Here is a guide to get you started on creating the mobile app that you envision.
Pre-development Phase
Before app development commences, it is integral to conduct extensive market research and project management. This research allows you to prepare your objectives and lay-out your plan to make it happen.
Market Research
Before embarking on this project, you might already have app ideas in mind for your business. It is ideal to start your market research from there. Market research involves studying how your business stands from a mobile app standpoint, covering the intended audience, the functionalities on your app to keep them interested, and analyzes your competitors.
Project Management
Project management involves putting together a comprehensive team to begin your app development. This tactic includes relevant roles in IT, marketing, sales, product development, and executive leaders.
Once you have your team, you can establish your app’s goals, which involve both the back-end and front-end aspects that make up your application. Brainstorm the features and benefits suitable to the allocated budget and in-house capacity. Otherwise, you can opt for other options like hiring an external team to manage the project.
Before developing your app, creating a prototype version streamlines the development process. It provides an opportunity to evaluate design concepts, features, functionalities. This process also allows you to obtain feedback that you can apply during development.
Development Phase
The development phase implements all the ideas and feedback. For companies that acquired an external team, make sure to have them sign an NDA. A non-disclosure agreement enables you to ensure that you can obtain deliverables within the intended time frame.
Moreover, make sure to have someone from the team create developer accounts for the app stores to avoid delay. While they are at it, familiarize yourself with the app store guidelines to avoid any conflict in the future.
Pre-Launch Phase
After finishing the app, rigorous testing and quality control is vital. Make sure to test your app against everyday situations to get on top of possible flaws. It is necessary to go back to the beginning and go through every feature to ensure the navigation is seamless.
App Launch
Sales and marketing teams play an essential role during the app launch. An effective marketing strategy can make or break the success of your app. A significant part of sales and marketing involves optimizing keyword search to set up SEO and app store optimization (ASO).
Moreover, additional marketing efforts to increase brand awareness include the following:
- Blogs featuring your app
- Social Media marketing
- A website dedicated to your app
- Targeted ads
Post-Launch Phase
The work does not end after launching the app. Marketing is an ongoing process that can open doors for your venture. It is vital to keep your users engaged to keep them from using the app. The key to this is through targeting customer engagements. Here are some tips to improve their usage:
- Set up push notifications for special offers and promotions
- Offer incentives to encourage more users to download your app
- Provide referral rewards for users recommending your app
- Ask for customer feedback, and provide technical support for issues surrounding the app.
Looking for a Mobile App Developer?
If you are writing your app in Swift or Objective-C and need help, Brian Kayfitz can help, he has over 10 years of experience building iOS apps. If you are looking to build an app for both iOS and Android.