This guest column is by Mehul Rajput, CEO, Mindinventory
Mobile applications have dominated the way online commerce world works. Everyone has a smart phone and want to perform every action using their phone. Almost 50% of traffic online is driven through mobile apps which makes it a big opportunity for businesses to promote customer engagements and retain them. This makes it an obligation for mobile app development companies to have a strong mobile strategy, because failing to having an app that can cater to user requirements will move your users to your competitors and you lose your customers.
Basically if your mobile app is not able to connect with your users and give them an intuitive user experience, then your users will start looking for other apps that can better serve them, giving your competitors to swoop in and take your customers. Most of the mobile app development companies are working hard since past few years for developing innovative and rich user experience for their customers. However, while 87% of C-Level executives say they have a formal mobile strategy, “only 2 of 5 companies have made good progress on their mobility efforts.” So why is it that so many mobile strategies have produced only mediocre results?
In this article, the major causes of underperformance of a mobile app are discussed and avoiding the same can help you overcome these blockers.
Security Breach
Mobile applications are exposed to violations and attacks of its security policies. Gartner survey shows that 75% of mobile applications will fail due to failure in basic security testing. “Enterprises that embrace mobile computing and bring your own device (BYOD) strategies are vulnerable to security breaches unless they adopt methods and technologies for mobile application security testing and risk assurance,” said Dionisio Zumerle, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Most enterprises are inexperienced in mobile application security. Even when application security testing is undertaken, it is often done casually by developers who are mostly concerned with the functionality of applications, not their security.”
Incompatible to Cross platforms
Cross platform compatibility is about making your app compatible to various ecosystems like iOS, Android, and Windows; beside it should be able to support website to app compatibility. These days users want to be in synchronized whether they are accessing a service from a mobile app or a website. For example, Facebook provides such seamless cross platform compatibility, by allowing to access Facebook from various operating systems as well as also from its website. Not just this you can access the app from various types of hardware/handsets like smartphones, iPads, Tablets, laptops, etc. Such sort of cross channel compatibility is required these days, failing to which your app can underperform.
Lengthy Process
Users like the mobile apps for its faster and easier processes. For example, most of the users prefer to register using a Google or Facebook accounts, and avoid going through the process of filling the registration form. Hence, in case you have made registration process for users a lengthy affair, then users might uninstall the app straight away. Similarly, if we talk about the ecommerce websites, the checkout feature must be quick and show trustworthy payment options.
No Intuitive Design
A mobile app must have an intuitive design, which means users are not required to refer to any help guide, but they can themselves operate the application without any help. If your mobile app is lacking such intuitive design, then there are high chances that the users are shifting towards your competitors. So be careful when the application is at design stage. It’s a big mistake to make it a replica of your website. An ideal mobile app must offer a personalized user experience. It must allow users to easily navigate across the app without need of any assistance. The app must be designed keeping in mind the targeted users and how they will use the app, and this approach can only help you in making it more user friendly.
Poor Marketing Strategy
Marketing is the continuous process of the promoting your application and reaching out to your customers. It is not one-time process which you can perform at the time of launching the application. The surveys say that approximately 25% of the customers will stop using the app after downloading it, it is crucial for mobile app development companies to make the marketing strategy that can help in retaining the customers. Marketing strategy can be devised by keeping close check on the users’ most used features, and come up with campaigns that can tempt users to further use the app. Sending notifications promoting key features or giving offers does also help user engagement and retain them. But app development companies have to make marketing an on-going activity.
These are some of the factors that app development companies do not focus on and as a result the app performance decreases. The users always need something new and improved, and hence it is crucial for the app development company to keep innovating and provide better user experiences. That is the only way to survive the cut throat competition in this mobile app era.
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Category Mobile Startups