The first thing to watch for in tech business and mobile application development is a failure. When trying to make your app and business successful, most of the people read articles about making lots of money and trying to visualize their own success, but it is very important to also learn about things that could go wrong. Let us walk you through the list of reasons your app could fail.
1. Wrong ideas and bad execution
When making an app you need to do your research and be sure you have covered everything you need for your app to be outstanding. You must justify the belief that people will like your app by doing next: research the market; check out competitors and their apps; define a target market; test the idea with your target audience; run the numbers to see if your app will provide a return on your investment.
First, make sure you have spent time on data analysis by checking out the free and paid charts in the app store of the most popular apps in your category, then spot trends and analyze them.
An important thing when designing and developing an app is to not do it just for yourself, and how you want. In order to make money out of app, you need to focus on what customers want.
If you want your app to have it all, including originality and user experience, you will need to find the right professionals to design, develop, and market your app. It is well known that users now days look for visually attractive design in apps. You can even try to come up with some ideas by searching for other successful apps.
2. Lack of proper monetization strategy
Apart from being unoriginal, lacking important features, having no obvious target audience, having development failures or usability issues, the most common reason for apps failure is that their owners are being unable to properly monetize the app.
Let us tell you more about monetization methods:
1. Premium app sales – doesn’t include advertisements and freemium unlocks.
2. In-App Advertising – being profitable requires a large and loyal user-base.
3. Freemium model – paying for feature unlocks.
4. Subscription model – recurring monthly billing.
5. In-App Store – sales of digital and physical merchandise.
6. Vanity products and services – selling custom avatars, unique in-app items or privileges.
7. Newsletter promotions – asking for user emails during registration gives you an option to send them periodic newsletters.
8. Creative alternatives – depending on your app and target market you could use this to find corporate sponsorships, run auctions, monetize user surveys and so on.
Users don’t tend to pay for an app if they have no idea what it is about, because they can easily find a free or freemium app with similar features, so it is a good idea to let them try before they buy. Do research on other apps and see what are the features you are ready to pay for and what are the features you don’t find affordable.
It is always good to think long-term. Introducing app to other markets, improving advertising options, adapting features and much more. Be strategical to be successful.
3. No perseverance in iterating
Trials and tribulations are very needed when trying to improve your app. General updates are costly and time-consuming, but you will want to test images and icons, keywords, and app reviews. You cannot allow yourself to avoid working on your mistakes or being lazy. Data, strategy, and iteration are a must!
Here is how you can save your app from failure:
- Make sure there is a need for your app by analyzing trends and data about app consumption.
- Pay attention to user experience. Your app needs to look and feel familiar to its users.
- Do not think monetization is based on likes, dislikes or guesses, but on analysis of trends.
- Stay informed and be ready for adaption at any time.
Making money out of the app is not an easy task, and that is why you need to learn from others’ mistakes.
