App developers know that they’re building the technologies of the future. They’re aware that each time they create a new piece of software, a new hardware device, or a simple app that they’ll place on smartphone stores, they’re accessing a market of billions. And this market is only really set to grow this year, with millions more consumers getting online, and getting their hands on the latest smartphones enabled with 5G technology. In this guide, we’re going to look at how you can best deliver your apps to consumers, and to your clients, at the tail-end of a tumultuous year.
Feedback and Communication
When you’re creating an app, part of the process that’ll guide your development comes in the form of feedback, consultation, and communication with the parties that’ll decide whether your app is a success or a failure. If you’re producing an app for the mass market, you’re going to find that focus groups and trial runs with consumers are the best ways to get this all-important feedback. If you’re producing an app for a client, however, it’s far better to take a step-by-step approach, so that you’re sure the app that you’re developing is to their taste.
Over time, you’ll notice that the feedback that you receive from these pauses – when you present your product so far, and ask those you show it to for their ideas on improvement. This process is incredibly helpful in building your app. You’ll be shown where your app might fall down in comparison with others on the market. You’ll also be shown what works well, and what you should continue doing in your app development process.
Online and Remote Working
Of all the industries, you’d have thought that the one that creates software that’s coded on individual computer screens would be easily translated to remote work. But the truth is that there’s a fair amount of face-to-face communication – between developers, team leaders, clients, customers, and investors – that’s required to really get projects like these off the ground, and to keep the momentum up this year.
And so, if your firm has been getting used to remote work this year, you might have found that your working conditions and protocols are somewhat inadequate and frustrating – especially for those app developers who are used to working in close-knit teams. Above and beyond advice pertaining to virtual meet-ups and communication channels, it’s important that you’re able to meet in person, from time to time, for the important milestone conversations about your app’s progress. Schedule these for once a week if necessary to get all your workers on-side.
Delivering the Product
Here, we mean delivery in two senses. First, you’re looking to get the app finished to the specifications you’ve been working to. This means delivering on a promise to create an app that serves the customer you’re working alongside. The second form of delivery is physical and manifesto in letters and packages. Whether you’re marketing your product across the country, or sending out bundles of promotional goods and merchandise – or even setting consumers up with hardware to run your app from – you need a good delivery system.
In short, you need to find a way to get whatever you’re sending delivered as soon as possible, so the consumers you care about are satisfied. This is ramping up to be a major point of competition as Christmas looms, and more and more parcels hit the US postal service and courier services. Click here to look into order fulfillment services that’ll take the stress of delivery out of your hands – outsourcing postal delivery and returns of your products and merchandise this winter.
BETA Testing
All apps require BETA testing. This is essentially a pre-launch run that’ll show you where your app might need a couple of tweaks, and where you might be able to eliminate bugs before you hit the mass market. If you’re developing your app alongside a physical product or device, this is especially important: you need to know that hardware and software work in sync with one another, ensuring that your firm is delivering the best-possible product to consumers.
It’s important that you resist the urge to rush your product to market in the weeks following your BETA testing. It’s well worth taking a close look at the data that you’ve gathered in this trial period in order to predict whether your product will hold water when it does hit the mass market. Often, a period of instability, downtime, and increasing bugs can spell the end of a software or app package before it’s really had a chance to flourish – wiping out months of work on the part of your developers.
Marketing and Sales
You may feel like the hard work is completed after you’ve created your product and delivered your marketing materials and merchandise to the funders and consumers who’ve expressed interest in your product. But the truth is, the journey for your app is only just beginning – and you’ll need far more time to secure the sales volume required to make a success of your product. This means operating with an aggressive sales and marketing strategy, which you’ll enact as soon as you’re through with BETA testing. Here are some marketing tips for app developers in 2020:
- Make sure that your website is well-built, and that it is SEO-friendly so that those searching for an app like yours will be able to find it easily on Google.
- Use digital marketing techniques to boost your visibility. This can mean anything from purchasing advertising spaces, to making affiliate marketing links with other tech companies.
- Partner with firms that will be interested in marketing your product, asking them to share it with their own clients and customers.
- Use social media to boost your visibility, sharing your product on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- Build a sales team to answer calls and to drive purchases in the demographics that you’re targeting for your product.
With these steps in place, you’ll be best-placed to make a success of your new app in 2020.
Building on Success
So, you’ve created an app, you’ve tested it for faults, and you’ve started to concentrate on getting the app’s name and brand out there for all to see. Now is the time to turn your attention to long-term objectives – like what you’ll do with the exposure that your app generates, and how you’ll deliver updates that will help you sell more products over time.
One of the key considerations, on delivering your app, is how you’re going to take it to the next stage. Will you internationalize your app by making it compatible with different regions and languages? Will you choose to hire a marketing team in a different geography – for instance the EU – to be closer to consumers there? These are decisions that you’ll need to make as soon as you’re gaining traction with your domestic market. Be sure to build on your initial success by forming long-term plans to sell, market, and develop your product.
Developing and delivering an app can take the best part of a year. Hundreds of thousands of hours are invested in your product – and you’re looking for a return on that investment, with sales generated to match your efforts. This guide aims to show you how you’ll achieve this, using techniques endorsed by app developers and marketers across the world.