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Smartphones have become an extension of our very being in recent years. We use them for music, alarms, clocks, messaging across multiple platforms such as good old SMS, to Viber, WhatsApp and FB messenger, catching up on news, watching YouTube videos, checking email, corporate apps for time management, project management and many other tasks. It’s this usage that helps drive innovation, new ideas and exciting development trends to meet a growing demand on how we engage with our devices and the apps on them. And according to trend watchers, more than 50% of search queries globally come from mobile devices. Here are some of the most exciting and important trends and tech ideas to keep an eye on in 2018 and beyond, some of which are described in MMA’s Mobile Trends report.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is set to offer business users some very mouth-watering insights via advanced analytics, cognitive interfaces to complex systems and machine learning tech.

With Microsoft Pix, SwiftKey AI and Hound, we are seeing just how powerful AI is proving to be in the mobile app space. The main reason being that mobile devices are the easiest way to get customer feedback.

2. Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR / AR)

Virtual Reality defines the online virtual world whereas Augmented Reality serves as a game changer. The success story can among other be found in the popular Pokémon GO game. The experts across the globe state that the overall revenue of VR and AR will be $150 billion by the next two years.  We are likely to see VR and AR move away from the mobile phone form factor though, to being embedded in things such as lenses on your glasses, or your car window.

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

Smart cities and homes are the future of today’s generation. The year 2018 will witness a drastic change in linking IoT with the Mobile Apps. Businesses are watching out to implement IoT in the manufacturing, health, automotive and retail industry.

Under the IoT environment, the people will be able to use their Smartphones, tablets and Smartwatches to integrate varied apps and tools. Forbes states that the Business-to-Business IoT segment will generate nearly $300 billion by the year 2018 and beyond.

The watches by Apple are the latest example under IoT. Moreover, to meet the IoT demand, Google made available Android Things.

4. Blockchain

Blockchain are big business networks; way beyond currency exchange. “Bitcoin was just one of the technology’s successful implementations” – says Fulvio Xavier, co-founder at Smartchains, a Brazilian startup specialized in blockchain.

According to IBM and Moller-Maersk, the goal is to use block chain to digitize supply chain, and to speed up the global market and help the sector save billions of dollars – bureaucracy and paperwork respond to up to one fifth of the total cost of this mode of transportation. Disney has already developed its own blockchain, called Dragonchain. It has dozens of different uses, such as ticket sales, a marketplace for intellectual property and the security platform for IoT.

5. Wearable Apps

This market is diversifying and is set for substantial growth over the coming years.

The market is focused on offering greater availability of cost effective fitness apps, supporting an ever-increasing rise in the total number of lifestyle diseases, which is being boosted by a drop in the cost of wearable devices, and the growing demand from the market for sports and fitness based apps.

There is a now huge range of wearable devices available, from smart sneakers that analyze your walking pattern, to smartwatches that count your calories, wristbands that assess your sleep quality and smart gloves that help you with your golf swing. Expect this to only get bigger.

6. Location-based services

Application for this tech is vast across hotels, museums, sports and event venues, restaurants, retail outlets, healthcare and much more.

Helping people and business with relevant location-based information is only going to rise.  While location now is giving context information to apps and advertisers, it is expected that AI and Machine Learning will lead the next chapters on location-based services.

7. Cloud-based apps

Cloud computing has earned its buzzword status in recent years. For apps, it’s all about reducing the impact on a mobile devices’ internal memory. Think of Dropbox or Google Cloud.

8. Mobile payments

The way technology develops which change the lifestyle of people along. Mobile Payments is one such trend which is implementing everywhere. Customers widely used internet banking or credit/debit card for their purchase both online and offline.

Which implementation of Mobile payment technology people are gradually changing to m-commerce, by paying through mobile apps.  With the increasing demand and easy method, Mobile payments looked to be important trends for mobile apps in 2018.  In certain markets, like China (>600m active ewallet users) and India, mobile payments have completely transformed the societies – in India, arguably as fast as the last 12 months.

9. Personalization

Personalization is huge, and the demand for it from business has grown exponentially.  Examples of personalization that many of us understand come from the likes of Airbnb, Netflix and Spotify. They monitor your preferences — the trips you take, the movies you watch and the searches you perform on their platforms, and then they tailor content to your behavior — to offer you a far more personalized, targeted experience.  Common for these services is that the mobile platform is by far the biggest usage platform.

The trends are clear: The usage of mobile apps has been on the rise and in the upcoming year, there will be various innovations of latest technologies and platforms that will make the work easier for the companies and the end-users. As a developer, this can help you to be at the top of your game with either a new innovation or leveraging these trends in your mobile app development and mobile app marketing strategies.

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New Apptentive Benchmark Data: Engaging More Customers and Measuring Customer Satisfaction – the Way to Customer Success

The Benchmarks Provide Metrics for Companies to Measure Their Mobile Apps’ Performance in Surveys, Ratings and Reviews, Net Promoter Score, and More

Apptentive, the leading mobile communication suite for Fortune 500 brands, announced the release of their third-annual Mobile Customer Engagement Benchmark Report: 2018 Edition. Using data from thousands of unique apps, the benchmark data presents a comprehensive look at how customer centricity has become a requirement for the survival of brands across all industries. The data included in the report serves as a benchmark for companies seeking to understand how effectively they’re measuring their customer experience, communicating with their customers, and earning customer love.

The benchmark data presents a comprehensive look at how customer centricity has become a requirement for the survival of brands across all industries. As industries across the board start taking the need to be customer-centric seriously, talking with more customers and measuring customer sentiment daily will play a key role in their ability to execute on their CX strategies.

More conversations = more revenue

It’s difficult to truly be customer-first and build an experience customer love if you don’t know who your customers are, how they feel, and what they want. While efficacy on all other channels is decreasing, efficacy on mobile is steadily increasing. The data shows that brands who are interested in learning about their customers are capitalizing on mobile’s unique position to drive maximum engagement—and customers are responding positively to their increased involvement in companies’ decision making. There’s been a 100% increase year-over-year in the number of customers brands interact with in-app, and a 17% year-over-year increase in the number of customers who respond to those interactions.

Daily Customer Sentiment Measurement

Customer centricity has evolved quickly, shifting from aspirational ideology to action-oriented strategies in which mobile serves as ground zero because of the always-on, always-with-us culture that exist today. According to Ryan Hart, principal analyst at Forrester Research, smart companies should deepen their customer understanding to build a customer experience (CX) strategy that lasts. The benchmark data in the report demonstrates that brands that prioritize a frequent cadence of customer interactions and measuring sentiment daily are gathering the building blocks necessary to create a CX that customers love.

Brands that measure customer sentiment on a yearly, quarterly, or even monthly basis experience a disconnect between their actions and the consequences of how their actions make their customers feel. To truly understand the cause and effect of brands’ actions on customer happiness, and to be able to take immediate action based on how their happiness levels change, measuring customer sentiment daily is a powerful tool in building a successful customer experience. Using Apptentive’s Love Dialog—a yes or no question of, “Do you love our brand?”—brands get an honest look at customer sentiment and how it changes over time, garnering an average response rate of 93%.

When measured on a daily basis, at a large scale, large brands are able to measure a “Love Ratio,” the percentage of customer who respond ‘Yes’ to the Love Dialog, that gives them an active and accurate pulse of customer happiness. The average Love Ratio is 61%—a slight decrease year-over year, which could be related to the increase in the number of customers companies are interacting with. Companies are asking more of their customers how they feel, which means they’re getting a more accurate, holistic look.

The 2018 Apptentive Benchmark Study

There is no single customer engagement method that works for every company across all industries; however, a sincere focus on empathy, clarity, and simplicity in your dealings with customers and prospects should be the basis for all of your customer engagement activities. Not only is proactive communication and frequent measurement important for understanding how to build experiences customers love and to serve them better, it impacts retention, loyalty, and revenue.

The full report is available for download here: Mobile Customer Engagement Benchmark Report: 2018 Edition

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Over the past few years, Android has become the most popular mobile operating system in the world and Google Play store is the most popular go-to place for users when finding an app. As a developer, often the most difficult questions after finishing an excellent app are: How am I going to earn money from the app and to get the most installs of my apps? Is the Play store enough to reach the optimal amount of users? Will it generate good income? Chances are that publishing your app in the Play store is not enough, as every single other app is a competitor vying for attention, which means your competitors number in the millions.  Does this mean the answer is to spend money on ads, which can get very expensive? Luckily, there are alternatives on the distribution side which means you can get exposure and installs without paying for it. There are numbers of alternate app stores you can utilize to promote your apps.

by Liz Rustia

While most opt for Google Play as it has the most guaranteed audiences for a fee of $25, and of course, for SEO purposes you must be there, there are several other options you can consider to help you promote an Android app. According to AndroidHeadlines  a study conducted by 451 Research found that the number of alternative Android app stores has been steadily increasing in 2017.  Though some stores require your app be submitted on Google Play first, there are also numerous other stores that publish your app even if it is not on Google Play.

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How can alternative Android app stores be useful?

 

Easier promotion:

Aside from the fact that Google Play asks you to pay a $25 fee per submission while most alternative stores offer free publishing and promotion,  Google Play has the most competition! Google Play contains over 2 million apps, so it’s quite difficult to get your app to be listed on early pages where most of the download action is, and chances are users may not even find your product. So, if you are just starting the app business, trying to get noticed and reach a broader audience, opting for the alternative stores can be very helpful. The alternative app stores, while obviously having less traffic, also has fewer apps, so by simply publishing your app, you will get installs you would otherwise never get.

No restrictions:

Google Play has several restrictions and some apps may not be available in certain countries. But most alternative play stores support localized applications from various countries so you reach users where Google Play doesn’t.

Our Top Three Picks:

Amazon:

The Amazon Appstore for Android is currently available in 200 countries. Powered by the world’s web retailer, the Amazon Appstore for Android has grown rapidly due in large part to the success of the Amazon Kindle. Amazon’s well-known merchandising capabilities makes this store a must-have distribution outlet for top Android publishers.

Promotional Tools
– Amazon pays developers 70% of the list price for all sales including in-app sales.
– In-app sales require Amazon’s in-app billing solution

Opera:

The Opera store is a store run by Norwegian browser company Opera. Opera offers a single point of distribution for multiple distribution channels as its platform is white-labeled by a wide range of OEMs, carriers and distributors. Working in 57 countries Opera is an ideal partner to reach deep into several local markets with your apps. While the Opera web browser has a small market share, their mobile browser has a significant presence in top markets like India and also in emerging markets like Africa and Indonesia.

Getjar:

GetJar is the world’s largest free app store. Established in 2004 they currently see 3 million downloads per day and have had over 3.1 billion downloads to date. In addition to Android, Getjar also supports apps for most major platforms including RIM, Java, Windows Mobile & more. Even your mobile site can be published through Getjar! Getjar has been at the forefront in this space for almost a decade now.

App stores will only help you publish your app, but how do you go about getting downloads and installs?  Well, that depends on YOU. Regardless where you publish your apps, the app quality, its resolution and SEO efforts still play a big part in your success.  Our blog contains plenty of information on this topic, so we welcome you to explore more.

 

 

 

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So, you’ve officially launched your baby into this world. A world filled with sorrow, wonder, love, joy, and thrill, it is often difficult to nourish your baby without taking meticulous care of him. But, before you call for the celebration, you need to take some rapid-actions which will make it easy for your baby to mingle in the over-crowded world of apps.

What to do after launching an app. Guest post by Mohammad Ali from Branex.

by Mohammad Ali

Firstly, you need to stop treating your app as an app, instead of from this moment onwards you should start treating the app as a business. The thing with business is that you need to learn the art of attracting customers to your business, you need to make sure that your app appears in the search result of Google, and finally, your app needs to reach out to your target market.

  • Celebrate the birth of your baby

In south-east Asia, there is this concept of throwing a party on the birth of a kid to let people know that parents are happy about the birth. The same ritual can be applied to your mobile app. No, you don’t need to throw a party you need to introduce your product to the people.

It is not just about telling people about your product, it is about asking them for genuine feedback.

In a study done by Apptentive, it was concluded that more than 55% of the customers stop using an app if the customer feedback is not given any value.

Avoid the agony – the distress of customers by long feedback forums. A tiny email will just do the trick.

Just let your friends and family members know that you’ve launched an app and ask them for their feedback. The good thing about family and friends is that they will provide you with honest feedback. They will criticize and love the app for what it is.

An honest feedback will help you celebrate the birth of your app for the right cause. Try it out and see how things turn out.

  • Optimize the title and description of your app

The mobile app downloads for the year 2017 was estimated to around 197 billion.

The stats won’t matter much to you if you are just another mobile app user. But, if you’re a mobile app development company this stat will force you to think of optimizing your app for the app store.

The easiest and fastest way to optimize your mobile app is to start with the title and mobile app description of the app.

Jump-start your mobile app keyword research by Neil Patel’s brilliant blog post.

Once you’re done with the research you have to include those keywords in your title and the app description.

One thing that you need to ensure when writing description of your app is to write the description for the human, not for the search engine.  Of course, you can add keywords to the search engine, but try to make it long-tail and in a subtle way.

  • An in-app review pop-up

If you fear of taking direct feedback from the users by messaging each of your friends, you can always add an in-app pop-up review for the user.

Asking common people to review your app will help you get a different perspective from the people that are non-technical.

Using this simple technique Twitter improved it’s rating from a poor 2.5 to grand 4.5 in just a month’s time.

Furthermore, you will get the feedback from a common user and based-upon that feedback you can iterate your app.

 

  • Go for a consistent improvement strategy

Just getting the feedback is the easy part. The hard part is using that feedback to gain something valuable.

Your feedback is a great way to help you improve the retention rate of your mobile app.

In a study, it was revealed that only 24% of the people abandon the app just after using the app only once.

You cannot afford the luxury of losing that much customers. Your app or your business needs to bloom with new customers every single day. You need to work on mending and evolving your app for the betterment of your customers. And of course along the way making some money out of it.

For the final touches

No matter how naughty your baby turns out to be. You’ll always work on nourishing your baby with good values. Same goes for your mobile app.

No matter how much critics love your app, it is the customers who will decide the future of your mobile app. Work on fixing the bugs in your mobile app before the users get fed-up by your app.

It is necessary to take care of your app before the judgment day happens.

Whatever your result maybe, there is no shame in failing and trying again. After all, failure is the gateway to ultimate success.

 

Guest author Mohammad AliMohammad Ali is an experienced digital marketer and a search engine marketing specialist who is currently associated with Branex, as senior digital marketer and brand strategist.

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Gone are the days when having a dedicated app for your business was considered a luxury. Today, the situation is completely different, as your app has to compete against 7 million other apps. Yes, you read that right. As a business, you want your app to stand out so it gets as many downloads and installs as possible. This is where app store optimization comes into play. Professional mobile app development companies not only help you create an app, they also let you attract some eyeballs on the app store.

by Irfan Ahmed Khan

Here are some of the best app store optimization tips that can skyrocket the number of app downloads for your application.

1.     Name It Carefully

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This quote by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet might sound all romanticized and idealistic, it does not hold true when it comes to mobile apps. In fact, not only does your app name influence its rankings on the app store, but also its durability and format.

Choose a short and sweet sounding name for your app so that it does not exceed the character limits set by the respective app stores. This allows you to add keywords after the name, which makes it easier for users to find your app and clearly show them what your app is all about. Some of the best examples in this regard are Google Maps-GPS Navigation, eBay-Buy, Sell-Find Deals and Pandora-Free Music and Radio.

2.     Pay Attention to Details

The Metadata of your app, such as app subtitles, app descriptions, and app keywords, play a crucial role in determining your visibility on app stores. According to StoreMaven, only 2% of iOS users and 5% of Android users actually read beyond the “Read More” button in your app’s short description. This means that you have to make every character count and make a lasting impression in the first couple of sentences. Try to make it as concise and attention-grabbing as possible. Use bullet points for longer descriptions and highlight the unique features of your mobile app. Never forget to mention all the awards and honorable mentions that your app has garnered. Make sure that the comprehensive version of your app description is just the right length. It should be more than 500 characters but less than 3000 characters.

3.     Show, Don’t Tell

Your app users want to take a sneak peek at how your app looks and performs. Although you can’t grant them their wish, you can at least give them a preview through screenshots and show your app in action with an app preview video to pique their interest. All this goes a long way towards boosting the number of app downloads and installs. Make sure that your video focuses on important features and hooks the reader in the first few seconds of the video.

4.     Use App Indexing

For iOS app developers, Spotlight Search offers an opportunity to engage existing users frequently. Another nifty feature that both Android and iOS developers can take advantage of is Google’s Firebase app indexing. It allows users to search for all dynamic content in your app. This can come in handy, especially if you have a content-rich app, as you can maximize your reach through the use of these app indexing features.

5.     Rating Does Matter

Your app ratings have the power to make or break your app reputation. Studies have shown that a rating of 4 stars or higher can help you get more installs. Unfortunately, businesses do not have much control over these ratings. This means that there is no one-formula-fits-all for garnering a five-star rating. Luckily, there are aspects of your control that can help you get better ratings. Work on improving the user experience of your app and make it easier for users to perform desired operations, which will eventually translate into higher ratings for your app.

6.     Update It Frequently

Believe it or not, studies have found a link between an app update frequency and its ratings. This means that the more frequently you update your app, the better chance it has of ranking higher over the rating front. Fixing app crashes, bugs and errors through app updates go a long way towards delivering a much better user experience, which guarantees a boost in rankings. Make sure to incorporate a suite of useful features in your app every time you refurbish it.  Most top apps are updated every couple of weeks. Use push notifications to alert your existing users about the new updates.

7.     Price Your App Right

There are two types of apps: Free and paid. Even if your app development timeline is long, you should plan to monetize it. Make sure to price it optimally. You can value your app anywhere between $0.99 and $2.99, so as not to deter users while ensuring a lucrative venture. Ensure that your app is replete with valuable features that actually coax users into paying your price. Setting an exorbitant price-tag can prove to be disastrous as users might be detracted by the high prices and steer clear of your app.

8.     Ensure Compatibility with All Devices

With a proliferation of devices out there, businesses are striving to make their app compatible with a wide array of devices. Be it smartwatches, smart TVs or smart homes, your app should be compatible with all the other systems in its vicinity or those it is destined to align with. The more platforms and devices your app supports, the brighter its chances are of basking in the limelight.

Which app store optimization techniques do you use to boost your app rankings? Feel free to share them with us in the comments section below.

 

About the Author:

Irfan Ahmed Khan is a digital marketing expert and a blogger. He is a passionate digital strategist. Currently, associated with Digital Marketing Agency. He has worked with various other brands and created value for them.

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Push notifications are a great thing, as they can add value to the app, and also ensure usage. App creators and marketers may rely on it too much though, and usage needs to be relevant. Confusing relevance with consumer location can further complicate matters. There may be no correlation. In addition, notifications should be viewed in context with re-targeting efforts. Notifications often serve the same purpose as re-targeting ads, which is getting people to use the app.

First the good news – being pushy hurts less

Localytics found in a survey that people’s tolerance for push notifications has gone up slightly:

(Source: Localytics)

Localytics further states that push notifications are more accepted when they are triggered by a preference stated by a user. Their research also found that 42% said they would use the app more if they factor in the user’s location into the content and messages that are pushed.

Location may be deceiving

Knowing where a consumer is can certainly help push notifications be more relevant, and as marketers are aware, it can help improve the relevance of ads. But one has to consider the audience, and Bank of America found clear gaps between generations about using the location of the consumer:

Source: BofA

Context + location + relevance = Push away!

What’s more important of course, is that location data is used in a constructive manner. Having the app push notifications just because you went to a restaurant (ehem Google) may become annoying very quickly. But if I’m say a wine enthusiast, I’d love to know if I’m near a restaurant with excellent wine. In this case, context is combined with location and relevance (Vivino guys, feel free to steal this idea!).

As an app designer or developer, you should cooperate with your marketing team to ensure that notifications are being used in a relevant manner. Ensuring re-targeting ads are used in the same manner as notifications – where relevance is put in the forefront, can be an excellent way to ensure continued user engagement.

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It is no exaggeration to say that if you have a deep hunger to be the best, you need to press forward and not be concerned with what will happen tomorrow. This is the success mantra often heard in today’s digital arena, and if not followed, you will disappear in the thousands of unnamed businesses that exist as ghosts on the web and with no visibility or ranking on app stores or search engines. Nobody really wants to be in such a situation, which has resulted in companies deploying a major focus on mobile app development and publishing in the past few years. And, studies show that the intense focus on apps will continue into the future.

by Ashni Sharma 

You should not be surprised tomorrow morning if you will see a competing startup you never heard of suddenly appear in rankings and search results. And it could very well be that the startup is using the same keywords you are! In such situation, you may find yourselves wondering what to do next. Don’t panic as this post has a solution.

To understand how to get ahead, you need to understand trends in mobile app development, and how they apply to you. Let’s take a look at trending ideas you could apply in your mobile business app:

  1. Accelerated Mobile Pages

Accelerated Mobile Pages is a fresh way to enhance web page load time in mobile devices. It can result in a smart way to boost your conversion, improve bounce-rate and CTR, retain visitors, provide better user experience and high-end mobile search engine visibility. AMP can be equally advantageous for both developers and online businesses.

  1. Cloud-based Development

Most of the mobile app development companies are approaching cloud-based app development technology to get a streamlined operation, collaboration and improved business results. An app developed by the cloud-based approach can fetch data from the cloud thereby reducing the internal memory load.

  1. Business Bots

According to a study, Chatbots are gaining wide popularity in the mobile app market at a CAGR of 37.11% and are expected to reach USD 6 Billion by 2023. Chatbots, when combined with mobile apps, render a stimulating customer interaction for multifarious businesses. Some of the famous chatbots developed in 2017 are PONCHO (A Weather Forecaster), MELODY( The Doctor) and ENO (Your Financial Assistant). A basic reason to adopt this technology is to improve customer interaction, sales, and user engagement.

  1. Wearable apps

The introduction of smartwatches and other connected wearables have together combined to create a greenfield market for technology. A majority of these devices can provide many standalone features to users but often require some mobile app support. Users generally prefer wearable devices to run in sync with their mobile phones so that they can easily access data or interact with the device.

  1. Internet of Things

Internet of Things or IoT makes use of sensor technologies to enable automation, remote control and monitoring in non-IT devices. Developers are often more prone to opt for the most trendy choice when it comes to remote devices. A large number of IoT devices use mobile devices to syndicate data. The surge in the overall use of IoT has resulted in more mobile apps created for the management of these devices.

  1. Blockchain

Blockchain has gained huge popularity in the past few years as the infrastructure behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It can be used widely by developers as an incorruptible digital ledger by to create financial apps, which will no doubt have an impact in 2018. Developers will leverage the shared and incorruptible digital ledger to make a sorted list of a variety of financial transactions and record transaction history. In enterprise mobile app development, developers can make use of blockchains to enhance app security and data by minimizing all possibilities of data tampering. They can further customize it to record a list of sensitive and valuable transactions.

  1. Augmented and virtual reality

The concept of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies has gone a beyond the areas of gaming and entertainment. AR allows products to be showcased in detail through a visual experience. Moreover, companies can train their employees in an interactive way to enhance productivity.

Virtual reality works along a similar track to showcase products in virtual showrooms with a 3D vision without consuming much space. Here, a blend of photography and technology can be smartly used for promotion of products and services in an interactive manner.

  1. On-demand mobile apps

On-demand mobile apps cannot be left out when it comes to discussing the prominent trends of today. The major reason is that they make our life easier. We can use these apps as and when required, at our own convenience. Major categories of on-demand apps include food ordering apps, car cleaning apps, renting apps, taxi services, laundry service and many more. Startups are working on maximizing the benefits utilizing this proactive mobile app development trend. Some examples of popular on-demand mobile apps are Uber, Airbnb, Grubhub and Peapod.

In summary

The rapid pace with which technology is changing is giving rise to the adoption of new trends and tactics for developers. This is why mobile apps are occupying a big mindshare in the digital economy due to their encompassing capabilities. Gone are the days when businesses think of only having a website representing their brand. Now, mobile apps are not only an investment opportunity but also a necessity. As a developer, if you can target a few of the concepts that have been discussed in this post, it will be easier to get more out of your apps to move your business forward.

About the Author

This post has been written by Ashni Sharma who is a professional mobile app developer at AppsChopper, a predominant niche mobile app development company. The author has a great interest in writing technical articles related to the hottest app development trends in the marketplace. Her major intent is to provide every business person the essential app development insight that he or she is looking for.

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It is no wonder that top mostly-used mobile apps inhabit the first user’s page. Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Angry Birds, etc., this list can be further followed by hundreds of reputed applications that have already become the household names nowadays.  Subsequently, it comes naturally to many promising startuppers to ask that very question: how much does it cost to create a mobile app? Before you haven’t started daydreaming about megabuck incomes, you should fully understand that app development from scratch involves several stages, each of which will be time-consuming and pricey.

by Sonia

Project milestones to be considered:

 

  • Doing a market-research
  • Choosing a platform
  • Creating a team
  • Conducting usability tests

 

A stepping stone

First, you have to make up your mind which type of the app you want to build since it will influence the app development cost. Simple apps that perform only one specific function tend to be the cheapest, while more complex ones have to deal with multiple user interfaces and cost much more. The top-most pricey mobile applications are games due to their coding complexity.

Test a market

You also need to be aware of all applications similar to your concept. It will help you create the one of a kind product that won’t have counterparts on the market. While doing research, it is also essential to come up with a target audience for your app. Specify gender and age of app intended users.

Pick on technology and platform

The next core step is to choose a platform and technology for your app (e.g., JavaScript frameworks for the front-end, Java, .NET for the backend). Defining which platform to use will also have an impact on the app development cost. Android apps appear to be a bit more expensive than IOS and Windows since they require optimization for the broader range of devices and versions of operating systems.

Setting up a team 

All considered, the app building will take around 8-10 weeks, i.e., 120 work hours a week. First, you need developers who will work full time (80 hours). However, your team cannot include only a couple of developers who will do the most of the work. Every app involves a ‘heavy lifting’ behind the scenes that is equal to the bigger team. Thus, you will also need a UI-designer working part-time (20 hours) to create a visual content, an account manager, and a product manager – to associate with clients and coordinate the whole project (another 20 hours). These 120 hours will cost you around $120-150k.

If these prices seem to be too high for you, you may reduce the app development cost by hiring freelance developers. Nevertheless, the experience has proven that any freelancer won’t understand your vision of the product and equal your expectations.

Finishing strokes

Prototype testings

The final step reveals whether your app is on the beam or not. The best way to get an external feedback is to conduct prototype testings. Luckily enough, nowadays there is plenty of available tools that provide consolidated use of actions and screens within the same transitions and user gestures. After all, it is also critical to involve as many people as humanly possible for conducting additional testings. These people, however, should fit your target audience. In fact, such tests will be the most compelling evidence of whether your app meets customers’ preferences/ requirements or not.

Code and talk

Having done all needed prototype testings, you can move on to the next development stage of primary importance. It is the very time to start writing the software itself. Indeed, this staging point will reveal the professional manner of your developers’ team. In fact, your developers’ team may also do its bit and make some changes in your app for its better optimization. Nevertheless, keep control over every step done in this process since the future of the app rests in the hands of your team. For this reason, it is essential to set up a communications channel with your engineers. Take into account developer’s preferences when agreeing on time and days for meetings and calls. When you discuss together every feature of your app, you won’t have discordances in your expectations for the app. In fact, the median cost for tests ranges between $10-20k.  

Cloud storage services

By any reckoning, your application will also require the backend maintaining and powering. Think twice about the costs and the functional ability when choosing a cloud storage service. There is a plenty of providers, but Microsoft Azure, Rackspace, and Amazon are known to find ready purchasers within IT-segment.

Remember, successful mobile app development requires not only your devotion but also significant investments. Before launching your application on App stores, make sure your team is available for making updates and bugfixes as well as conducting downstream testings. For this reason, be braced for providing a fair wage for your developers’ team. This business is built on one simple truth – you get what you pay for.

Salute from Sonia! If you read this article, this means we’re are a brace in our common obsession with geek news. I’m doing my best to put a slant on topics of interest for tech ninjas. To keep abreast of  IT-news, please visit our website and follow us on Facebook/Twitter.

 

 

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New years is the time of predictions for blogs, journalists and news sites, thought leaders and the like. Few of the predictions get judged a year after, and many are blatantly obvious or provide no real insight into what it means for your business, but still, it’s worth reading. We take a look at a few of the notable ones.

Mobile gaming – continued growth

There are some notable sources in the mobile game arena, like research company Newzoo that revised it’s mobile gaming revenue growth up from a $35bn estimate for 2018 earlier this year to $39bn. AppAnnie predicts the app stores revenues will go past the $100bn mark. However, among the most interesting prediction articles comes from Mobile Dev Memo. They predict the following:

  • A reshuffle of the top 5. Not too controversial of a guess
  • Continued consolidation, with at least one $1 billion acquisition. This is bound to happen, as some companies (aka Zynga) buy rather than create, while others buy because they have so much scale and can use that on smaller and upcoming companies and titles and reap savings in ad spend.
  • The end of app intelligence. The demise of companies like Newzoo mentioned above, and AppAnnie and other may be a tough one. Making a living on just app data may be tough, but many of these companies have managed to pivot to provide insights into specific demographics etc. or jumped into other markets (Blockchain anyone?)

Mobile advertising – a bloody mess

Spending on mobile ads is expensive, and according to Goodway Group is getting really bad: A 45% increase in cost is expected!. Combine that with Juniper’s estimates of $51m per day being wasted by fraud in 2018, signing those checks for ad spend will hurt even more.

App monetization – Ads more important than IAP

Given the spending increase on apps overall, it is perhaps no surprise that Soomla predicts ad revenue will be more important than in-app purchase revenue.  Fittingly, they predict a focus on finding ‘ad whales’, users who are more valuable because they interact with ads etc. This is, of course, similar to whales within gaming who spend the most of the money but represent a small fraction of users. One has to wonder about whether this is a good thing though – i.e. do these whales turn into actual customers of the advertiser? If not, the impact long term will be quite negative.

Que sera sera

Inspired by the words from Doris Day, we know the momentum for mobile continues. App revenues will increase, China and India will dominate, even more, more people will make money, more people will steal money and more people will lose money. That’s why we do what we do – like Rocky Balboa in round 11 – we say “Hit harder!”. You’re not in the mobile industry if you are not partially enjoying pain. Happy New Year!

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A mobile software development company is always on an endless mission of app development. Starting from finding a garden-fresh concept to successful launch of a mobile app involves myriads of background activities. Still, when development is done, the work of mobile software development company is far from over.

By M.Sohel

A mobile app is normally successful when it gets top ranking in the search pages of app store. The key responsibility after launching an app is its promotion to create awareness of your app among your target audience. There needs to be a strategic plan in place.

Whether the mobile software development company is launching a new mobile app, going for a relaunch or updating the app, a launch will either save or cost you a lot of time and money.

Let us help your team with this guide to improve user retention, increase daily usage, and reduce dumping rates after launch.

  1. Know Your Audience

The first and most key part of a successful mobile app launch is getting to know your audience. This will require some serious investments in market research. This research will gain you insights into users’ behaviors and attitudes as well as pain points and dislikes about the apps already existing in the market.

Precisely identifying your target audience’s requirements will help you build an app that is user-centric. This way your mobile software development company will be able to decide the features to include in the app and better deal with customer expectations. It will not only save a lot of time and money but also provide a steady foundation for the successful launch and marketing of your mobile app.

  1. Unique Positioning of Your App

Your mobile app needs to stand out in a multitude of over 2 million apps already present in the market. The success of your mobile app largely depends on its unique value proposition in offering a product that is better and different from any other app in the market. You need to let your target audience know the value your mobile app delivers so that they are inclined to download the app.

Additionally, bring your internal team and key stakeholders on the same page in respect of your app’s value proposition. This will help you position your app in the market and build its brand equity. Brand positioning of your app will give you an edge over competitors and get your app noticed. Obviously, this will lead to more downloads and purchases.

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  1. Define Your Success Goals

A mobile software development company needs to set goals and monitor them to ascertain the app launch is on track and successful. Many mobile apps generate revenue from advertising and in-app purchases. Statistically, the data suggests nearly 80% of the apps developed are used just once and never returned to by users. To avoid your app ending up in a ghost town and stem the revenue loss, you need to track downloads, usage and user retention.

The success of your mobile app launch, in fact, can be gauged by a certain set of measurable metrics. Keeping it simple by setting your goals around active install rates, session lengths, retention rates, number of reviews, average rating score and Lifetime Value is key.

  1. Pre-Launch Action

You have completed your app development work and now it is time to start building an audience for your app. Every mobile software development company needs to have a marketing plan in place. There are multiple ways to inform your potential users about a mobile app before its launch.

Map out a timeline of events leading up to your mobile app launch, and set your launch date ahead of time. Create a to-do list of marketing activities including social media engagement, early access for bloggers, design, and launch of website and development of advertising plan.

Make a press kit with all the information to give out to reporters and bloggers to promote your app. Also, create a landing page on a website for your app to collect emails and suggestions from interested users. Treat your app store description as advertising copy. Write an impressive app description with main features of the app to get your users excited about downloading and using the app. Include the keywords in the title and description of your app your users are entering in search to find the apps they want to download. Always follow App Search Optimization (ASO) best practices to help your app rank higher in the app store. Furthermore, submit your mobile app to a product curation site that appropriately fits your target market and mobile app.

  1. Launch Your Mobile App

Now the time to launch your app has finally arrived. You need to submit your app to the app store(s) following the submission guidelines and get an approval for the same.

As per a survey by Quettra, an average of 77% of daily mobile users abandon an app after only three days. It is, therefore, imperative to create a great first impression of your app within the first few days prior to the launch. If you fail to impress your new users, most likely you will lose them quickly. Highlighting the value of the app will ensure a greater optimization of the onboarding process. This will ensure a high download and user retention rate.

Spread the word of your app launch by circulating the information to a press list, social influencers, bloggers and communities to let them know about your app’s release. Encourage them to test it out and review the app to gain greater visibility. Additionally, promote your app on popular social platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other networks.

  1. Post Launch Follow-Up

Once the mobile app is up and running and introduced to the world then you need to assess its performance against the goals you had set out initially. Follow-up on the parameters of customer satisfaction, engagement, and retention rates. Customer reviews and feedback will be of great help to understand if your mobile software development company met the mobile app launch goals.

The reasons for user abandonment of an app more often than not are the lack of interest, change in user needs, and simply the lack of usefulness. Mobile software development companies need to be able to adapt their apps to the changes in market demands and the shifts in user expectations. Therefore, it is imperative to regularly update the app experience and add new features and personalized content.

Another strategy to help drive engagement and retention is giving users incentive to use your app. Mobile-specific rewards, specialized content access, coupons, special promotions, and other offers will help drive conversions and boost engagement. Push notifications is another great way to engage and encourage activity and even get back inactive users. However, choose your messaging wisely and make sure it is valuable to the user as people hate to be spammed.

Encourage your users to submit reviews and mobile software developers should be diligent in resolving negative reviews. Always keep communication channels open to users for feedback. Try to maintain high ratings as they are reflective of user experience.

Closing Thoughts

A mobile app launch entails a continuous effort that requires reassessment as market demand changes. There will always be room for improvement based on the user feedback. Mobile software Development Companies need to keep their mobile apps updated and fresh through new features added to keep users engaged.

This article is contributed by Mohd Sohel Ather, He is a content marketing professional and work as guest blogger and enjoys exploring the latest technologies and taking on new challenges. He contributes on high quality blogs like https://blog.codengo.com/ and shares his experiences with the blog’s readers.