We’re living in an era of startups. Apps are powerful ways for startups to create and grow their businesses. But there are several important things for a startup to consider before building an app. This article helps you arrive at a decisive conclusion on your future app through a series of fundamental questions.
Startup entrepreneurs have a clear vision. They turn their ideas into useful business models that can help customers live better lives or help the world become a better place. One of the most important strategies for any startup includes a mobile app strategy. In fact, it has become almost mandatory for modern startups to build their businesses in and around mobile application. And that’s primarily because startups can greatly benefit from an application.
With mobile applications, startups can accomplish powerful business results. Here are some ways an app can help your business from day one:
- Getting direct leads and customers
- Improving customer engagement
- Building brand credibility
- Marketing and advertising to customers on a regular basis
- Receiving constant reviews and feedback that can be used for business improvements
- Tracking your customer’s activity and engagement with your products and services
- Measuring business milestones and improvements such as the number of downloads, etc.
Question 1: Does your business need an app?
Let’s face it. In today’s day and age, almost every business needs an application. Apps are great business facilitators. But before you assume your business needs one too, you must ask yourself a very fundamental question — how will creating a mobile app help your business?
Most often, startup businesses wish to build an application just because their competitors have one. However, if you want to build a successful app, the app should serve a real and clear purpose.
What business functions do you expect your application to perform? Will it be a substitute for your offline business? Will it help you sell directly to your customers? Will it get you more quality leads? These are some questions you must answer before hiring a trusted mobile app developer. Get a free consultation from a mobile application development company to understand if your business needs an app.
Question 2: Is your application feasible?
The next important thing to check is your app’s actual feasibility. Most application seem possible in theory, but is your app practically possible to build? Is creating the app technologically impossible to accomplish? Will the app be too expensive to build? Speak to an experienced mobile app development company to know the feasibility of the app in terms of scope, time, and money.
Question 3: Who is your app’s target audience?
The success of an application is determined by its number of downloads. The next important success measure is the number of people who interact with the app in real time. It’s true that not all application are meant for the masses. Some apps, just like some businesses, are for niche markets. But the app you’re planning to build must appeal to a set of target audiences whose life the app should improve in some way or another. The fundamental question here is — what problem is your app going to solve for your target audience
Question 4: Which platform is best for your app?
Next, you must ask yourself if you’ll build your application for iOS or Android. Each platform has its own pros and cons. Many startup businesses prefer to build their apps for Android because the Android Play Store has more application than the Apple Play Store. It’s also easier to add features on android that are not supported by iOS. But on the other hand, iOS apps are cheaper and easier to build. They are also cherished for their amazing display, higher earnings, faster development speed, and usability.
Question 5: Who will build your app?
Although there are many application developers out there, you must carefully choose one that’s reputed and reliable. Choosing a trustworthy app development company over freelance application developers has its advantages. It can be a big loss for your business if your app idea gets leaked before release. It’s easier for a freelancer to leak your idea than for a professional mobile app development company because a professional app development company is concerned about its reputation more than anything else. Also, upholding confidentiality and protecting your application idea is their highest priority. Professional companies are backed by good reviews and they also take appropriate data security measures, which is very important for application development. With a professional mobile application development company, you can maintain confidentiality by signing an NDA. Choosing the right mobile app development company can save you a lot of time, money, and trouble.
Question 6: What’s your application-building budget?
Now, this is an important one. Most startups have constrained budgets with limited scope for spending on each business operation. Building an application is not exactly an inexpensive affair as it includes the cost of hiring app developers, maintenance and support, and marketing. Therefore, it’s important to allocate a specific budget for development before starting to build the app. Finding an investor for this might be a good idea. It’s also important to find an affordable application development company offering the most budget-friendly rates in the market. Your business must strive to find a company with a great quality-to-price ratio.
Question 7: What will be your app’s main features?
The latest application in the world are full of incredible features and reflect the creativity and imagination of the business it belongs to. Your app must include a range of features based on the type of products or services your business is offering. Do these features add value to your target audiences? Startup businesses must include features that not only fulfil operational requirements but also delight customers. For example, if you have a food delivery application, your application must include features such as order tracking, search options, cart, checkout, wish list, notifications, payment facilities, and more.
Conclusion
The decision to build an application is not necessarily a decision you should take alone. Speak to your likely customers. Find out if they even need one. Speak to an experienced app development company and let them evaluate what type of application is best for your business. There are several technical considerations in the process of building an app that a seasoned application development company can foresee on your behalf. And most importantly, spend quality time answering the 7 fundamental questions in this article. This exercise will help you arrive at the right decision sooner than you think.
