Why Do Most Apps Fail?
If you’re an app developer, you may not find it easy to sell your product in the market. For one, the volume of competition has significantly increased. With so many people building and marketing their apps, it might justg not prove a lucrative business.
What then is the secret formula for building a profitable software? Experts advise beginners to learn from experience. Creating an app is just like any other business, you need to cover all the bases. If you’re weak in a certain area of business, then it’s a good idea to take on a partner, or hire someone, that has that expertise. Most designers don’t seem to make good programmers, and most programmers don’t seem to make good marketers. Of course, that’s not always true across the board, but it seems that in about 90% of the cases it’s a fact. Here are some of the ways that apps can fail.
Flawed Idea
Do you have a bright idea? However, you’re not really sure that it will work right away. The app may not be superior because of poor research. Your design could have been imperfect. Besides, you won’t get anywhere if potential users don’t appreciate your product. It’s crucial to put value into your product. What’s the bottom line, your idea must be 100% correct from the very start.
Before you start working, consider these tips:
- Research your market.
- Study the competition.
- Identify the target users.
- Test the concept with your intended audience.
- Check the numbers. Find out if your app can provide a decent ROI.
Lack of Ingenuity
Your app will flourish only if it has a unique value. If you do your research well, you will find out the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Then, you can establish a competitive advantage.
You can’t convince consumers if your product does not differ from others. Your unique value proposition has to boost user loyalty and business success. Create a vision statement. This establishes a sense of direction leading to your application’s purpose. Your app must also offer a solution to customers.
It’s important to understand the importance of design and development. Let’s assume you’re not an expert in technology and marketing. Look for the right people to design, build, and market your product. Likewise, execution remains crucial. Identify the two takeaways in conceptualizing an app.
- First is to come up with a convincing and visually pleasing design (UI)
- Second is to create a seamless user experience (UX)
Here’s another point. You should know that most customers are choosy. They won’t waste their time on badly executed apps. Take the extra step to study users’ experiences. Remember that your goal is to bring customers to a new level and exciting exposure.
User Experience (UX)
This brings you to one reality. At the fundamental level your app must be simple but useful. Users must not struggle with inferior usability and functionality. Otherwise, it will turn out as a bad user experience. Try to take note of possible issues such as:
- Performance issues like slow loading.
- Lengthy registration process.
- Difficult access to features.
Apps can only be successful if these benefit users. An awesome UX requires perfect design thinking. The app builder must have a full knowledge of target users’ lives and requirements. UX does not only refer to customers’ feeling about the product, but It also means that the app should work within the boundaries of technological platforms.
Improper Monetization Strategy
You won’t get instant customers once you market the app and become instantly rich. Success won’t happen overnight. It may not even take place unless you have an effective way of monetizing your product.
You can choose from several monetization techniques.
- In-App advertising which needs a huge base of users.
- In-App Store for selling digital and physical commodities.
App Sales which offers a convenient method of downloading the best applications. - Subscription model referring to regular monthly billing which applies more to service-related apps.
- Creative alternatives like monetization of user surveys and something identified with your niche.
Vital Considerations
To avoid failure, there must be practical use for your app even before proceeding to the development stage. Analyze the app usage, trends, features, and designs. Opt for quality execution. Finally, study the experience of other apps developers. Find out why they succeeded and failed. This will teach you a valuable lesson before embarking on this new endeavor.