As mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets become more and more popular, so does mobile apps. I am sure you have heard the Angry Bird type stories. The ones where somebody creates an app and it blows up. When this happens it can take an average person and make them a millionaire. This is like winning the lottery. Unfortunately, everyone that has attempted to create a mobile app is not a millionaire. In fact most mobile apps fail. So if you are looking at creating a mobile app what can you do so that your mobile app will have a better chance at success? Well, you should start by asking yourself these 8 questions.
- Why Am I Doing This? Understanding what the purpose of your app is will help you throughout the entire project. It will even help you as you begin to market your app. If you are creating an app for your business it will obviously have different features and functionality’s than a game app.
- Who Is It For? Is your new app going to be for your employees or are you attempting create an app that you are going to market to the open public? If you do decide to create a mobile app that is for open public this will obviously have different functionality than an app that may be created for your employees. Another thing to consider when asking who is this app going to be for is who is your target audience. This can impact design and functionality. If your target audience is for teens it will designed entirely different than if your target audience is to adults between the ages of 20 and 50.
- What Problem Am I Solving? This one will likely not apply if you are attempting to design a game. This can be an important question to ask while coming up with an app to create because people love apps that solve problems that they are having. You may think that it is difficult to come up with an app idea that will solve a problem. However, this is simply not the case. Think about all the times you said, “I wish they had this or that”. We all feel that way numerous times a week but most of us never act on it and then forget about our idea until it appears on the shelves or in an app store. That is why I would suggest beginning to write all of your ideas down and then reviewing them to see if you want to explore creating an app to solve the problem. I promise you that if it is a problem for you then there are many other people out there that are struggling with the same problem.
- What Would Make Your App Unique? This is going to be what sets your app apart from other apps out there and give you a distinct advantage. If you have something that sets your app apart from anything out their on the market today then when customers are comparing your app with others in the same category they will likely choose your app. This will help you gain users and income. After all most people who create an app have some type of financial motivation. Yes, even if it is for their business. They are looking either looking at creating an app for their customers to drive sales or are creating an app to help make their business more efficient. In any case it is to ultimately get a return on their investment.
- Where Should I Begin? There are numerous operating systems in which you can design an app for. My suggestion would be to only design it for the two biggest ones which are Apple and Android. Most users in America are using either an Android or Apple mobile device.
- Who Should I Get To Make My App A Reality? Choosing the right company could make all the difference in the world. If you choose a company that does sub par work they could make it so that your great idea never gets off the ground. A great company will create a mobile app that exceeds your expectations and if your idea and marketing is up to par you will be successful. If you are trying to be successful don’t look for the cheap way out. Find a company that will take your dream and make it a reality.
- What Do Customers Expect? If you want to gain new users through word of mouth which can be huge, especially in today’s world day of social media, then you must make sure that their experience is 5 star. What does this mean. Well, they should be able to any screen on your app with in 3 clicks. This also means the speed of the app is great. Nobody wants to try and use an app that is constantly freezing or is extremely slow. Nobody and I mean nobody wants to be reminded of the days where dial up was the best internet we add.
- How Do I Use Social Media? As mentioned above, social media is going to play a huge role in your apps success. You want as many users as possible to share your mobile app on their social media pages. This is how you can get your app to go viral. To accomplish this you want to make sure that they can share your app on Facebook and other social media sites with one click. On creative way to get them to share your app is allow them to invite their social media friends to download the app. Secondly, you will want to make sure that your app has a Facebook page that people can like and get updated information on. Last but not least, remember to share with all your friends and family and ask them to share it on their walls as well. This can be a great start.
When creating a mobile app there is no way to guarantee that you will be successful. However, by answering these 8 questions it could lead you down a path that you never expected. If you aren’t successful right away don’t sweat it. Learn from the mistakes you made and fix the issues. Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean you will be successful you need to make sure to put in the time and effort to make your idea stand out.