The App Store experienced a record setting year and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Forecasts predict that mobile apps will gross over $160 billion this year and app developers and
top app development companies are experiencing all of the benefits of this rapid growth.
Since there are such a wide range of choices available, increasing customer engagement is key. So how can app developers and top app development companies go about this crucial task?
Benchmarks For Android and iPhone App Development
There are a couple of benchmarks that must be considered during this process. The quantity of downloads that you receive and the percentage of these downloads that make their way to your target audience are two of the main ways that success is measured.
What About Revenue Goals?
A desired revenue figure must be decided upon once you have made the decision to monetize your app. From there, you will also have to decide if your revenue is going to be primarily derived from in app purchases or paid downloads.
When you are creating a mobile app that is designed to drive future success, there are a few must have features that allow you to achieve your objectives. Let's take a closer at these features, so that they can be implemented during mobile application development.
1. Market Research
There are over 2 million apps to choose from in the App Store at the present moment and those who wish to truly stand out from the crowd will need to examine their chosen audiences in greater detail.
Do you understand their motivations or the solutions that they are truly searching for? Finding out the pain points for your audience allows you to design an app that makes their inconveniences a thing of the past. Otherwise, you could end up wasting time and money on a product that no one actually wants or needs.
2. Strategic Marketing
To create awareness for your app, there is a certain amount of time and effort that needs to be expended. The strategy that you utilize to acquire new users depends on your chosen market and demographic, as well as a variety of other factors.
Early outreach is important and so are early access offers. Press kits are also helpful, but in order to be successful over the long haul, marketing needs to be an ongoing process and new information must always be considered when it comes time to attract new customers.
3. Intuitive User Experience
A great app is always intuitive at its base level. Basic functionality needs to come easy to the user and if they cannot figure out core functions in a simple manner, this will diminish their level of enjoyment and dampen your word of mouth.
App performance issues, such as lagging or slow load times, are not inherent to an intuitive experience. Features need to be easy to access and the registration process for the app should be as short as possible.
4. Defect Testing
This feature seems really obvious to most, but in reality, defect testing does not happen as often as it should. 44 percent of app related defects are found by the user and this is a number that should be alarming to app developers and top app development companies alike.
Minor bugs are normal, but you will also want to test for major concerns, like lagging and slow load times. Before the app is released to market, a quality assurance test ensures that you do not experience these issues.
5. Feedback System
Once the app has been launched,
the feedback process is critical and you will need a proper feedback system in order to find out more about your audience's experiences. It may come in the form of a button that can be clicked or an e-mail address where criticisms are offered.
When users have a quick way to report their concerns and let you know about any bugs, this is highly advantageous to your app's long term prognosis. Users love knowing that their feedback is important to you and that it is being considered.
6. Customization
In a world where app users have never had more options available to them, customization is pivotal. Colors, privacy settings and font sizes all need to be adjustable for each user and apps that give their users the chance to tailor settings to their personal taste receive better reviews.
Users are also more likely to recommend your app to friends and family members when they have the ability to customize, which is something that developers of apps will need to bear in mind during the creative process.
7. Simplicity
Sure, it might be great to add a bunch of different features and cater to a wide range of audiences. But the modern app user craves simplicity over needless bells and whistles that are cool looking, yet do not add any sort of functionality.
A great app takes the things that users truly want and builds on them in a unique and interesting way. The less time a user needs to spend with an app to achieve their desired objectives, the better.
8. Social Media Share-ability
If users can sign into your apps with their social media login information, this increases your ability to spread your message far and wide. An app user is far more likely to let friends and family know about the benefits of the application when they can
share it on social media.
And since so many app users are avid social media users to begin with, it behooves companies to consider their needs before launching a product. Adding a simple button or link for sharing purposes works wonders.
9. Elimination of Clicks
The more clicking an app user has to endure in order to sign up, the less likely they are to remain on board. If there are registration forms, fill out forms and unnecessary clicks, user engagement will dwindle rapidly.
Conversion rates rise when the user is not forced to do too much work in order to access your app and companies that do not place themselves in the shoes of their target demographic during the design process leave themselves open to a far higher level of criticism.
10. Analytics
Developers of mobile apps need to incorporate analytics to reach their goals and objectives. Analytics are very important when it comes to tracking users' actions and experiences and without them, it is tough for a company to make necessary changes.
By gathering the proper data, app developers can create updates that serve to heighten the user experience. Without analytics, this process becomes a total crap shoot and an app may reach peak performance during the earliest stages of release, as opposed to the latter stages, which is obviously more preferable.