The Benefits Of Creating An App For Your Business
Research has shown that 88% of the time mobile users spend on their phones takes place on apps, a staggering statistic that represents the growing popularity of mobile devices and applications around the world. Yet many businesses still shy away from the prospect of creating their own app to tap into this ever-growing market. But why? For many, apps can seem like a risky expense, and they end up refraining from taking the leap.
If this sounds like you, or if you're still in need of a bit more motivation, here are some of the key benefits of creating your own app:
Efficient Customer Communication
One of the most significant benefits of creating an app for your business is the improved levels of communication that you can achieve with your customers. As part of its development, you can integrate direct messaging services that allow you to speak with users quickly and easily.
A Simplified Customer Journey
With your own app, you can personalize the journey for your customers and make the entire user process straightforward, from product browsing to checkout.
Increased Customer Loyalty
On an app, customers can establish long-term relationships with your brand. You can avoid the common online risk of an algorithm pushing customers away from your business, which can often be out of your control if you communicate with customers on another app or website.
Reduced Costs
Apps are brilliant tools for reducing your overall business costs – push notifications can alert customers to new offers or sales, so you can cut back on marketing fees. Referral offers for existing customers can also bolster your new customer acquisition rate in a cost-effective way.
What To Know Before Creating An App
So, if you know you want to create an app for your business, there are a few questions to consider before you jump straight into the creation stage.
Who Is Your Target Audience?
Your target audience will play a key role in your app's direction. Think about the people who'll be using it, and try to survey any existing customers if you can. This way, you can get an overview of the people who might use your app. Are they Apple or Android users? What are they expecting to see from your content? The more you know about your target audience, the more effectively you can tailor your app to them.
What Is Your Creation Timeframe?
Apps can be complex software or programs that might take time to develop. Do you have a specific timeframe in which you're expecting your app to be launch-ready, and has this been communicated to your team? Make sure that you are realistic about how quickly you can get your app to market so that you don't overpromise to your customers.
Who Are Your Closest Competitors?
It might seem counterproductive to be focusing any energy on your competitors, but understanding who they are is vital. If possible, use their app to see what they could have done better so that you can implement this into your own application.
Do You Have The Right Team?
Having the right team is the best way to prepare for your app's creation. If you're planning to build the app in-house, then you'll need experienced developers on site who can reliably plan and execute your app's construction. If you're opting for a white-label development company, make sure that they are thoroughly vetted and aligned with your vision.
Guide To Creating An App
Now that you're ready to go, it's time for the exciting part – creating your app! In this guide, we've outlined the 11 key steps to app creation that you should follow.
Brainstorm App Ideas
Whether you've got a clear vision for your app or still need some inspiration, it's vital that the final idea that you settle on is unique and meets the needs of both your business and customers. When brainstorming app ideas, try to put yourself in your customers' shoes – what is it that they need right now, and how can you deliver that to them? What would make their experience with your brand more enjoyable? Solving an existing problem is just one of the many approaches you can take while brainstorming app ideas.
Complete Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis is exactly what it says on the tin – it involves identifying who your competition is, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. It's a great tool to master when creating an app. Not only does competitive analysis allow you to predict how successful your app could be, but it can also give you more confidence as you approach investors or stakeholders. After all, through comprehensive competitive analysis, you can be confident that your app will bring something new and unique to the table.
Formulate Your App Strategy
Now that you have a general idea for your new app, as well as some ideas about how you can fend off the competition, it's time to start putting together your app strategy. Essentially, an app strategy is simply a plan for how you will build and market your app from start to finish. Creating an app strategy can include drawing up user flows, sketching wireframes or planning how you'll approach promotion, but it should act as a defined process that can be followed by your team.
Sketch Your App User Flow
Surprisingly, user flows are one of the most neglected stages of app creation, but they are actually one of the most essential elements to get right, as they directly affect the end user. A user flow is a diagram that depicts how a user will navigate your app from start to finish, and should highlight the different functions that they might use as they do so. For instance, a new user might need to be directed straight to an account setup page, whereas it should be easy for an existing user to browse your products and services before reaching a checkout area.
Create An App Wireframe
Despite their technical-sounding name, wireframes are one of the most exciting elements of app creation. In simple terms, they are rough sketches that determine the necessary functionality for your app, sometimes with links between related pages. Initially, you can prioritize Lo-Fi (low-fidelity) wireframes, which offer a general overview, rather than go into any detailed information.
It doesn't matter if you aren't artistic when it comes to making wireframes, as even if you aren't confident enough to make a handmade version, there are some excellent software options that can automate the process for you. This will leave you with professional Lo-Fi wireframes that your designers will thank you for.
Pinpoint Your MVP
In the early stages of app creation, it's easy to let your mind wander thinking about all of its amazing possibilities – and we've all been there! However, initially, it's vital to center your app's development around exactly what the end user will want and need, avoiding anything too technical.
To do this, try to pinpoint your MVP, or Minimum Viable Product. An MVP is the version of your app that comprises the absolute minimum in terms of what your end users will be able to access. By only developing the core functionality of your app, you can test its usability and popularity while meeting your primary objectives, without wasting precious resources.
Secure App Funding
Funding applications are a daunting process for any business owner or start-up founder, and if you're new to the world of app creation, the financial side of things might not come naturally. However, if you want your app to take off and be as successful as possible, then you'll need to make sure that sourcing capital is in place at every step of the way. There are three main ways that you can source capital for your app creation:
Bootstrapping
A common funding method for start-ups, bootstrapping is the process of using personal savings, or borrowed money from friends and family, to launch your app and get off the ground.
Sourcing Capital
For organizations or businesses that operate in the public sector, capital sourcing opportunities exist in the form of government or philanthropical donations. If you think your app might fall into this category, you can approach a local authoritative body for advice and see if you qualify.
Financing
More often than not, it's likely that your app will fall into the private sector, and you may therefore need to look into financing options instead. By pitching your business and app development plan to potential investors, financing can be attained from banks, venture capitalists, or private individuals.
However you decide to fund your app, make sure that you have your finances in order before diving too far into the creative process.
App Development
App development defines the process through which a computer program is built to carry out the functionality of your app. Depending on your app strategy, your product might be created as a web or mobile-based application, but it will require a team of experienced developers to complete it. When planning your project, it's important to remember that you will need to consider both Front End (customer-side) and Back End (server-side) development to ensure that your app not only works, but also looks great to the end user.
Market Your App
Marketing is best thought about as a journey on which you take your customers, from the very first time they hear about your app to the moment they become regular users. As part of your initial research and competitive analysis, you should have developed an idea of who your target audience is and how you can connect with them. The best approach to marketing is to cater your strategy around your findings.
A good app marketing strategy can include app store optimization, inbound and outbound customer communication methods, and the gathering of user feedback.
Test Your App
If there's one element of the app creation process in which you shouldn't cut corners, it's the user testing stage. Often, once start-up founders see a working demo, excitement can take over and leave them rushing to get the product into the app store and onto the devices of customers. However, with around 23% of apps being used just once, it's vital that the version you offer to customers is perfect, and app user testing is a great way to make sure of this.
App User testing works by putting a completed version of the app into the hands of your target audience, requesting sincere feedback that can highlight any usability issues or suggestions for improvement. This is a great way to identify whether your app is truly ready for release.
Optimize Your App
So, what happens if you've finally created the perfect app for your target audience, but find yourself struggling to get any downloads? Both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store are maintained by an algorithm that determines how high available apps rank on their search results, so sometimes your app can simply get drowned out by the level of competition. ASO, or App Store Optimization, is the process of formatting your app to rank higher through its description, keywords, and other key details. This opens the door to new customers, as more people will be seeing your app when they look for their next download.
