Category: Marketing

There was a time, way back when parents hoped their kids would someday become lawyers or doctors. Nowadays, the situation changed, and the meaning of success became much different. So, today people desire to create a viral application, sell it for millions of dollars, and achieve the American dream quickly and easily. Not so fast.

In fact, the app developing business, which is one of the biggest and fastest-growing industries in the whole world, is different than other traditional industries in many points. Furthermore, its daily modifications change the rules of all games. Since the app industry is such a unique sphere, being an entrepreneur – an entrepreneur concentrated on producing applications – naturally demands unique traits, skills, and abilities.

READ MORE: How much does it cost to develop an app

Here’re a few simple steps of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur in the mobile area:

Think extremely fast

For entrepreneurs, the term “innovation” takes on an absolutely new meaning. If you think that the technology industry changes fast, just wait till you get into the mobile arena. Today, it’s not just about generating original and great ideas, but it’s more about making certain that by the time you complete elaborating your product it’s still applicable and relevant to the market. The app business varies everyday, and innovation isn’t just a part of the initial process but a daily urgency.

This is totally true since the mobile ecosystem is originally made. Many mobile applications depend on other platform with an eye to existing and big changes made by one influential player could lead to a mobile avalanche. Due to this, the professional entrepreneur has to stay flexible all the time.

Embrace simplicity

Most popular applications are focused on performing a single task perfectly well. But think for a minute about the difference between the app industry and other brands. For decades, brands have been trying to sell clients a whole lifestyle that generally consists of multiple products and merchandise. Usually, proposed products were costly and accounted for most of the business’s revenue.

As opposed to such companies, the app market is entirely different. It’s all about keeping it as simple as possible and offering a product that is extremely stylish, refined, and focuses on a single purpose. For example, in contradistinction to merchandise, applications are inexpensive goods that make users more open to installing them.

Define a monetization strategy

There is no trickier business model than mobile applications. Many well-known and successful apps with millions of clients all over the world still haven’t figured it.

Despite being a super popular product, users simply hate paying for applications. This tendency results in appearing challenges for entrepreneurs looking to provide users with what they really want – an outstanding output that’s free of charge.

Thus, entrepreneurs should always be confident that the used app monetization model doesn’t push away potential clients, whether it’s a freemium, in-app ad, or download fee model.

Flexibility is the answer

We all know the Coca-Cola myth about a company that intended to produce a new cough syrup and, as a result, ended up with a famous drink. The app business is full of fantastic examples of products that began with one purpose and ended up changing their track.

Truly speaking, applications are always required to add new useful features and remove less-desired ones to guarantee clients a well-functioning and reliable product.

The changeable nature of mobile app market needs entrepreneurs with a flexible mind. Such competent specialists have to accept changes and make their product adapt accordingly to the market requirements. Consequently, applications that don’t comply with the modern evolution of the tech world will simply lag behind.

Remember, it’s all about marketing

Of course, the striking idea is a must and perfect execution is vital, but, on the other hand, what is really significant in making your application a successful one is how efficient your market it.

Nowadays, mobile marketing is a completely new field that is different from traditional marketing. In fact, it allows entrepreneurs to select their target audience. Besides, it gives an opportunity to hit potential clients with persuasive messages that are relevant to their interests and consequently has more impact than billboards or TV advertising.

To prosper in the app industry, entrepreneurs have to get familiar with these options as an essential part of their marketing strategy and allocate appropriate channels to promote their products effectively.

Since its long-awaited release, iOS 8 made the IT world adapt to all the new ‘innovative’ features pretty quickly. Perhaps fascinating feature marketers found most nifty was demonstrating the functionality of their app via a video preview.

Such areas as mobile gaming adopted video previews as one of the best ways to highlight all the amazing opportunities and gameplay their apps offered. In addition, those companies that used video previewing were usually listed in Apple’s chart devoted to new apps, which was a quite smart advertising maneuver.

What changed?

A couple of months later, though, video previews quickly lost half of their hype. Why? What’s the reason behind such a dramatic loss in popularity? There’re a couple of pitfalls to consider.

First and foremost, it’s necessary to talk about production costs. The truth is, creating a proper video that is equally engaging, informative, and jaw-dropping is a rather costly and time-consuming endeavor. Even if you had opted for the most essential production rule of thumb, the project’s budget still grew substantially to be turned a blind eye on.

READ ALSO: Mobile app costs

Moreover, a high price of video preview making prevents most marketing budgets from conducting A/B testing, which requires a variety of promotional materials based on different content variations. With video previewing, you have but one asset most of the time, and if it’s not effective, you spent your money in vain.

Secondly, nowadays content gets outdated very fast. When we speak about video content, it can become out-of-date right on the production stage before even being released. While photo assets can be juggled and updated in a jiffy, video production is a way more complex process, which also requires a dedicated expert to manipulate it.

Thirdly, Apple’s content requirements are harsh. Lenient at first, later on, demands regarding photo and video promo materials became pressing. Apps that ignore following Cupertino’s recommendations, which are more of a commanding and imperative nature, are sacked from the store by moderators and then forwarded to owners for reconsideration.

Plus, given these strict video promotion guidelines, the final asset has little creative or entertaining value, which is simply cost-ineffective, especially in comparison to photo materials with much more creative freedom allowed to them by Apple.

Fourthly, another nail in the video preview a coffin was hammered when iOS 8 had been released. The truth is that video materials were visible only to iOS 8 users, which constituted only 78% of the total number of Apple audience. In other words, 22% of Apple devices (150 000 000 users!) were unable to check out video promos.

Therefore, the fifth reason why video content lost in popularity was the necessity to provide screenshots alongside an original video to cover those 150 mln users still using iOS 7 or lower. It resulted in extra budget money figuratively flushed down the pipe.

Love and hate are just one step apart

You’ve probably already realized that initial hype had quickly gone to naught. Numerous App Store Optimization (ASO) initiatives revealed the biggest problem of video previews. A serious effect on designated page visits in a too great number of cases with a subsequent conversion rate sinking.

According to the textbook, the goal of any landing page is to provide a solid user experience to make a user act the way you originally designed. Thus, the longer it takes to decide if your app is worthy to be downloaded or should rather be skipped, the less is the chance a user will make a target action. With this in mind, app screenshots have once again proven themselves a handier marketing tool with a higher persuasive value and potential.

On the flip side, videos provide users with too much room for doubts and contemplating, which seldom results in taking the actions you need.

To stack up, video previewing is a rather niche tool that definitely isn’t a definitive fit for all of marketer life’s emergencies. While for some apps it might work great, for others it will bring nothing but financial losses spent on production, and subsequent time expenditures spent on waiting for Apple’s verification.

Therefore, in search of flexibility, acceptable conversion rates, and as little as possible expenditures, a video previewing tool is the last to consider. Big brands, nonetheless, with AAA projects might include video previews into their marketing plan without any hesitations.

As the popularity of free-to-play games grows, the army of their haters becomes even bigger. At times it seems that an anti-freemium rant is going to push the popularity of the gaming model down. Though, with so many people playing and enjoying all that freemium gaming thing, the industry is almost impossible to stop.

Still, freemium game model critics aren’t going to stop being that fierce about new mechanics of digital fun stuff. But, if they can’t change the situation, probably they better change their attitude?

Even so, the change of attitude is going to be painful. Seasoned gamers will keep blaming the freemium business model for destroying the whole gaming concept. From day one game was designed to entertain but with mobile app trends games turned into a smart mechanism of soaking money out of gamers’ wallets.

Check out stats on the revenue generated by Apple’s App Store during 2016, by app category and pricing model:

READ ALSO: How do apps make money

The majority of wise gamers also claim that the author’s rights on games were violated. There was a moment when game developers created a unique product with outstanding design and concept, whereas now any user can have total control over the process of upgrading it whenever his budget allows for the desired enhancements.

In two words, the scenario looks like that:

• • creating a state of urgency
  • offering various promotions
  • leading free users gradually towards paid updates
  • customizing message for maximum engagement
  • making a shift from free to premium as easy as possible

It proves that the freemium app monetization strategy really works and keeps digging money as it provides entertainment.

Sounds so true, doesn’t it? But, in fact, this isn’t really free to play format itself that is ruining the gaming experience. Games have always been addictive.

Even when gamers didn’t feel or didn’t want to feel game’s negative psychological impact on their’s lives, it still has been extremely powerful.

And just like being an addict, games have always been a money-making machine. All gaming industry is built based on psychological tricks that foster deeper and deeper engagement of participants. All of them encourage more play and thus require more money for a gamer to keep the score. But the most important thing is that these tactics had been used long before a mobile phone got smart or even before touchscreen technology became widely used.

Has something ever changed? With the mobile industry’s rapid development, the gamers community grew enormously bigger. Naturally, this has made mobile gaming a trend with millions of users involved, of all ages indeed.

Consequently, when the mobile gaming industry became everywhere, it became truly promising to develop a freemium app. Since then all its’ drawbacks, as well as attractions, have become much noticeable.

This coin, however, has two sides. On the one hand, a larger number of game players results in a gaming niche becoming less pricey and more user-friendly.

On the other hand, such massive folks may be a rich source to monetize apps for freemium game developers who are in a search of ways to make money, selling the shoddy product. Unfortunately, there are lots of second-rate freemium mobile games that require spending quite a bunch of money for the game to become more powerful.

Game quality is really another sore point skilled gamers are 100% grumbling at. They are absolutely convinced that mobile games are less exciting than video games used to be. Not necessarily in fact. This is an argument more against the way some particular games work rather than against the industry in general.

It also sounds like video game lovers just can’t get over the changes the mobile gaming market has to offer. There are dozens of innovative approaches that are going to move the mobile game industry to a brand new level of quality. Let’s just have a sneak peek at hybrid games, for instance, that promise superior gaming experience through a combination of digital games and physical toy components.

Unfortunately, the quality of mobile games is not the only fault freemium haters are picking on. Excessive ads are what drive users crazy. Well, in all fairness, the main reason to develop mobile games is to bring game developers more revenue through freemium advertising.

But as the internet can’t exist without a huge advertising unit, mobile gaming platform as a part of webspace, can’t do without ads either. That means you simply can’t get rid of annoying commercials. But instead, you can expect advertisements to become more entertaining. This is where free-to-play games have plenty of room for improvement.

As for the rest, the freemium gaming industry appears to have more attractions than drawbacks. Its biggest merit is that independent game developers now have more chances to put their mobile game masterpiece on the public display and successfully market it. Of course, they might have a limited budget but it serves more as an incentive to be creative rather than a discouragement.

From here, the more creativity they put into the game design, the higher the quality product they will eventually come up with. This way freemium gaming may become a safer industry for customers.

All sides considered, freemium is definitely not that very destroying element that may cause troubles to the game industry. Instead, it should be taken as a push that game developers should use to multiply their revenue at the same time giving all gamers a unique, customized, and pleasurable playing experience without much worry about their budgets.

It is already well-known that trends in app development are forever changing. However, it is up to you to explore how they are changing if you are truly interested in app development. There are plenty of trends that can be found by reading through the information published in the State of the Developer Nation report from the research firm VisionMobile.

With all that can be discovered there, as an app developer or even as a user of apps, you should pay special attention to these four popular trends in app development. These were reported for the first quarter of the year 2015.

Number One: Using Swift

As an app developer or user, you know that even the newest and hottest trends can take a while to catch on. Very rarely will consumers bite onto a new idea just because it is there to be used. A rise in Apple’s Swift language is one that should be noted.

The researchers from VisionMobile surveyed 8,000 different top mobile game developers as part of their investigation. One out of five of these developers were using the Swift program after it being on the market for only four short months.

Objective-C had a jump on Swift in relation to iOS devices, and it only has a 39% usage among developers. This type of use is considered to be extraordinary as far as app development trends go.

As many as 25% of Swift developers are considered to be new to the iOS platform. This is considered to be a substantial amount. Even with this large amount of users, VisionMobile states that Objective-C is not going away.

It is predicted that most developers will have both tools available for their program. Experts say that in order to be the most successful on the iOS platform it will be necessary to understand how to properly use both tools in app development.

Number Two: The Growing Popularity of Cross-Platform Tools

It was discovered in the evaluation of app development trends that the use of third-party tools is at the highest rate ever. Among mobile app developers, 83% of those that responded to the investigation are using at least one third-party tool. These tools can be used for a plethora of developments including analytics, crash reporting, and other testing.

One of the biggest jumps of the use of cross-platform tools has occurred within the last six months. During this time, the usage went from 23% all the way up to 30%. The question for app developers is always how to choose the right tools for the successful creation of their app.

The best answer given by those that have accomplished their goals is finding a provider that is well-known and stable. This gives the confidence that they are going to be around to benefit from for a long time to come.

Number Three: Increasing Profits with Enterprise Apps versus Consumer Apps

No matter how popular smartphones and tablets are, there is never any guarantee that any one application is going to make money. Just because users are downloading apps faster than they are being created does not mean that just because one is available that it is going to be purchased by those looking to add to their app collection.

Trends of the first quarter of 2015 show that apps that make money much better are enterprise apps compared to consumer apps. The difference between consumer apps and enterprise apps is not even close.

Research shows that 43% of the app developers that are working on enterprise apps reach or go beyond the $10,000 profit mark each month. Those that are making consumer apps are only in the 19% range when it comes to this type of revenue.

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to create an app

Most individual smartphone and tablet users would rather get their consumer applications for free instead of paying even a small amount for them. However, businesses are willing to spend a little bit of money to make money. That is why they will spend a few dollars on the enterprise application that is going to help them be more productive and profitable.

Number Four: The Popularity of the Internet of Things and its Slow but Sure Payoff

Many developers are now investing their time and resources into the Internet of Things (IoT). This is something that does not have the quick payoff that many people are usually looking for. Over half of the developers that took part in this research project have reported that they are using the IoT on some level in their developments.

One interesting factor is that many are doing so on a side project or hobby level rather than on their actual project. The areas that have created the largest interest include the mobile platforms iOS and Android. This comes as no surprise because the popularity and sure return that these are going to bring. Areas like smart building and wearable computing markets are among the areas being used.

READ ALSO: Application prototyping

Even though IoT is still in the early stages, experts from VisionMobile say that there are huge advantages of the IoT for the developers that are utilizing it. The products that are considered to be in the highest demand have the best software. Through the process of creation, the developers involved are going to be creating more competitive products over time.

After reviewing this information, taking into account what you already know about app development, and doing a complete evaluation, it is easy to see how the mobile development market is going to continue to change and grow at a rapid rate for a long time to come.

Also see infographic on this topic: Trends in mobile industry 2015.

Infographic

The development is going to occur in all different areas including the tools available to developers, the languages, the various device platforms offered, and finally the economics related to the applications. It is essential as a developer to stay up-to-date on all the changes in developments.

Even though this can be almost as time-consuming and difficult as doing your real job, it is a must. That is why the mobile market continues to be an exciting one to be a part of.

The United States is known worldwide for being a country that spends huge amounts of money on healthcare. This is not just a stereotype of the country but something that is based in fact with the highest GDP on healthcare in the world.

With so much more being spent, surely there would be better outcomes for patients? Sadly this is not exactly the case. The reason for the high costs and seemingly normal outcomes as related to the rest of the medical world are the direct results of high insurance costs, high staff salaries, poor access to all of the right procedures and supplies as well as poor lifestyle choices. Though these are not the only factors, but ones that play a major role.

How Do We Remedy This Problem?

Hospitals and healthcare centers are independently trying to improve their care and keep their own costs down, hoping to pass the savings onto their patients. Some facilities have been quite successful while others have remained the same or have even failed.

These varied results have made it difficult to know what aspects of each facility were helping keep costs down until modern technology was introduced. Using technology, patients and healthcare professionals are able to interact in a more effective way that benefits everyone involved.

The Benefits Of Modern Devices In Hospitals

Devices like the iPhone and iPad, in particular, have had a huge impact on how doctors and patients interact, how information is stored, how forms are filled out, how labs are accessed and so much more.

These devices hold all of the information that it would have previously taken hours to write and then sort through later. This has increased productivity all around, from the medical professionals to the administrators.

Size

Not only are these mobile devices able to hold all of the information needed, but they are also easy to slip into a pocket or lab coat. Rather than having hundreds of bulky folders, the provider will have just one device to worry about.

Access

The electronic information held within the device on a medical server can more easily be accessed and compared against normal ranges of health. This helps to eliminate human error and will also help health professionals to assess patients quickly.

Related reading:

iPad application development

When the provider has access to the information immediately, it means that in case of emergency they are able to quickly review medical history and treat the patient accordingly. This is a great example of technology changing healthcare in a totally beneficial way.

Wait Time

The lab results that would have taken hours to receive are now sent directly to the device of the provider in the patient’s file and can be immediately analyzed. Patients and providers getting results quicker is always a good thing.

Data Entry

These devices not only hold the information, but they are also extremely effective when it comes to information input. Rather than complicated forms, these devices have forms that will auto-fill pre-known information and provide drop-down menus. The information is then immediately stored for the provider to access. This electronic data storage also means that no files will be lost in the daily activity of a hospital.

Time-Saving

The main thing that mobile technology in healthcare has helped to cut down on is the time wasted by patients, administration employees, and providers. There is no time wasted filling out forms, waiting for results or reviewing a patient’s file. In cutting down on the time wasted in these aspects, providers are better able to focus on their patients, dedicating more time to each. This also cuts down on the need for such extensive administration staff, therefore cutting costs there.

Mobile Healthcare Apps For Doctors

Healthcare providers are using applications to access patient information. This makes doing routine checks, such as rounds, much faster. Apps like Epocrates and UpToDate keep the information well within reach of the health professionals on their mobile devices. EMR systems like Epic also make having patient information easy with a mobile application.

You may also read: AR / VR in Healthcare: How Does It Work? 

Easily Accessed Resources

Doctors are not only able to access the patient’s current information and history more easily, but they are able to have access to entire medical journals and resources that will assist them in making a diagnosis. This combination has led and will lead in the future to there being fewer mistakes in terms of care.

Using mobile devices can also give doctors access to one another to share information, ask questions, and workshop particularly difficult cases. This also allows them to request patient information as well as scheduled appointments.

The Changes And What Is To Come

That’s basically how technology has changed healthcare so far and this is only the beginning. While the market for creating healthcare applications and programs has been lacking due to unclear regulations for information sharing through applications, more developers are discovering what medical professionals need to make their services more effective and how to work with the privacy laws and regulations to make that happen.

These apps can help with anything from information storage to diagnosis assistance. Mobile application development cost is nothing compared to benefits. Using these apps to gather information and teach doctors more about the patients will only result in better care, less time wasted, and less money spent.

Are you interested in modern technologies in the healthcare industry? Read about convolutional neural networks in medicine.

In our world of smartphones and mobile devices, there is an incredible competition between applications to become the most used and the most popular. What makes an app popular is more complicated than you may think. The content of the app needs to be on point as well as the design.

Users need actually to be interested in using the app in order to consider even it. You no longer need to wonder why certain apps have found success and why others have bombed.

READ ALSO: How do apps make money

We have shown some of the key factors and ingredients when it comes to developing a great app that people will also want to use. These can be used to guide developers and even to help users decide which apps they should keep on their devices and which ones should be removed forever.

Once Users Try It, Will They Be Able To Live Without It?

Users of the app need to have their lives drastically changed and improved when they use it. Otherwise, it will not be downloaded or will be deleted immediately to make room for more useful applications.

Applications that save users time and money are the most popular because users find that they would be lost without the assistance the app is providing. When a user is able to see the value in an application and is thankful that they are able to incorporate it, then the app will be successful. 

READ ALSO: Mobile App Development for Law Firms

Not only does this app need to deliver on this in terms of use, but if they want to be successful, then they need to market their app to show potential users the benefits. Users will only discover that they cannot live without the app if they download it in the first place.

Does This App Have A Purpose?

One of the first things developers need to assess is if the app has a purpose. Are users going to seek out this kind of app? The application that users want is one with a clear purpose. They want to be presented with a problem and know exactly which app will best help them to solve it. For example, if a user is lost then a map application is exactly what they will choose to help them navigate.

These apps, such as Google Maps, have a clear purpose. Mobile device users would actually prefer to use an app than spend time trying to navigate through websites to find the information they need. An app that helps users and has all of the information they could need is one that they would regularly use.

How Easy Is The App To Use?

No user mobile device users want to struggle to understand apps or what they are for. That is why making it easy-to-use is incredibly important. The information and the usability of the application can be complicated in nature, but they need to be easy for the user to handle in order to be successful.

READ ALSO: App crowdfunding

It needs to be very clear from the beginning because even if it takes reading a few instructions, users are going to look elsewhere for the services you were aiming to provide. If your application is based in retail, then the entire process should be clear to anyone. For example: finding the products, their reviews, making purchases, and searching through the inventory should all be straightforward.

Is This An App That Will Play A Daily Role?

If an app is something that users turn to on a daily basis, then it becomes part of their routine and quickly becomes something that they need for their day to be a success. If an app can be used daily, then it essentially becomes irreplaceable for a certain length of time.

Creating an app that is crucial to the day of a user should be the aim of all developers. This is something that the developer should consider for the long-term. The app should be something that the customer will use daily for many years, not something that they will use daily for just a short period of time. This short-term daily use can be seen in many diet apps, but if the app relates to overall health rather than just weight loss, it more likely to be a success for longer.

How Does It Look?

Users are drawn to the way apps look, almost more than they are drawn to the uses. If an application looks professional and visually appealing, then it is more likely to appeal to buyers initially and more likely to be kept on devices. Developers should consider every aspect of the design from the graphics to the color themes, fonts, titles, backgrounds, pictures, etc. Of course, the cost to develop an app would be higher. 

Crafting The Perfect App

In such a competitive market, developers need to focus on the customer and completely tailor their services. Also, developers should follow mobile application development trends. This includes everything from relevance, usability, and design. When developers have covered all of these factors fully, then their app will be much more successful than it would have been without investigating uses and users further.

You may think that you have come up with a great idea for a new app. There are tons of people out there that have made a fortune just by developing a program that customers love, and one that they are willing to pay for. However, without doing the proper mobile market research, you can find yourself wasting a lot of time and energy on your app (and do not forget about cost to develop an app) only to find out that it is not something that people want.

Before you put everything you have into your next invention, it is essential to do some research to get a better idea of how successful your idea will actually be.

Finding Your Target Audience

In order to create an app that people are going to use, want, and need, you need to discover what that specific audience is lacking. Your first step is going to be defining the audience you want to appeal to. This is also called a niche. When you decide who you want your app to be for, then you can go to work exploring what this specific audience is missing from their app list. The size of your target audience is ultimately up to you.

You may decide that you want to target a smaller audience to appeal to a more direct group of people. This is called a micro-niche market. An audience like this could be a group of young adults who like art. A larger niche, called a broad niche, would appeal to more people.

However, it can be much harder to develop something targeted towards them. For example, a group of people between the ages of 20 and 30 are going to like some of the same things but they will not like all of the same things. Your app may grab a part of the audience but if you aren’t careful on what you choose it could be a very small part resulting in very small success.

Focusing in on a Micro-Niche

Focusing in on a micro-niche audience can turn into very large profits. Even though you are not gaining a lot of customers, you can give the smaller audience exactly what they are looking for. Because your app is so specific, you can charge higher amounts for a specialized product. This turns into bigger sales and more money in your bank account.

When you want to appeal to a specific high-class group like doctors, lawyers, and other experts, you can charge the money that these professionals are willing to spend. Also, when choosing to target a smaller audience, it is easier to discover whether or not your product is going to be one that people want.

One way of discovering if your app is going to be popular is by going into the market of the business or individual you are targeting. Ask them what they want or need for their company and what they are willing to pay to get it. You can open the door by inquiring about any problem areas they are having in their industry.

By defining these issues, you can discover how to be the solution. You now know who your customers are, what they need to improve their business, and how much they are going to pay you for your assistance with their problem.

The other way of learning what companies or people want is by coming up with your own ideas. When you have a basic concept, you can reach out to the heads of the industry you are trying to target. Ask for their thoughts and opinions on the product you have created.

You can then take those ideas and alter your product to meet the wants and needs of your micro-niche audience. The result is going to be a finished app that people are going to want to buy. When you have your final product created you can go back to those supervisors and managers and offer it to them. Let them know that they inspired your product, and it is something that they are looking for. You now have your very first customers before your app even goes live.

Focusing on a Broad Niche Market

When you decide to create an application for a broad niche market, your main goal is going to be finding out what is popular at the moment. All groups of people go through trends from games to discount apps, sports programs, and more. When you are developing an app for the larger market, you need to research the mobile app stores and find out what people are buying.

Discover what Customers are Buying

The best way to learn about what customers are using and more importantly buying is by visiting the App Store yourself. Some of the most successful app developers check the popularity charts found here as much as once an hour. This may be a little bit of overkill, but it goes to show that knowing this information is key to being successful in the app world.

There are several different areas to explore when checking out these popularity charts. First of all, look at what the most popular free apps are. This shows you what people are doing on their mobile devices. You can get your ideas on what type of app you could start working on. Secondly, look at the paid apps. By browsing through this information you can discover not only what people are doing but what they are spending their money on, and how much money they are spending.

One important thing to remember when browsing through these charts is that the information you see is targeted to a specific country or region in the world. You need to explore further to find global trends or seek out the individual area you want to target in order to find the local trends.

Finding Worldwide Trends

The App store does not give you information on worldwide trends so when looking to do a broader search, you need to do other methods of research. One way to discover popular mobile application development trends across the globe is by doing searches in other places.

A popular place to do this is Google Trends. Here you can find what keywords are being searched the most. You can then take those findings and match them up with the information you have found during your App Store search to create the most popular downloads happening currently.
When seeking out trends this way, it is important to narrow down your search as much as possible to get the most specific results back.

This can include lessening down time frames or seeking out a specific area of the world. Google Trends will only show you the top 10 results from your search but with a quick download of the available CSV file, you will be able to see much more.

After gathering the keywords you want from your Google Trend search, you input them into the Google Keyword Tool. Here you will be able to see exactly how many searches of any specific keyword have been done based on the factors you create yourself. Be sure to choose the advanced options in order to the most refined results possible.

Make Sure Your Results are Legitimate

Now that you have done your search, and you have decided on a topic for your app, you need to be sure that it is, in fact, a popular one. There are programs available to assist you including TopAppCharts.com.

By inputting the information, you will get results of where your keywords rank among the App store. If you do not get a lot of results back, chances are the keyword evaluation you have done is not a valid one, and creating an app-based on them will not be successful.

Xyologic is another place you can discover if your app is going to get the downloads you are hoping for. Search out your keywords and the apps that are related to those keywords will be shown in the results. If there are a lot of similar downloads, moving forward with your idea is probably going to be a profitable one.

When you want to check the popularity of your app idea on a daily or monthly chart, AppAnnie can give you the results you are looking for. No matter what website you look through, you should always do whatever you can to make sure your research and findings are legitimate and popular among your targeted app users.

Prepare for what is to Come

Finally, when coming up with new app ideas, you can use the popular trends found outside of the App Store. Think about upcoming events or holidays and create something that is related to those ideas. For example, during Easter, coming up with an app that is related to creating Easter egg hunts for the family is likely to be successful. This of course would not be as true during the summer months.

When creating an app for any audience, you want it to be profitable. By following these mobile marketing research ideas, you are sure to be on the right path to victory.

What our clients say 

The omnichannel experience is a term that most business owners will hear about but very few can implement them successfully. Many make the mistake of thinking that providing three or four channels for customers to contact the company is providing a full-fledged omnichannel experience.

To really achieve an omnichannel customer experience a business needs to view their multiple service channels as a single force that works flawlessly together. A successful multi-channel service ensures that each one is completely integrated and consistently supports each other channel a customer may use.

The majority of companies have different departments running each form of contact: email, phone, web forms and text messages. This may, at first, seem the most efficient form of management, but customers see a company as being a single force and therefore already assume an omnichannel customer experience.

READ ALSO: 5 reasons to develop apps for smartwatches

The fact that very few companies pay close attention to the integration of their connection channels means that there is a gulf between what the customer expects and what the company supplies. In order to avoid this common mistake here are five steps to follow for an efficient omnichannel contact experience.

1) Create A Variety Of Support Channels

The easiest place to start is to review if the company is offering all of the support channels that customers actually want. Carefully considering the customer and their preferred method of seeking information in their daily lives will help to make the contact avenues more efficient.

The most obvious place to see these mistakes is with phone-calls. The majority of companies will offer phone support as their main assistance channel. The average American will make between 1-5 phone calls a day, and that same individual will send and receive over 10 times as many text messages. With these statistics, it is strange to consider that very few companies offer text message-based contact channels.

Implementing certain channels of contact can be costly but to combat this each company should identify the three or four most desired avenues and only offer these to their clients. This will boost a customer’s willingness to contact the company and their overall experience. The chosen channels will vary based on the customers but should always be promoted on existing channels.

2) Centralize The Storage Of Customer Data

Centralizing data will change everything. One of the most annoying issues for a customer is having to explain the same problem to several service reps. Once a company has their chosen channels in place, then the first step to making these into an omnichannel customer experience is to combine all data in one central location.

This means that every member of the customer service team will have the same information and can pick up each conversation exactly where it finished last. This step is one of the easiest to implement and has extremely quick beneficial effects.

3) Integrate Channels

Having the channels in place that customers really want is a great start but until these channels are integrated, they can still cause problems. Customers not only want to contact a company in their preferred manner, but they also want a smooth and seamless experience. Switching between channels is rarely an easy thing to do with most companies.

Using an omnichannel communication platform will track exactly at what stage each customer’s interaction is with the company. The benefits of integrating the channels are huge. Firstly the service can be personalized, and each customer will feel the company is closely following their communication.

A second benefit is that each channel that suits the situation can be used. For example, text messages can be used for quick updates on information, which could be quickly switched to a live chat version if the information is not completely understood.

Aim to make everything quick, simple, and designed to benefit the customer as much as possible.

4) Automate

Live agents and the related waiting times can be one of the most frustrating aspects of a company to a customer. Automating at least a portion of the contact routes means that the business can offer a cheaper, more informed and more efficient customer experience.

Many companies avoid automation from fear of losing touch with their customers, but the reality is that the world is moving towards being completely free of human-to-human interaction for many processes, just consider purchasing train tickets, bank transactions, and airline check-ins. Considering where a company can automate without becoming annoyingly difficult to contact is the key to a successful omnichannel experience.

5) Form An Action Plan

Following these four steps shows just how simple the theory behind an omnichannel experience is but should highlight that implementing it in reality is not quite as straightforward. Therefore, it is important to create an action plan to make sure the business is on its way to integrating all of the channels and make the customer experience the best possible. The key to success is to follow these steps:

1. Research: Spend sufficient time finding the channels that are most used by customers or those that they would prefer to have as options. The assumption is the enemy in this step; often the business owner would approach a company in a far different way than the average customer. Conduct questionnaires to gather this information.
2. Centralize: As soon as possible move all data into a single location. Find a cloud-hosting platform that suits the number of customer records the company has. Research which platform suits the company in regards of size, usage levels, and the price.
3. Communication Platform: Find a company that offers a multiple communication platform that allows flawless switching between each channel. The best company to go for is one that offers complete integration and some level of automation.

The most important part of creating an omnichannel experience is to consider customer care. Each company will have a slightly different model that focuses more on a variety of channels, understanding the customer will make sure the business does everything to make communication as perfect as possible. Following the five given steps will put any company well on its way to achieving this.

Believe it or not the industry of enterprise mobile application development has a promising future, one that could lead to a billion-dollar market. At one time cloud applications were all the rage, but now mobile apps are increasing in popularity and are set to enter into a $100 billion market. Today, mobile enterprise is following closely in the footsteps of its predecessor, cloud application enterprise.

The ease of this movement can be attributed to the incredible accessibility and affordability of mobile technologies. What’s more, mobile technologies are seemingly more user friendly than cloud technologies, thereby making the mobile applications an incredibly viable enterprise. Nevertheless, mobile applications have hidden benefits that many are unaware of: The fact that the apps will make the mobile app technology pervasively accessible for businesses, particularly those in distant locations and underserved business sectors.

Read also: TOP 9 REASONS WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS ITS OWN MOBILE APP

Mobile technologies penetration around the world

While there are over three billion people who work in some job position around the world, a mere 20 percent of all the people get access to the mobile technologies needed to help make their job easier and to make their performance more efficient. This means about 2.5 million individuals aren’t getting access to the advanced, simple technologies they could use to make their job performance more effective.

For instance, a look at the construction industry reveals less than 1 percent of all of construction revenue, which is $8 trillion per year, is used on Internet technologies. Or look at the industry of manufacturing, with some 40 million workers, being the fourth largest industry in all the world, uses a mere 2 percent of its revenue for the purposes of Internet technologies.

Many workers without technology at their disposal reside in developing countries. Out of the 2.5 billion people who do not have access to mobile or Internet technologies:

• 50 percent of those individuals reside in the Asia Pacific
• 10 percent are in the Middle East and Africa
• another 10 percent are in Latin America

However, the latter figures may soon change as mobile technologies is a force to be reckoned with and is poised for actually capitalizing on this gap in the market.

The opportunity of enterprise mobile app development 

The opportunity of enterprise mobile app development is tremendous. Let’s consider some facts to determine the potential impact mobile technologies will have on the industry. Imagine the following scenario. The 2.5 billion people without access to various technologies, do not work at a desk. Imagine monetizing each person at about $40 annually, which is a thread of what desk workers spend on technology, and you’re looking at a $100 billion potential market, all of which could be consumed by mobile applications and devices because of their affordability and accessibility.

This kind of sizeable opportunity is huge and something that has not been seen in the past as far as technological enterprises are concerned. This means that an industry that might be able to take full advantage of smartphones and their current features can make use of an enterprise mobile solution for business.

Construction businesses could make use of mobile apps and cameras to make customer quotes or the devices can be used for making communications between workers on site and headquarters faster and more efficient. Those who work in the field of transportation and delivery could make use of mobile tools like phone billing, signature collection, and maps with driving directions.

What’s more, with the biggest opportunity in India presently being the healthcare market, the mobile healthcare apps are bound to prove profitable as well. As of this moment, there are 500 startups that have started up a fund that will be used as an investment in mobile health in Africa, China, and India.

Enterprise application development cost

It takes highly specialized resource and expertise to make an enterprise app that covers all business needs. But the rewards for getting it right can be enormously lucrative.

Answering the question, “What is the cost to develop an enterprise app?”, there is no determined price. To build an app for enterprise is more complex as it could seem.

An accurate cost estimate depends on the number of factors.

Hereby we gathered the app development cost drivers:

• The number of platforms and devices that will be supported
• The number of enterprise systems the app will interact with
• The number and kind of features implemented in app
• The size of app development team: basic or extended
• The cost of labor

When it comes to hiring enterprise application development company you should take into account the following.

Assembling the right team players is extremely challenging in itself, so you have to explore the market carefully. You need individuals who are highly skilled and focused on a particular area of expertise.

Have a look at the chart below to get understanding about development prices in different regions.

If you are looking for low prices and high quality turn your attention to developers from Eastern Europe and from Ukraine in particular.

How to start?

So what is necessary in order to take full advantage of this exciting opportunity and to establish a mobile enterprise that can address the growing needs of the mobile market? Here’s a few things to consider:

Capitalize on the Original

If you want to truly capitalize on the mobile enterprise opportunity, focus on that which is original, unique, and different in the existing market. Mix the unique with the best, most coveted features, and you’ll have a winning mobile solution perfect for addressing the needs of the mobile market.

Consider using the best features of the smartphone like voice navigation and control, GPS, cameras, and sensors as an advantageous tool. Consider an app like Expensify that relies on the use of the camera in a device to take images of expense-related receipts.

Lean on Those Who’ve Gone Before You

Look at the best of the best in terms of mobile platforms. Consider how Salesforce and Box might help you out as you start to scale your mobile enterprise. Also, you might want to mirror the behaviors and practices of different companies that have reached an international market and use the example to figure out ways to expand your own enterprise. Partnering up with another business to offer innovative mobile solutions is another method you can undertake: One that can prove considerably successful.

World Wide Orientation

When it comes to mobile enterprise a lot of developers are keeping their attentions local. However, if you consider addressing international needs, it can be to your benefit. Mobile space is definitely a wide-open range when it comes to mobile enterprise and the opportunity can land you a serious edge above the competition.

When planning your enterprise from the start, don’t forget to consider how you’ll eventually expand into the international market as well. Bear in mind when you are planning your enterprise that some 70 percent of all the great opportunities are going to be beyond current developed mobile markets. Of course, make sure you make your product localized as well.

Ready Yourself

Technology is bringing about an evolution in mobile enterprise, and those wise enough to ride the wave will assuredly benefit from the boom in the market. The pace the mobile market is currently growing at is clearly evidence of its potential in years to come. A smart developer will definitely jump on the opportunity presented.

Finding customers that will come back, again and again, is a process that is different for every application. For email and social methods, this is no different. The number of users, the frequency with which the app is used and many other factors need to be considered by mobile marketers.

Comparing and considering the benefit of each is something that will help mobile marketers direct their efforts. Determining which is better for businesses will certainly make a difference when it comes to finances and app success.

Social Benefits

The main difference between social methods and email methods is that an organic social approach fetches a huge volume of users while email gets high-value users. In a world that is becoming more and more connected, this is not surprising.

Due to the users acquired, mobile-first publishers should choose organic social marketing methods as their first choice for user acquisition. This method outranks many others that may seem to be extremely effective, but simply do not compare. The outranked methods include video ads, emails, and even installs that come with appealing incentives.

Those that will benefit most from this social organic install source will more often than not be small publishers. As a smaller or startup company, chances are the budget will be limited. Social methods are a more appealing option for small businesses that are still building their user bases. This is a good place to start acquisition on a budget.

This social method will attract medium-value users. This means that the cost of using this method returns less, but the cost of the acquisition is less as well. Mobile developers that put the focus on this method will generally end up with more attractive spreadsheets of results as they will be making some money and spending less than they would with email.

There is no better way to go about marketing for the purpose of acquiring users for a particular organization. Each business is changing, and the market is changing as well. This means that the best method probably isn’t just one thing but a combination of many different tactics at once. It has been shown that the most successful in business use many different methods that include optimization in the app store as well as PR.

Email Benefits

Email marketing methods of acquiring users is a tactic that has been around for a long time. This is not just because the email has been around longer but because this method works. In order for this method to be effective, the company has to have a large base of users that trust the company and what they offer. Though this is not something that can be built overnight, the relationship is something that can be very beneficial in acquiring mobile users via email.

It has been shown that companies that put their time and effort into feeling out their existing customers via email to convert to mobile have a huge success rate. The fact that the company enjoys such a high conversion rate and lifetime value is what makes this a favorite tactic among traditional marketers.

There are companies that have executed mobile user acquisition by email well and those that have not quite mastered the tactic. As always companies and marketers need to do a thorough analysis of the method and the potential for success for their venture. This will help marketing teams to optimize their campaigns and use them more effectively for the specific acquisition method and in general.

The size of the company and the budget do not matter when the company uses the mobile user acquisition method that suits them. This will help to maximize success and mobile marketing reach.