“Mobile is the future of everything.” – Forbes This statement is right on point. Forbes is right in pointing out the validity of mobile phone applications. How have they become integral for the functioning of daily errands and businesses alike. The dependency on mobile apps is growing. Industries are employing the usage of mobile phone applications to make the most of technology and the perks of digitalization.
Mobile internet access has overtaken desktop internet usage big time. In 2018, more than 70 percent of all web traffic originated from mobile devices, up from 57 percent in 2017. Quartz estimated a jump of 80 percent in 2019. American adults are now spending an average of 3+ hours each day on their mobile gizmos browsing the internet, and only 2.2 hours on a desktop computer.
This should make apparent the importance of mobile phone applications. How integral are they to the growth and survival of today’s industries. However, this article will guide you on the important steps that should be taken to build a mobile apps. Companies outsource mobile app development services and it is a growing industry that is shaping the future. This includes all the learnings that have happened over the years in our career in mobile app development.
Why Mobile Applications Fail in the Market
The next given number might be a hard pill to swallow but out of every 10,000 apps developed, only won performs and clicks with the market while the rest fail. What does this mean for an entrepreneur? This means that the probability of the success of your app is meager in front of the probability of its failure. This shouldn’t discourage you from pursuing your dream app as only those apps are bound to fail that is ill-planned and executed. You should learn from the failures of other to arm yourself with useful information and mobile app development process steps to keep you on top of the game.
Mobile App Development Process Steps
We have explained the process of mobile app development with each step explained in detail so that you can avoid making the same mistakes that other app developers did and rather learn from it beforehand.
Mobile App Strategy as the Focus Point
If you’re aiming at creating a successful app, it should have a well-thought-out strategy in a place devoid of who is it for, who is going to create, and who is going to serve. The mobile app strategy briefly explained would be the creative effort to translate customer’s needs into an app. It can be used seamlessly to perform a specific task. The objective of a mobile app strategy is clear and simple: to help a customer carry out a specific task effectively and efficiently every time he uses the app to do so. Without a research and design strategy at every step of development, your app will go down the drain.
The probability of failure increases if you are stepping into an upcoming industry or a new niche. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a mover move at the strategy level later becomes the key reason for the failure of the app. There are more reasons, for sure, which are given below.
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Insufficient Market Research
The quality and quantity of the market research at the planning stage matter. How much do you know about your target market and your audiences? This should define the extent of your research and if it is enough to answer these questions. If your app doesn’t address the space for need and a problem in the market then chances are that people aren’t going to download it and that will be the end of it.
According to a report by SAP, close to 80 percent of mobile apps end up being abandoned just after their first use. Why? The answer to this should be evident from the quality of the research conduct and if your app doesn’t address the user’s needs.
This highlights the imp, importance of market research before app development, and what is that one solution that your app is going to address for your chosen audiences?
App Marketing Planning and Poor Execution of Activities
This comes later in the app development process steps and is a no-brainer but if you skip planning this step at the strategy level, your app will have a hard time recovering from the damage incurred. It revolves around decisions regarding the marketing of the app and how are you planning to advertise it to your targeted audiences. Do you have plans in place for app-install campaigns? Proper planning includes factors like ASO, SEO, PR push, etc. If you fail to plan the marketing stage at the strategy level and how are you going to capture the market then it’s a big fail.
Lack of Clearly Defined Objectives
The setting of certain objectives and goals aren’t just of motivational value but are paramount to the strategy and planning phase of the app creation. However, if you don’t set clearly defined achievable goals from the start then what are you pushing for? If you have clearly defined goals, it will guide you in the direction of work you need to put in. Ask yourself the following tough and important questions:
- What issue(s) will my app solve for the targeted market?
- Which will be my app’s selling point?
- What features will help my app stand out in the marketplace?
- What benefits should my app offer the user?
Invest in Designing and User Experience
It is important to invest in the UI and UX of the mobile app. An app can only survive if it has the best UI/UX granting user experience that is both interactive and intuitive. Customers opt for mobile apps that offer the best user experience and are pleasing to the eye. Therefore, If you’re looking to hire designers and developers for your custom mobile application development, you can search for different companies on the internet and choose the one according to your needs and requirements.