There are millions of different mobile apps across the downloadable stores on phones, tablets and laptops, however only a small margin of these apps are actually successful. To be specific it was said in 2016 that only 1% of apps are actually popular, and frequently used by a significant amount of users.

However a massive 68% of mobile phone users indulge in application use on a regular basis, which leaves a huge market for this type of product. So it’s important when you’re designing your app that you bare some useful facts in mind, to ensure it doesn’t because useless, like the other 99% of forgotten-about-apps.

Bobby Mukherjee (Ceo of Luka, an application development company) stated that ‘’While ultimately there’s no substitute for shipping a product, there are some things that can make your app far less likely to bonk at the start line – you owe it to yourself to do all the available forms of diligence before the rocket leaves the Launchpad’’. What he means by this is a good app requires advanced planning and heavy preparation. So here are some useful tips to make your idea be more than just an idea.

• Get friendly with the marketplace: I’d say that the first step in this process is getting to know the marketplace like the back of your hand. I’m afraid this doesn’t mean researching one day for 6 hours, I mean tracking the Google store and App store overtime, keeping an eye on the different types of trends in the variety of sections such as ‘Top paid’, ‘Top free’ and ‘Top grossing’. This will give you rough but accurate idea of the types of apps which people are interested in, compared to the ones which never make it to the top. Also this will give you information of marketing strategy, pricing plans and winning designs.

• Compare your app to other existing ones, what’s the USP?: Take your application idea, compare it to other ones on the market, does it align with other successful ideas? If so, take that idea and give it a unique selling point, then you’re onto a winner. Chad Mureta, the CEO of App empire said that ‘’I can’t stress the importance of emulating existing apps enough. It’s easy for people to fall in love with their own idea, even if the market doesn’t show an appetite for it. But this is one of the most costly errors you can make’’ So it’s important for comparison to be made. Then if your app idea is similar to another current app then the only thing holding it back is the lack of a USP…it’s all well and good having a similarity to a successful app, but it can’t be exactly the same! Take Whatsapp for example, another internet messaging service, however their USP was no adverts and easy to access group chats – this made them an instant success with over 1.2 billion downloads last year.

• Not all about the instant download money!: The first and hardest part of an application being successful is actually getting the users to download it. But there is a way to make this stage a little easier to avoid, and this idea may seem simple but many developers avoid doing so for money-lust. Offering an initial period of ‘’freemium’’ may be the answer to getting users to download. This period must be well planned and timed, giving users enough time to claim and observe the benefits of the application, and then offering them payments plans and in app purchases, which they should do if they’ve enjoyed the application enough. This type of success is proved from the ultimate craze which Pokémon go generated in the first month of launch. An app which is completely free to download, however generated over 10$ million per day from in app purchases of ‘Pokecoins’ proves that the initial downloading fee isn’t the main element for success.

• Getting the right balance of information and fun: No matter the type of application which you have in mind, from games to banking and finance it can still be popular with its users. However gaming does seem to be the most popular with statistics showing 64% of people download from this category – and this is said to be because of the interaction and ‘fun’ element which games carry. A survey with over 8,000 smartphone users showed that 31% download apps if they sound interesting and fun – therefore making your app seem fun is crucial to success. This is straightforward if your application idea is in the gaming category, however if it’s based on news, weather, banking etc. it is harder, but not impossible. The key is to get a sustainable balance, giving your app interactive factors – the use of gamification (adding gaming elements to another idea to make it more appealing, e.g. point scoring, winning, interaction etc.) could be used to ensure this balance exists.

• Innovation – Keep up with the emerging technology!: Some of the most successful areas in 2016 have been entertainment, social media and on demand services such as Netflix and Amazon prime. This is all due to innovation of technology over the last year, therefore it’s vital to keep up with these trends if you’re creating an app in the TECHNOLOGY market. Connecting your devices to your homes is ‘in’ at the moment, things like the Apple TV, Airdrop and HomeKit all represent this. Voice control also is on the incline, with Amazon Echo being able to control features in your home (light switches, speakers, TV etc.) therefore interaction within the app is important, but maybe it’s also important to interact with external elements as well to keep up with technology.

• UseFUL or UseLESS?: Reviews from Business insider stated that some of the most popular apps last year included Pokémon Go, Instagram, Spotify and Apple TV. Does your idea correlate with any of these? Then you might be in luck. If so follow the tips above, do your research and take your time. Remember an application can’t be created overnight – be patient and pay attention to detail. It’ll pay off in time.

Bibliography:

(2017). [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/How-many-users-does-WhatsApp-have-worldwide [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].

(2017). The Sweet Way that Gamification Helps M&M’s Boost Consumer Engagement. [online] Available at: http://www.gamifaction.co/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].

LABS. (2017). Smartphone and Mobile App Usage [INFOGRAPHIC]. [online] Available at: https://www.xcubelabs.com/mobile-usage-infographic/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].

Marketingcharts.com. (2017). Chart/table from: What Motivates Smartphone Users to Download and Use Apps?. [online] Available at: http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/what-motivates-smartphone-users-to-download-and-use-apps-54273/attachment/googleipsos-reasons-downloading-smartphone-app-may2015/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].

The Huffington Post. (2017). Is Your Mobile App Idea Useful or Useless?. [online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-wolfson/is-your-mobile-app-idea-u_b_13460300.html [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].