Reading Time: 3 minutes
Mobile apps are becoming more popular and hence important for business success. Here’s a guest blog on app development mistakes that startups need to avoid by Thanh Pham, CEO of a Vietnamese software development outsourcing company.
It is common knowledge that mobile app technology is quickly becoming an enabler for many businesses. Today, consumers or buyers of a product or service can easily locate their preferred sellers by using simple mobile apps.
Let’s take an example of Uber; this company has a mobile app that a potential customer can use to hail a cab. This mobile app is revolutionary in the sense that customers can now hail cabs and get a quote for their services and also see how far the cab driver is from their location.
From Uber’s success story, startups can borrow many lessons on how best to avoid mobile app development mistakes and launch successful products into the market. Here are some common errors that you need to avoid when thinking of undertaking mobile app development projects.
Lack of clarity in the necessity of the app
It is an exciting feeling to own a proprietary app. Maybe this can set you above your close competition. However, you need to clarify the purpose and need for the mobile app long before you decide to embark on the mobile app development journey. Not every business requires a mobile app; some might just need to spruce up their websites and make sure that they are responsive and buyer-friendly. For those that need a mobile app, then clarifying the purpose and need for the app is very important.
Failure to study and understand the intended audience
Most companies fail in their mobile app development ventures because they fail to consider the intended end users of these apps. It is important to adopt a customer-centric approach and focus when thinking of developing a product or software that will be used by the customer. Some companies fail to get their desired ROI simply because they did not take time to understand their intended audience.
Failure to budget for the app project
Mobile app development projects require a dedicated budget to take care of all the associated expenses. You must be intentional in drafting a budget that will be followed by the mobile development team. A failure to budget can cause your project to stall midway. Make sure that you budget properly and make provisions for the funds needed for the project.
Taking social media and social sharing for granted
The saddest trend seen in most businesses is that these businesses are not taking advantage of the market space offered by social media sharing platforms. The mobile app development phase cannot be considered complete without considering the promotion of the app to the masses. Social media platforms such as Facebook have algorithms which can help you launch a targeted marketing campaign aimed at popularizing your app.
There are many other mistakes that startups make when it comes to mobile app development. However, the four mistakes listed above will suffice for now.
The author of this guest blog post Thanh Pham is the CEO of Saigon Technology, a Vietnamese software development outsourcing company. One of the services that they provide is mobile application development.
Lean Startup
Before you can develop a product, you have to know your customers and their needs. If you have insufficient insight in that then I suggest to use a Lean Startup approach to find out.
Getting feedback is crucial for startups to survive and cross the chasm. Social media connects you with (potential) customers all over the world. My advice is to not only share the app in social media as Thanh suggests, but also be present and interact with the people who use it.
Thank you Thanh Pham for writing this Guest Blog Post for BenLinders.com!