Every day, countless apps are downloaded onto iOS and Android mobile devices. We love our apps. They bring us food. They give us entertainment. They help us communicate with those we love. They help organize our lives. They help make our days more productive. They help keep us informed of the news. They allow us to enjoy our social media. They give us music. They remind us to take our pills. Most of us use them daily. What isn’t there an app for?
In 2018 alone, there were 194 billion app downloads. It’s supposed to be around 260 by 2022. That’s a pretty large market, especially when we remember that apps are all across the globe. Considering we can use them in almost any aspect of work or life, it’s hard to remember what life was like before their convenience. Not to mention, they’ve only been around really for the last ten years!
When it comes to your own mobile app development though, the numbers can be a bit intimidating. Mobile app development takes ingenuity, planning, and dedication, if you’re really hoping to make it a success. And yet, there’s also a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes out there regarding mobile app development and the best techniques and approaches to get the job done, and done well. Let’s break down a few things to help you get going on the right track.
- Outsourcing your mobile app development is bad for business
On the contrary, if someone else can do it better, outsourcing is something to take advantage of. The simple truth is that there’s nothing worse for your app than going in unprepared, overconfident, and with unrealistic expectations. Ever heard the expression, “It takes a village”? The same can be said of mobile apps, in a sense.
You need to know the market. You need to be familiar with the program. You need to know how to promote it. You need to know what the research shows. You need to have a plan. You need to have creativity. You need to have a method of execution. You need to have a vision. You need to understand the finance behind it. The list goes on and on. The truth is that it’s not a simple process. And since it’s not a simple process, if you’re on your own, you will miss important aspects.
It’s far better for your business to bring in professionals who know all the ins and outs, so that you don’t have to guess, and guess wrong. According to Digital Authority Partners, outsourcing your mobile app development can save time and resources, produce a better quality product, increase efficiency, rely on expertise, and eliminate potential in-house conflicts and problems.
- Once you’ve made it to launch, you’re in the clear
Mobile app development isn’t a sprint. When you think about it, it’s not even a marathon, either. It’s not a race at all. It’s more of a lifestyle change, if we want a metaphor to fit. You simply can’t develop an app to improve engagement and be done. There’s isn’t one finish line.
Think about the number of times you open your phone and it states that Facebook or Instagram or Angry Birds needs a new update. And these are some of the longest running apps. They’re constantly updating and improving.
For an app to be good, it has to be more than simply downloaded. It has to be kept, open, and used. Who cares if you make an app that is downloaded by your customers, but then never used.
What’s important is that even after the app is developed and launched, you continue to update, improve, and fix it. That’s what makes customers happy and responsive and more likely to use it. They want to feel seen and heard with feedback.
The key here is to focus on the analytics of your app usage, and make adjustments accordingly to improve the user experience. Use the data to guide your app development, especially after having launched it. Read the reviews. Respond to the ratings.
- There’s no point to developing an ap-, the website is plenty
Wrong. When an app is properly developed and expertly marketed, it can produce incredible effects on a company and their brand awareness. The benefits, financial and other, of having an app far outweigh the cost of producing it, when it’s done correctly and done well.
Consumers love the convenience and ease of using apps, which is why they’re so popular. There’s no need to open a search browser and type a site into the browser.
Not to mention, more searches are now being done on mobile devices rather than desktops. Additionally, app usage has started to surpass mobile website usage. People are using their apps more than their browsers, whether phone or computer.
The more people use their phones and apps for convenience, which means your company or brand needs to be ready to be part of that convenience. Plenty of websites don’t even have an user-friendly mobile version of their websites. Rather than take the risk, invest in an app.
- You don’t need to worry about marketing it if it’s really good concept
Nope. As with most concepts and products, marketing is a crucial step to success. There’s research conducted, and a plan is executed based on data and analytics.
Most companies (about 68%) who have successfully launched a mobile app, have some form of long-term marketing plan for their app and it’s continued development. Most companies also update their apps multiple times a year.
People need to know about an app, they need to know why they need it, and they need to see it work for them. All of this is just part of what the marketing is about. Marketing also helps companies to interpret data to see what is and isn’t working to help improve the customer experience.
We don’t live in an ideal world. It takes more than just good ideas to find success. Those good ideas need to be marketed, branded, and produced in a way that allows a volatile and ever-fluctuating consumer market, keeping on track of trends can be tricky.
Remember that while producing an app can have profound effects on a business, it’s more than just the development itself that counts. Find the right people, outsource where you need to, and be committed to the app even after it’s development.
