Understanding whether your business needs a mobile app right now doesn't always require thorough market analysis. Often, to get an answer, a relatively simple investigation is enough. In this article, we will look at easily identifiable signs that clearly indicate the feasibility of starting app development.
In recent years, the mobile app market has seen rapid growth. The Apple and Google app stores have incredibly extensive catalogs, and competition in this market is only intensifying.
In several business categories, mobile apps are becoming the primary source of sales. This is particularly true for industries such as:
- Food delivery
- Fashion ecommerce
- Online services
- Educational platforms
- Taxi services
However, many companies still do not see the necessity of developing their own mobile app, assuming that it is unpromising for their field.
In this article, we will try to determine when companies should consider creating an app and when it truly does not make much sense.
So, when should companies think about developing a mobile app?
1. Do your direct competitors have apps?
Let's not consider obvious cases where having a mobile app is standard in your field or where a significant portion of your competitors already have apps. Clearly, such a situation indicates the necessity of creating your own app.
Let's discuss a more complex scenario, where, for example, only one of your competitors has launched their own app. Finding such competitors is simple: just conduct a mini-research by checking their websites (links to apps are almost always placed in the footers and, slightly less often, in the headers of websites).
After discovering a competitor's app, it is necessary to thoroughly study it and understand what features it offers. Pay special attention to the number of installations : if it is significant (for your field), it is a clear sign that it is time to develop your own app.
However, this check often does not apply to areas where a large number of installations is impossible due to the specifics of the industry (niche market). In such cases, you should pay attention to other signs indicating the potential of an app.
For example, such a sign is regular app updates. You can track the update dates in app stores, and if they are frequent, this clearly indicates that the company is paying significant attention to its app. In turn, this means that the business is likely getting significant benefits from the app or expects to in the future. Accordingly, this is also a good indicator that it is time to create your own app.
Example
Suppose our company operates in a narrow niche segment of baby gear rental in one of the English-speaking markets. By checking the app store for the query "baby gear rental," we will see some direct competitors.
In our case, we find two competitors:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.babyquip.app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.babonbo.app
After studying their pages in the app stores, we will see that both competitors have an impressive number of installations (for such a niche market). This is a clear sign that developing our own app makes sense.
2. Do companies in your industry, operating in other countries, have apps?
This is also a good indicator that developing an app for your company could be beneficial.
This requires a certain amount of analytical work, but it is justified because the benefits of such work are often very significant.
Analyze the list of companies operating in your field but in other markets. These can be companies from neighboring countries or companies from distant countries. For example, if you are in Austria, you can research companies from Germany, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, but you can also study enterprises from the USA, Australia, and Japan.
As in the previous example, one of the simplest ways is to compile a list of “competitor” websites from other markets and check them for links to app stores.
If you find actively used apps by companies in your field from other countries, carefully study their functionality and assess: will this functionality be useful in your market?
You might be the first to successfully implement a mobile app in your industry in your country, which could give a significant boost to the growth of your business.
3.Do companies in related industries have apps?
This is another strong indicator that it might be time for your business to create its own app.
Suppose mobile apps are not used by competitors in your field, but you find that companies in industries indirectly related to yours already have apps. This is an excellent opportunity to consider developing your own app: there is a chance that apps are about to become widespread in your field as well.
F_or example, you are a pellet manufacturer considering whether to create your own app for ordering and delivering pellets_. By entering the appropriate query in the app store search, you find that direct competitors still do not have apps. However, there is already an app from an aggregator of pellet manufacturing companies.
Obviously, the found company (Holzpellets) is quite similar to yours, except that you are a manufacturer, and this company is an aggregator. In this specific case, it clearly makes sense to consider developing your own app.
4.Is it possible to create a thematic entertainment app in your industry?
Suppose you are a traditional design studio creating interiors **for your clients, and in your field, **direct competitors do not have apps (for example, no studio manages client interactions through a specialized app, and you also do not see prospects for such a solution).
Now imagine that you decide to create an entertainment app that serves as a media channel, increasing the visibility of your studio. This could be an app with a collection of trendy interior styles or an app that allows users to conveniently collect and store their ideas for interior design.
Thus, if you manage to create a strong concept for such an entertainment app, it can significantly increase the visibility of your brand and consequently help you gradually grow your client base.
A real example, also from the interior design field, is the company Houzz.com, a software developer in the design and construction industry. An important and effective source of leads for this company has been their extremely popular app with modern interior ideas (as well as other functionalities):
The example of Houzz.com demonstrates how a media app can become an important tool for attracting clients and increasing brand recognition. Such an app creates a strong community consisting not only of enthusiasts but also professionals who can later become active users of the company's software. Thus, such an app is an effective source of clients that most likely easily justifies the costs of its maintenance.
5. Can you create a thematic app with a useful function for your audience?
This approach is similar to the previous point, but while that focused primarily on media and more entertaining content, here we are talking about creating an app with a truly useful (from a practical standpoint) function. Although this function rarely brings direct profit to your business, it can become so useful that your potential clients will use it actively and frequently.
The benefit of this is obvious: if you brand this tool correctly, your company will quickly become well-known among the app users, and then could become the first choice when they have a real need for your products and services.
A good example is the app from LU-VE Group, a company operating in the refrigeration equipment industry. The company created a heat calculation tool for refrigerated rooms that is very useful for professionals in this field:
This approach helps LU-VE Group not only to increase loyalty among current clients but also to attract new users who appreciate the usefulness of the tool and may later initiate orders for the brand's products. Additionally, there is an indirect effect where the visibility of the company in the professional community strengthens trust in the brand, which in turn gradually begins to generate sales even from those who have never used your app.
6. Overall, can you convince users to install your company's app?
If you can logically justify to users why they need to install your app, it is definitely worth doing. The incentive to install an app is less relevant for industries characterized by rare, one-time orders, but it is extremely relevant for business categories where customers regularly return and make repeat purchases.
The logic here is very simple: having your app icon on a customer's smartphone serves as a constant reminder of you, a sort of free media advertising. Therefore, when the user needs products or services in your category again, your business will be one of the first they think of.
This is an extremely effective method of customer retention; you just need to come up with a reasonable justification to convince the user to install your app.
There are many ways to do this. For example, if you produce custom-made products, the app could help the user track the production stages of their ordered item, as well as the delivery process.
The most important thing is to avoid creating the impression that you are forcing _the user to install the app without sufficient justification; this _will clearly irritate the user.
Thus, if you manage to “appear” on the user's phone as an app, it is a great opportunity to bring them back in the future. With a reasonable approach, you can also start using push notifications, which will help speed up the process of repeat orders.
Conclusion
Mobile apps continue to be a growing market and are gradually encompassing new business categories (that were previously not even considered in conjunction with mobile apps).
If you can calculate the right moment to launch an app and successfully choose its functionality, it can be a huge boost for your business, setting you apart from competitors. And if your business needs professional app analytics for your applications (integration and configuration of analytics systems), you can always contact us :)
Subscribe!
Top comments (0)