Embarking on the journey of creating an app for your business is a venture filled with immense potential. Research indicates that the majority of people prefer to use a dedicated app for businesses, and smartphone users are spending 4 hours online each day, 88% of that time is spent using apps. This is further reinforced by Bryj’s findings that 64% of consumers are more likely to use a retail app than a website. These statistics paint a promising picture of an app’s impact on your business, sparking optimism and excitement about the possibilities.
However, apps aren’t just for the customer; they can be valuable resources and additional tools for your employees, too. You can build a range of functions and services that all employees can easily access to direct queries, resolve issues, provide FAQs, and provide contact points.
Regardless of why you want to build an app, you need to make important considerations to ensure it is fully functional and suitable for the audience it will be directed to.
Do You Need It?
Before you do anything else, it’s crucial to ask yourself if you actually need an app. What benefits would it offer your business, and what are you expecting to gain from the app? You need to have quantifiable results, whether you streamline internal communications and operations to boost employee support and more alongside standards or you want to increase sales or boost customer satisfaction. Understanding the purpose of the app will keep you focused and clear about your goals.
Platform
Once you know what you will be using your app for and why, you need to consider the platform on which you will be launching the app. Will it be for Apple users or Android? There are different features and functions required for both, and a hybrid app might not work as seamlessly as you want it to. This could result in you having to develop two apps, one for each platform to help you boost reach and downloads and appeal to all customers. Generally, the main choice for developers is Apple; however, android apps are more accessible. More people have Android devices due to their lower cost and the more significant number of manufacturers using Android compared to Apple.
What Is Your Timeline?
Another crucial aspect to consider is the timeline you have. Rushing an app to market can lead to mistakes and functional aspects being overlooked, which won’t go down well with users. It’s important to have a well-thought-out timeline to ensure you’re prepared and organized and to avoid frequent uninstalls and skepticism with further releases or updates.
Creating an app takes much longer than you think it will, and it involves multiple steps, including planning and research, market analysis, design, development testing, and research and maintenance. It’s not a fast launch, nor should it be for the best results. So, if you are looking for something to deploy immediately, it might be best not to go down the app route to avoid making huge mistakes.
You’re Aware of Registration Times
There are different regulatory terms for both Google and Apple for your app, and you need to meet the specific requirements of both platforms to register your app successfully. Now, the exact time frames for approval can vary, and they can be anywhere from a few hours to months. There’s really no way of knowing. It is worth factoring this into your timeline and taking it into account prior to assigning a launch date so you can be aware that the registration might not be immediate.
At this point, make a list of the requirements so you can ensure you meet them all. Note that these requirements can also change on a whim. However, understanding and regularly checking allows you to meet the criteria outlined by both Apple and Google for a successful registration.
Self-build or App Developer
This is a question of resources, finances, and technical skills. There are online platforms that will allow you to build an app without the need for developers, and they can get you up and running with the basic cookie cutter app fast. However, you might find that using a third party to outsource your app development can be a more cost-effective solution, and you can rely on their skills and expertise to create a white label app that meets your needs.
Alternatively, you can choose to build in-house if you have the experts or can hire them to build, maintain, and monitor that app. This can be an expensive endeavor, but it allows you to have full creative control and flexibility. A freelancer developer and UX designer can be a great avenue to explore, too, and all these options come with different benefits and drawbacks that only you can assess based on what is on offer and what you need from your app.
Features
You need to understand what it is you need the app to be able to do. Are you delivering a simplified way for customers to shop with you? Is the app informative only? Is it a booking portal for appointments for services, or is it an employee portal that needs to be loaded with features that have communication channels, collaborative functions, self-guides, and contact points to unify the entire team? What you need from the app will dictate the features you can expect to need to include.
Let’s say you are designing an app for your clothing store. The app can allow customers to see sizes, estimated shipping times and shipping methods, access tracking, create an account for their favorite items, get on waiting lists, etc. A great addition to an app such as this is an in-app chat application for business that allows you to add live chat to the app so customers can get help and assistance with orders in real-time directly in the app without having to navigate from the part of the app they’re using. This can directly increase customer satisfaction and form part of your overall strategy for boosting sales.
What Are Your Plans for Updating the App?
The end of the road isn’t when you launch the app. In so many cases; that is just the start of the journey. The app will need constant updates and changes to allow you to retain security and update information, especially for you are uploading products for sale; you need to think past launch day and what happens when people download and use the app. How are you going to keep making it better and evolve as the company evolves? This should be a cost that is factored into your budget moving forward in relation to launching an app.
Costs
Creating an app isn’t cheap. You need to pay developers, UX designers, cyber security measures and checks, and marketers. If the app isn’t designed to make you money, you need to be okay with investing this into your business as a resource that simply exists for functionality and support rather than to generate sales.
But if your app is a tool for generating revenue, you need to consider other fees, too. For example, Apple takes 30% off in-app purchases, which drops down to 15% after a year of subscription. This needs to be factored into your pricing model. The same applies to Google, too. They operate on the same fee structure, but the 30% can be reduced to 15% for the first $1 million in revenue.
To help you cover the costs, you need to determine if you can realistically include ads, freemium pricing, in-app purchases, or anything else that can make you money. Not all apps or uses call for these money-making avenues, especially those built for in-house use pnly, but it’s worth considering them to help you cover your app’s costs and ongoing fees, if applicable.
Timing
Timing isn’t an issue for those apps that are only available for employees to use, and again, rushing the release can allow you to bypass common mistakes and bugs in building apps.
However, suppose you are bringing a product, service, game, etc., to the market. In that case, you need to ensure you are conducting extensive market research to enable you to time your launch correctly and get your timeline right. Timing is everything when launching an app. You need to generate buzz and awareness before the release and ensure people know when it is released so they can download it.
But on top of this, you need to know it will be well received to get the desired result. For example, launching games can be a great idea around school holidays and vacation times to encourage parents and children to download them. New shopping apps or services relating to seasonal activities are best at specific points in the year. For example, shopping comparison apps prior to Black Friday would be a good idea, or seasonal periods when people are looking for deals and offers to save them on increased spending and gift buying.
