Things to know before creating a business mobile application

Photo credit: youtube.com   Edition by Amber255 via Bitlanders.com

My last blog was about the need to create a mobile application for business, and how the mobile app could benefit your business success. Let's talk about how to start, from where to begin if you finally decide that your business is matured enough to have a mobile app. It is not so easy: it is not enough to get up one morning and create an app. There are things you should ask yourself, and some things you should decide about. 

Although it passed almost ten years when the first modern mobile app compliant to current standards was created, some businessmen still ask if the business needs to be on the smartphone. Some years ago, people mobile applications mostly used for entertainment. Today, they are becoming inclusive business tools that can help increase the productivity of the business and mobility of employees. 

It is said that the company must follow the needs of customers. Otherwise, it will become history. And the trend shows that consumers are leaving the desktop screens. They are choosing the smartphones and tablet PCs.

Create an app - Photo credit: dennispdreo.blogspot.com

Creating a mobile application for your business can open doors to new markets.  It will help to track detailed your customers' purchases, and better inform them about your products or services provided.

In order for your application to provide all of the above benefits, you must first think and plan everything.

I remember the days when our Real Estate company worked without a mobile app.  Now, when we work using an app, we all agree that it really facilitated our work with customers. We have an internal mobile app for workers needs with a huge database. So, going to the meetings with customers, we do not need anymore to bring our computers for entering the database. It is enough to have a smartphone with ourselves. When our boss decided to create an app, all employees participated in this process. We had a few meetings and surveys to decide what the mobile app should it be and what functions should it perform to us. It was interesting to test it, to give advice, and follow all the creation details. Now, our company is creating an app for customers.

Mobile is no longer just a luxury, which is available to an exclusive class of society. It has now emerged as a necessity for users, developers and businesses alike. Users who once browsed websites on their PCs now do so on their mobile devices. Everything, including payment, has now become mobile.

Credit: lifewire.com

So, all my experience with the mobile app I am sharing with you. Here's what you need to know before you start creating a mobile application. If you seriously want to create a mobile application for business and you even have a good idea why you need it, then you should first think about some issues before you start spending money for the app development.

How to Go from App Idea to App Store - Video credit: ForrestKnight via Youtube.com

 Does your Business Really Need a Mobile App?

Even if you really want to create an app, keep in mind that it is not necessarily necessary for the company. You can fulfill the desire to create an app, but it may be not useful for your business.

Think what the tasks or needs will solve your mobile application? Do you need it for your employees to facilitate their work, or the app's purpose will be to increase products' sales and to promote your great services? 

Until then, a cumbersome, schematic web page seemed to be the right tool for any business to communicate with the user. Now, this approach is outdated. Much more needs to be done and focused on the user experience, and the smart gadget at this point is more advantageous, more user-friendly, and faster than the website for the user.

Business Mobile Application  - Photo credit: twitter.com

What Is The Purpose Of The App And What Functions It will Perform?

When you decide that the application is useful for your business, be sure to figure out what it should do - what its concept and purpose will be. This is one of the areas where you should not hurry. This part needs to be done right before you start investing in a mobile application.

I believe in the slow startup process, which states that you first need to create a value hypothesis for what you want to program. There are three essential points to consider when setting the value you want to create.

• Target market

Do you want to create an app to attract new customers or just to keep existing ones? Do you want to track better the results of your employees, or give them the tools to increase their productivity while they are on the road or at the customer? 

These key issues need to be evaluated first, and if you are like most businessmen, then there is likely to be a need for all of these things. You have to decide which of the target markets will give your business the highest return on investment.

The target market for the business app - Photo credit: dsmmcm1718.wordpress.com

• Ultimate user

This thing goes hand in hand with the target market. Who are your ultimate users? Are they the existing customers, potential customers, or both? And is it the employees, managers or owners? Who is the beneficiary of your application?

If you create an app with a purpose to monitor the location of your employees, the owner or manager of the company will benefit more than the worker. 

• Context

Finally, you need to go back to the generic value of the application and ask how it will fit into your other projects and systems. In other words, will this application be a separate application, or will it be related to your existing business management system? I believe that mobile devices are really helping with the business management system. I do not imagine anymore my work in a current company without a mobile app. It facilitates our work a lot.

Your goal is to create an app for specific mobile devices that optimize the user's experience for those devices they use. If your employees much time spend to serve the clients, they simply will waste unproductive time searching for a computer to find useful information or for entering data into a management system.

Moreover, some of the companies still have paper processes where technicians record notes on paper, and someone else has to enter that information into a computer. The mobile application allows any employee to view and enter information while he is communicating with the client, while he is working outside or on the go.

Create a mobile application  - Photo credit: twitter.com

Will The  Mobile Application Become An Advertising Tool For An Existing Business?

If your mobile application aims to present your local business, then the fastest way to accomplish this would be to hire a local mobile application company. You do not need to go deep into the processes, just show them the kind of gadgets you like, give the text, photos, and videos that you would like to show in the mobile application. If you can, think of some useful function of your mobile application.

Apple has tightened its acceptance of the AppStore terms, and the purely mobile advertising apps risk to be unconfirmed and non published in a story.  To get as many downloads as possible - plan that your application will be free, and promote it to all your customers when your mobile app is hosted on AppStore or Google Play Store. 

Business mobile application - Photo credit: twitter.com

 How Do The Mobile Application Will Look Like?

Regardless of whether the application is for a tablet, smartphone, iPhone or Android, it does not matter at all, until your user interface does not look flawless. So, in my opinion, the next step would be to make the application layout. The layout is just a drawing. In fact, the simplest way to communicate with a developer is to draw a drawing for what he has to do. Simply express the drawing in the way the screen image looks like, which buttons, notes or pictures will be in it. Initially enough to draw boxes with the words in them.

Remember, the most important is the user interface.

Principles of mobile app design: Delight users and drive conversions

Video credit: GoogleDevelopers via Youtube.com

What Kind Of Mobile Devices Will The App Support?

The main operating systems are three (Android, Apple, and Microsoft), of which two are the most common - Android and Apple.

The question for which mobile device to build the app is a very serious question. The battle on the market between Apple and Google is very interesting and harsh. Also, Microsoft or even Blackberry cannot be completely eliminated. In any case, having a layout or sketch in your hands, the decision to choose a smartphone, a tablet or both will be more weighed, will not simply be speculation about what your consumer wants. I recommend that you simply ask your ultimate user before making these complex decisions.

Operating systems that have gadgets function are not one - to include all the clients, you need to create at least two gadget versions.

Mobile devices - Photo credit: wallpaper.enam.site 

Who Will Create Your Application And How Much Will It Cost?

These questions are asked together because they are very relevant. You can find good programmers, you can work with freelance programmers with a very diverse level of experience from around the world, but of course, you need to be very careful. Often such cases end in failure. Due to endless management and conversational problems, not everyone understands your language well, not all freelance programmers are fair, and this kind of work model can become a very complex challenge. At the same time, programming requires constant, very clear, and precise communication. It's best to work with a local company - so you really will communicate in one language, it will make it easier to control progress. 

Before thinking about the price, it is advisable to have an investment return calculation. Trying to save is usually going to cost you much more in the long run. Plan to spend at least 4-6 weeks for simple application design, programming, testing and putting into the application store. 

Create a mobile application - Photo credit: blog.sina.com.cn

Approval of the Google Store takes up to 2 hours and Apple up to 5 business days if the application meets the store requirements and policies.

Apple has the policy to reject the applications if there are too many such applications in the store.  A small not complex application can cost between $ 3,000 and $ 1,100. If you work with a large company, you require a lot of unique graphics and integrate with a complex server environment - plan a much higher cost.

Be sure to sign the contract. If you do not want to hire a lawyer, ask developers to submit their typical contract. Publishing costs are also inevitable - $100 per year for Apple, and $25 a year for Google, which is required to release your gadget into their stores. So reserve some money for these things.

Mobile applications - Photo credit: blog.netminds.it

How Will You Promote Your Business Application To The Customers?

You can create the best application in the world, but if nobody knows about it, this project will not have a high return on investment. The use of QR codes in posters in a store or other marketing material does work well. Do not forget about Facebook and other social networks.

When you run the application and have users, be sure to update the application and effectively use the push notification features. True, not so much that people would want to ignore your posts.

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On The Final Note

If you use and manage your application correctly, it can be one of the best marketing tools for your business. Everyone has a phone with himself now, and if the user has downloaded your application, then most likely he wants to receive information from you.

Do not assume that you have finished the application. Unfortunately, it will probably be never finished. As soon as the application comes to life and your customers start using it, new ideas will emerge. Improvements will begin to ask for to be implemented.

Mobile application for business - Photo credit: twitter.com

 The attractiveness of mobile applications is obvious. The barriers that you will have to overcome when designing your mobile application are relatively small, and the results are promising. Investing in a little money and time can turn your idea into a stable source of income.

 Therefore, my advice to businessmen - give 10% off resources and time to understand what new technologies bring. Companies that allocate 100 percent attention and resources only to support the existing functions, quickly become uncompetitive.

The future of mobile is the future of online. It is how people access online content now. - Phil Nickinson, Editor of Android Central

Credit: blog.thunderquote.com

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You can check my other blogs: 

1. Best Seven Smartphones for Business Users

2. Importance of Graphic Design for Business Promotion on Instagram

3. The 7 Rules for Better Your Website Optimization

4. Is it worth to create a mobile application for business? 

Come back to find more...

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