Member Article

Six Guidelines for Small Business Apps Development in An Unpredictable Marketplace

Although app development may be big business today, it is not necessary that apps are meant for just big businesses. Even small businesses can really benefit from apps and apps development, and in this brief article, let us examine how this can be possible.

1. Provide for sufficient finance for development

Small businesses need a mobile presence as much as big businesses do. However, one of the main problems that small businesses face is that of finance. In many instances, they suffer from financial crunch a little while in to the app development process. Hence, what is important to understand is that the app should not only be useful but should also not be a financial burden. Therefore, app developmentfor a small business can be viable only if the small business is a successful entity.

2. Be sure about your motive

If the small business just wants to get the word out and make its brand known, then there are many other ways to do this besides launching an app. However, if small businesses can obtain concrete benefits from having their apps, then the best time to start working on a mobile app is right now.

3. Check the reaction received from the Market

Nevertheless, small businesses make considerable mistakes while going in for app development. A small business could get easily carried away and pay more than what is needed to professional for an app. The right way forward is to be slow and steady and take your time to commit anything more. While launching an app, a business often needs to whether there is a positive reaction to the app or not and depending upon the kind of reaction received, the business needs to react to it in a definite and planned manner.

4. Choose the right development method

Often, businesses need to take certain decisions before starting the app development process. The businesses in question must be sure about the costs that are going to be sunk into the development process and the platform that they are going to choose. In the current times, the battle is between Apple and Android, leaving the other platforms such as the Blackberry and Microsoft far behind. In some cases, it is easier to develop for both platforms, but many a times, the cost becomes extremely prohibitive. The rule of the thumb says that if the majority of customers are on the iOS platform, then the business needs to build its app on this platform while a business that is with a lot of customers on the Android platform must build its mobile app on it.

5. What will be the cost of the app?

The cost of the app also is a major factor. Today, if you will see, a majority of the apps are free and ad supported, while some are paid. So, would you like to make your app paid or would like to ensure that your app comes without a price? If your app is free, will it be ad supported? If yes, won’t the customers find the ads intrusive that will compel them to uninstall the app? You also need to consider the fact that if the app is priced too high, people could be scared to purchase it while if the app is priced too low, many people could doubt its value.

6. Outsource or not?

As a small business, you will also need to understand the app development process, which means that you could either choose to go in for an external developer, which means you could outsource it or go in for an in-house developer. As another alternative, you could post your bid on freelance websites such as oDesk, or Freelancer, and wait for your bid to be picked up by a professional freelancer.

Conclusion

Finally, you will need to consider that the market is an unpredictable place. You might build something that is in vogue today, but it could be out of fashion the very next day. Those who quickly realize that app development is a fast-paced industry, have a higher probability of success than those who have a propensity to plod along.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 360 Degree Technosft .