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Typically,
a person will decide in only a few seconds to download an app. At the same
time, the huge volume of apps available intensifies the competition. By the end
of 2018, a total of 4.1 million apps were available between the Play Store and
App Store. So, what it takes to develop a successful app in today’s market?
Benchmarking Success
Mobile
app
development services follow a build-measure-learn process.
The definition of success differs depending on the type of app you are
developing and your business objectives. It is important to understand what you
are trying to accomplish with your product before hiring any app development services.
There
are quite a few success metrics to gauge the performance of a mobile app. These
metrics fall into four distinct categories:
- General Marketing or App Launch Metrics
- User Acquisition Metrics
- User Action Metrics
- Business Metrics
Not only is it important to monitor the product’s performance, but also the performance of competitor products. Identified right success criteria for mobile app, help identify areas for improvement so you can adjust your strategy to meet your goals. This blog will help you to plan ahead by outlining six reasons why mobile apps fail.
Six Common Reasons for Apps Failure
While
the competition in the app market is high, failure is not always because of
getting lost in the noise. But in most cases, there are other factors.
1-Poorly Researched Market and
Audience
It
is easy to think that users will love your app, but can you validate? Long
before the development of app begins it is essential to have a deep
understanding of product’s target audience. Not only the audience research is necessary
for developing an app, it also aids in the creation of the messaging that
attract users. A successful app launch strategy is rooted in user research.
There
can be various groups of users for an app, so a mobile apps company identifies
the central demographics and create user personas during its early planning and
discovery stage. The more detailed user personas are it is much better for the
app.
If
you decide to build a mobile app without doing any research, defining audience,
strategizing use cases and features, you run the risk of building a product you
assume people will want, but in reality, they don’t.
Introducing
a new app to the market should be an iterative process to validate assumptions
about the product. A prototype often is not enough, an iterative process is
highly beneficial to meet the needs of your users and maintain engagement. But
how can you know exactly what to build? How will you solve their pain points?
Consider hiring app development services
for a minimum viable product, which includes the features required to solve
core problems for a set of users.
2-Lack of Originality
App
stores are oversaturated with similar apps. The most successful apps have a
strong value proposition.
Competitive
research helps to reveal your competition’s strengths and weaknesses to define
your own competitive advantage. Building an app that offers the same features
as your competition will not help. A unique value proposition is the first step
needed to consider optimizing user loyalty and overall business success.
One
of the best ways to increase the chances of success is to draft a vision
statement. It creates a definite sense of direction towards the end goal of the
application. A vision statement defines the solution to the problem your
intended users are facing.
3-Not Choosing a Platform Wisely
Android
and iOS have very intuitive interface guidelines; they operate in different
ways and appeal to different user groups.
When
apps do not perform well across devices, networks, and operating systems, it
becomes a major problem. For example, users get frustrated when an app works on
their iPhone, but not on their iPad. While deciding, which platform is best for
your mobile app, a key question is: what is the goal and purpose of your
application? Android app developmentandIOS
app company India choose the right platform depending on the
app content you intend to create for an overall business goal.
While
developing for multiple platforms, it is important to build with platform
differences in mind. Apps that fail to do this cause frustration among users. As
the average user takes less than a minute to decide, a little frustration can
be harmful.
4-Poor User Experience
A
lot of components are involved in building an app that offers a great user
experience (UX). At a base level, your app should be intuitive. If a user finds
difficult to perform basic functions and cannot figure out core functionalities
easily, the result is poor usability. Some other examples of poor UX include:
- App performance issues
- Long load times
- Long registration processes
- Features that are difficult to access
One thing to pay attention is platform-specific UI/UX best practices. Ignoring these is a costly mistake.
5-Improper Testing
It
is rare that an app will be launched without minor bugs, making sure that you have
invested in QA before shipping can ensure there are no major issues. If an app
is not tested properly, it is bound to be rife with bugs that will impact user
experience and is prone to crash. A single crash can stop users from ever using
it again. Some of the common negative reviews on app stores are related to apps
crashing.
According
to a study, 58 percent of iOS-based devices suffer from performance failures
like apps crashing. App testing must be done thoroughly, to ensure that your
application is as market-ready as possible. It is unlikely you will get a
second chance if you fail the first time around. A mobile apps company provides thorough app testing making your app
ready for market.
6-Poorly Executed App Launch
An
app launch strategy has a great impact on acquiring users; it is a marketing
effort that requires extensive research. To improve chances of success, there
should be an established marketing plan to ensure every step is made and
executed properly.
If
you want your app to have a high download and user retention rate, it needs a
good first impression within the first few days. This is a critical time to
focus on highlighting the value of the app. If you do not impress your new
users quickly, you will likely lose their interest.
Mobile
app launch is not a one-time event. There will always be room for improvement;
it requires reassessment as market demands change. Recently launched mobile
apps should be updated and re-launched regularly to keep users engaged.
So,
the performance of an app depends on many factors, which can range from
competition to budgets to luck. But beyond these factors, poor research and
poor execution are common reasons why apps fail. Design O Web an Android
app development, web
design company, and IOS app company Indiafocus on market and audience research and follow platform-specific best
practices, and thorough quality assurance testing for the success of your
mobile app.
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