7 Common Mistakes Made Before Launching A Mobile App

While the market is saturated with apps the percentage of successful apps is incredibly low. If you want all of your hard work and investment to pay off then you need to focus on more than just development of the app, there are multiple other hurdles and often a fantastic app has not been successful because these were overlooked. Consumers are increasingly spending time on apps and as the market grows not launching your own is a missed opportunity. These seven commonly made mistakes can easily be avoided and will help ensure your app is getting the exposure it deserves.

Not Conducting Market Research

It goes without saying that in order to be commercially successful you must first understand your target market. The competition in the app market has been steadily increasing for years and shows no signs of slowing down, so if you want your app to be successful you cannot underestimate the importance of market research. Before developing your app research similar apps which are already available, look for gaps in the market, and focus on what you can incorporate into the design to make your app stand out from the crowd. There are multiple resources you can utilize to aid you with market research, including Statista, Socialmention, Google Trends, and Google Surveys. These will help you keep up to date with ongoing market trends, conduct surveys within your target markets, and accept datasets from within your industry.

Ignoring The Importance Of ASO

ASO or App Store Optimisation may be how you increase your app’s visibility in the app store but it is still often overlooked by developers and this can lead to an otherwise commercially viable app not succeeding.  A strong ASO strategy will increase app traffic and ensure it is easily found in-store with just the use of a keyword. If used well ASO can also lead to your app being featured in the app stores, further improving traffic. A good app description can also help improve your app’s visibility in-store, and websites such as Stateofwriting and Ukwritings are available to help you write an informative and ASO friendly description. It is important to note that ASO is a continuous process and must be constantly worked on for optimal success.

Not Considering UI

The user should be at the heart of your design and your app should be built in order to offer them the best experience possible.  Your app should feature an integrated user interface to create a seamless user experience while they go about using it. Developing a user-centric app with an attractive display and easy to use functions will ensure it stands out from similar apps and therefore has an advantage in the market.

Not Creating A Strong Marketing Strategy

It is not only vital that you have a market strategy but also that it is well defined and planned out. You will need a strategy which deals with all stages of app development from pre to post-launch as each stage is unique and will require different marketing techniques. The earlier you start marketing the better, so do not neglect to begin marketing in the developmental stage, this will ensure you have customers ready for when the app is launched and do not have a period where the app is live but you have not yet acquired a customer base.
When creating your marketing strategy it is worth focusing on social media platforms as these are an invaluable advertising tool, utilizing platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can rapidly increase your exposure and user base remaining cost-effective.  Websites such as Boomessays and Viawriting are fantastic tools for improving your content marketing plan. These services provide professional content writing on a wide array of subjects and can easily be utilized to improve the quality and legibility of market plan.

Updating Accordingly

Mobile operating systems update every few months and if your app is going to be successful you will need to ensure it is compatible with these updates. If your app is not flexible enough to accommodate updates it will be susceptible to bugs and unlikely to work well on any new OS or phones released. This will quickly make your app irrelevant, lose its standing in the app store and spell commercial disaster.

Not Allowing Your Consumers To Try The App Before Launch

No matter how much work has gone into developing your app there will still be some errors that can only be spotted through active usage, so why not let your customers do this for you. The Google Play Store has an ‘early access’ feature which allows users to install your ‘try the app’ before its official launch. Allowing users early access to your app also has the added advantage of advertising your app for you through word of mouth.

Ignoring User Feedback

Once you have allowed early access to your app it is imperative you pay close attention to the feedback you receive as it will be some of the most honest and qualitative feedback available to you. “Users have no reason to lie about their experience with your app and confronting and repairing any issues in these early stages will save a large amount of negative feedback and redevelopment in the future”, – explains Jeffery Gammage, a Marketing Manager at Essayroo and Bigassignments.

To Conclude

While it can be disheartening to try and juggle all of these tasks while also developing and launching an app, they are undoubtedly the key to its commercial success. Do not overlook the importance of marketing or implementing early user feedback, always keep the user’s experience in mind, and ensure your app is constantly updated in order to stay compatible with new OS and relevant within the app store.

Author Bio: Fred Tubbs is a marketing manager at Academized. He also works as a content writer and editor at Paper fellows and contributes his blog posts to the Vault and Australian help blogs.