There are 1.2m apps in the Apple App Store according to the CEO Tim Cook. We'll trust him on that as he should know...

Whatever way you look at it, that's a lot of apps. Some of them never get downloaded as they're competing with literally 10,000 others in the same niche.

Can you imagine that?

You've spent hours, days, weeks, months on your baby. You've created your dream and your vision. And then you realise that no one cares, even worse, there's already 9,878 apps who do the same thing.

Ouch.

But does this really apply to you? After all, you're an established business simply looking at creating an app for your product, clients, services... right?

Well, yes it does apply, because in this brave new world, it's all about what the users sees and expects. Established businesses are being disrupted daily by app based startups who seize the opportunity that Mobile offers... and it's important to realise that iTunes and Google Play are increasingly becoming channels that your clients will search for apps that satisfy their needs.

So now we've laboured the point nicely, hopefully you realise this is both a threat and an opportunity!

The good news is, the majority of readers here today might have an established brand, products or services in which they are experts and now they have the chance to grab more of the market with this new platform.

You just need a USP to be the core of a value added app for your users. This app will not only gain you new clients but be brand enhancing, maximise retention of clients, engage with them in new ways and crucially maximise our revenues.

My Business Has a USP, Can't It Be The Same In My App?

Apps offer a brave and competitive new world for businesses, but one still very much in it's infancy. What works for you offline or on the web may not work as well in an app...

But what cannot work in your normal business could work extremely well in an app!

It is difficult to generalise across types of businesses, so let's imagine we're all running an awesome tea company with a chain of 8 shops, that also sells online. Think about the following things to help establish our app USP:

1. What are the most visited pages on your site. Don't assume you know this, check Google Analytics and see where people really spend most time. Any pages that surprise you?

For our Tea business that could be the where tea comes from section – with an app you could have a tracker showing exactly the journey your tea took to get to you right now. That would add to your brand image and make your app talked about.

2. Do you have value added services that people have said they would give you money for and that an app could offer? If not sure, try asking them.

For our Tea business, it could be pre-ordering your usual tea whilst on the train, paying in app and picking up on the way without breaking stride.

3. Can you offer tools like calculators, video learning, location based services to your users?

For our tea business... well that could be so many things! Maybe it's a diary feature to record the various teas you've tried because you're a VIP customer and we're sending you fun new teas, capture photo evidence of them and geo location, make notes and share with friends...

Whatever way you look at it, apps offer you a whole new dimension to make your clients loyal ones that spend more with you.

Not All Design Is Born Equal

The design phase is critical and designing for a mobile device (phone and tablet) is different then websites:

- You need big buttons for all the fat fingers out there, not like a website, bigger.

- You need to minimise the number of taps to get to where you want, so you need simple functionality and clear journey to the key features.

- You need to minimise data input (again for all those fat fingers)... no long forms to fill in!

So think about those factors and think about what the user wants when designing your wireframes. The best tool for that is pen and paper (seriously I don't get commission for saying this!) and then use the POP app to see them come to life. We run prototyping workshops and the pen/ paper wireframing stage is the most fun!

Some great resources for design ideas are: www.pttrns.com and www.mobile-patterns.com

These show you what great looking app exists. When it comes to commissioning a designer, it's best to be able to say: “I want it to look like that one”. Imitation is the ultimate flattery.

The Developer Ham Sandwich

You've agreed the designs, maybe even tested them with a prototype... Now it comes to having your app developed. This is where the expense can be if you don't know what you're doing.

The truth is, there are many different types of developers, but even the best ones need to be told as clearly as possible your vision. What is obvious to you, is obvious only to you.

We work with overseas developers and I often get asked how we can work effectively with them, so I often use this example when describing how to work best with developers:

Ham sandwich scenario 1:

Me: “I would like a ham sandwich”

Dev: “OK, there you go”

Result: 2 pieces of bread with a bit of ham in middle.

Ham sandwich scenario 2:

Me: “I would like a ham sandwhich please. 1 thin slice of brown bread with salted butter on 1 side (butter on top), with 3 slices of XYZ brand of ham, 1 quarter tea spoon of Dijon Mustard spread evenly on the top slice of ham, then another slice of brown bread with butter on 1 side (butter facing down). Then cut into 2 triangles”

Dev: “OK, there you go”

ME: “Thank you, that's perfect”

See the difference?

If you're not comfortable working with functional and technical details, it's best to engage professionals to ensure you get what you want for the right price. At Appy Ventures, we specialise in working with cost effective overseas developers and have found this a win win: clients get a good price and we get good business!

Final tips on development:

1. Leave c. 2 weeks for testing of your app – the Quality Assurance (QA) process,

2. Install Instabug for the QA process – enables you to shake your mobile device to take a screenshot and then send specific comments to developers,

3. Get weekly updates/ builds from the developer to test,

4. Nail down the scope before you start as there is nothing more annoying than moving goal posts... and also more costly,

5. Go for a fixed price job if you prefer to know exactly the outcome price, but be aware that developers will add a safety margin to protect themselves. The less clear they are of the project, the larger the safety margin they will build into the price.

So all in all some quick tips on this. It's really hard to condense and much easier to talk about, so get in touch via twitter @patrice_archer to chat through your questions and ideas. 

 

By Patrice Archer, app entrepreneur.

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