Raise your business game with a branded app

Progress in business is all about the thrill of the new –  from launching your first product onwards. Adapting to marketing changes and customer expectations can make the difference between a business that sinks or swims – especially in the start-up days when understanding your customer and their needs are so vital. As business online increasingly shifts onto mobile platforms, developing an app can mean a big boost in business – but where do you start? How do you get one created? And, crucially, how much is it all going to cost? Here’s what you need to know:

Be sure of your customer needs

With app development, too many small businesses have fallen prey to the ‘build it, and they will come’ mentality, but that isn’t going to work here.  With all the time and expense involved, you need to be sure the undertaking is worth it. Market research is the first step in the journey, and you should invest a significant chunk of the budget into understanding specific needs of your mobile customer. Talk to them face to face, and undertake but quantitive and qualitative research to understand what they will be using your app for and why.  Then, create an outline plan for what you want the app to do, go back and test it some more. You simply can’t have too much feedback before you begin to invest in development time.

Understand the costs involved

While creating an app isn’t as expensive as most entrepreneurs think, and low-cost platforms through independent developers and even off-the-shelf solutions are driving costs down, it still pays to understand what costs are involved and make sure you have the right budget. Prices can vary dramatically depending on the project, level of customisation required and other factors. An app price calculator can help you work out what your reasonable expenses will be, and remember to include a contingency budget for unexpected development costs as well.

Find the right developer

You’ll be working closely with a designer, so finding the right fit is absolutely paramount to success. Word of mouth recommendations are valuable, and you can also use sites that let you access skills from recent graduates and current students looking for experience, which can help to cut costs. There are also increasingly good off-the-shelf options to investigate, where the appearance and content can be customised to various degrees. Using data analytics post-launch and scheduling regular updates can also help to tailor a generic option more to suit customer preferences.

Make an impact on the App Store

Once you’re ready to launch,  you’ll find a crowded marketplace can make it hard to gain visibility on the App Store or Google Play. Here’s where SEO techniques come back into play – you can use a tool like AppTweak to work out successful targeting. Developing the app to include a review plug-in module can also be hugely useful. And make sure you approach your testing group – employees, friends and family – to also leave reviews. Make sure there are easy channels for customers to contact you in case of any complications, so you can resolve issues before they post a negative review.