This is it, you’ve finally realized you need a mobile app to improve your services and keep up with the times. BlueTreeApps is here to help and deliver the best solution. However, the job is not nearly done yet. Before we start creating the app, you need to be able to answer seven key questions in order to make the final product just right.
1. What is the main purpose of the app?
This seems like an easy question, but don’t be fooled. Do you simply want to improve an existing service or do you want to build a whole new segment of your business? Will the app primarily serve to enhance customer loyalty, to raise awareness of your brand (e.g. as an extension of your website), or will it in fact be the first step into new territory, a launching of a new service? Will it be fun or useful (the two, of course, are not mutually exclusive)? The purpose of the app should be defined from the very start, and a definitive answer to the question above can’t be simply: We want an app because everyone else has got one. Once you know exactly what you want your app to do, your team will have an easier time delivering the best possible solution for you.
2. Will the app be free?
This question is inextricably intertwined with the purpose and goal of your mobile strategy. Is the app supposed to strengthen and promote the brand, or should it be generating a new source of income? The later would perhaps require a paid app and a free “lite” version. This is not to say that if an app is free, that it will not generate profit. You can always include mobile ads, which can potentially be an even more stable source of income than the “pro” version. Another strategy is to offer the basic app for free and charge for the additional options according to the in-app purchase system.
3. What will the app look like?
With apps it is crucial to pay attention to the users’ experience, defining from the start what the interface, menu, button and icon design should be like. Reflecting on the visual aspect of the app often starts with ordinary sketches which the designers can then use as a basis for further development. The design should follow current trends (e.g. right now, the minimalist, flat design is very “in”), and the choice of colors to correspond with your brand and message should also not be neglected. Check out what we have written about icon design and choice of colors for the app!
4. What platform to choose?
In most cases, this question can be rephrased as: iOS or Android, or both? The answer to this question will come easier if you know your user base well, their demographic and geographic structure, and also which devices they tend to use. Analyzing the traffic on your website should be of great use with this. Many companies now opt for both platforms (which are, naturally, not the only ones out there, but are the main ones), so the question above might better be posed as: what platform to choose first? Launching the app on different platforms will help you reach a greater number of users anyway.
5. Is the app intended only for smartphones or are tablets an option as well?
Although most apps also work on tablets, you should keep in mind that they might not look as good on them as they do on smartphones. A bigger screen provides the opportunity to offer more content and options, so it might not be a bad idea to consider an adapted or separate app for tablets, which are getting more and more popular anyway. Tablet sales are on the rise around the world; almost 200 million were sold just last year according to a study published by Gartner. Hence, an app for tablets can only widen your audience.
6. How will the users find out about the app?
Your app might be the best in the world, but that means absolutely nothing if nobody knows about it. In order to promote it, you can use social networks, press releases, SEO, website notifications, etc. It all depends on who your audience is and how much resources you have. Waiting for users to discover the app on their own and spread the voice about it is highly risky, especially considering how many apps there are out there today. We have already written about the ways of promoting apps on social networks, the art of app promotion, and even offline promotion!
7. What are your plans for the app in the future?
Once the app is done and it is accessible to the public, it does not mean that the work is done. The app needs to be maintained, the bugs fixed, the testing done, and new versions improved. What are your plans for the future versions of the app? What are your resources for that? Have in mind that this question becomes all the more complex if the app is adapted to different platforms and devices. In order to have a long and successful life, an app should be better and more reliable with every new edition, and we can make that happen.