app, a mobile-optimised website, or both, should be made very carefully.
If you are wondering if developing a mobile app is the right choice for your company, and you wish to seek more informed opinions on this matter, do not hesitate to speak to us at the DSS event. Our representatives will be glad to answer your questions personally. If you can’t make it to the summit, feel free to contact us digitally.
