Friday 15 January 2016

Guide to Starting A Successful App Business


There are over 1.5 million apps in the App Store and 1.6 million apps in the Google Play Store. It's more important than ever to stand out from the crowd. To be talked about. To be remarkable. The question is: How do you develop a mobile app that is so valuable that people use it every month? Every week? Or better yet – every day?

§  Build a wait list: People want what they can't have. A wait list helps you capture demand and build a database of emails early. When you announce your app is generally available, you'll have a long list (hopefully thousands) of people ready to download it.

§  Leverage a freemium model: Make your app available for free with a freemium model. It's possible you'll get more downloads in a free version of your app. You could then offer the option of purchasing virtual currency for premium features.

§  Make your paid app free for a limited time: Not a fan of the freemium model? No worries! Make your paid app free for a short promotional period and promote it to various publication outlets. You can tweet the promotion to their twitter accounts or submit it directly to them on their website.

§  Write and promote content about the problem your app solves: Produce content that adds value to your customers: whether it's blog posts, eBooks, videos or webinars. Target topics and keywords that are related to your app so you reach the right audience. If your content helps people overcome challenges, you'll be perceived as a thought leader and expert in the space. Promote the content on your blog and social media profiles to drive network effects.

§  Reach out to the press: Press is a great way to drive short term awareness and will often lead to a spike to downloads. Reach out to publications like TechCrunch, VentureBeat, CNN, Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Inc. Don't worry, you don't need to be in PR to pitch the press. Look up editors from each of those publications on LinkedIn, craft a short message on how your app is a game changer (use app metrics where you can), give them access to your app as well as screenshots so that they can get a sense for how it works.

§  Create strategic partnerships: Look for mutually beneficial partnerships that can expand your app's reach to more people. For example, if you're developing a workout app for biking enthusiasts, you could reach out to local bike shops (or even a national brand) and offer an exclusive special premium feature in the app for their shoppers in exchange for their help with promotion.

§  Cross promote in your other apps: If you have more than one app in the store and they're in similar categories (for example, gaming), you can add in a call to action to promote your other apps.

§  Experiment with how you ask users for reviews:  Ratings and reviews are one of the most visible components of an app's listing and do influence a person to tap through or download. Reviews are social proof. If all these other people like it, then it's probably good. So what can you do to get more app reviews? Experiment with how you ask users for reviews: when you ask, how you ask and who you ask. Here's a blog post with examples and test ideas.

Understand how powerful ASO can be: 

App Store Optimization is the process of improving the visibility of an app in the app store. The idea is to drive more people to your app page so that they download your app.

Here are great tips from the app marketing intelligence tool called Sensor Tower to get you started with ASO. Their tools can also help you with each of the tips below!

o   Pick relevant keywords: The first thing to consider when optimizing your app's visibility is keywords. You should choose keywords (words or phrases) that are relevant and truly representative of your app.

o   Consider keyword competitiveness and traffic: Consider how competitive those keywords are. Look at the total number of keywords you're competing with. If there's too much competition, aim for another keyword.

o   Determine keyword weight: The keywords included in app titles (for both iOS and Android apps) are by far the most heavily weighted in the algorithm. If you want to improve your rank for a specific keyword, putting it in the title is your best bet. For Android apps, keyword density matters not just in the description, but in the title as well.

o   Target multi-word or long tail keywords: A common mistake that app publishers make is to only target single-word keywords. Then they wonder why the Difficulty Scores are so high and their app's rankings are so low. Multi-word keywords are usually searched for less often, but will also be less competitive. You'll automatically rank for combinations of your single-word keywords but target phrases because they can be much easier to rank for. Targeting the long tail is a great place for new developers/new apps to start.

o   Have an eye-catching Icon: The icon makes a huge first impression. Have you tested different variations? You can do this by testing out various designs on mobile advertising networks, like Admob, Google Adwords, and Facebook, and then measuring how potential app users react to different versions there before rolling it out in the app store. Another quick tip: you generally want to avoid putting the name of your app into your icon. 

The infrastructure and performance are key players in your app's success. Keep these tips in your mind to make sure your app runs fast and smooth.

·         Monitor your app consistently

·         Choose a proven cloud provider

·         Pay attention to performance in the real world

·         Watch recorded user sessions

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Digital doctors: how mobile apps are changing healthcare


Mobile devices are moving quickly from convenient social gadgets to legitimate accessories for health care workers and other professionals. Doctors, nurses and hospital administrators are discovering that mobile technology can be used in a variety of practical and efficient ways to improve administrative, technical and medical tasks.

The advantages are obvious: mobile devices quickly deliver medical records and other information directly into the hands of the treating physician and other members of the health care team. Tasks are synched and streamlined, meaning health care professionals can focus more on patient care than on administrative duties.

As the availability, functionality and quality of handheld devices increases – at the same time as price points are decreasing – it's a safe bet that health care professionals will be using mobile technology for many of the same functions they previously performed from behind a desk.

Also, physicians and other medical providers are increasingly likely to use mobile devices to consume medical news and information. Of course, the type of mobile device used will depend on the individual professional and his or her specific needs. For some, a smart phone may provide enough bandwidth; for others, the larger screen of a tablet may be necessary. Additionally, surveys have found that specific fields may better lend themselves to the use of a mobile device, such as emergency room care and cardiology.

As mobile technology becomes a standard feature across all aspects of society, health care providers are likely to find that their patients are increasingly comfortable with the use of handheld devices to relay medical information. This may include creating simple charts on an iPad in order to illustrate test results, such as a patient's blood pressure and cholesterol readings over time.

For doctors on hospital rounds, mobile devices offer tremendous potential in terms of patient consultations. The ability to see results – as opposed to simply hearing them recited – can be a huge step toward putting patients at ease and ensuring their understanding of their diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan. That, in turn, helps create a relationship of trust.

Health Care Apps a Healthy Market

The array of apps used by doctors and other care providers is extensive and expanding, from anatomical apps to medical reference tools and drug information repositories. For example, the AirStrip Cardiology app gives doctors access to patients' heart readings, while Epocrates offers diagnostic lab test tools, medical dictionaries, drug-interaction checkers and treatment guides.

Addressing Security Issues

Despite the numerous advantages of mobile devices to health care professionals, there are information security issues that cannot be dismissed. With many physicians using their own devices for work-related purposes, concerns have arisen as to how smart phones and tablets can be incorporated into patient care. Health care providers, both individuals and organizations, must guard against hacking and unintentional dissemination of private patient data. This includes complying with rules regarding the disposal of electronic media, hardware and digital devices used to store patient information.

Even with security and privacy concerns, the shift toward digital and mobile promises to continue gathering speed across the health care industry.

Many health care providers are on the cusp of expanding their use of smart mobile devices from routine business activities, such as email and scheduling, to more advanced, care-specific uses.

Monday 4 January 2016

What your mobile enterprise apps need


There are many different components that go into developing a great mobile app. big issues like security and analytics can consume a lot of time and effort, but many times it's the small things that make an app work well for your users. Sometimes these smaller issues can be overlooked in the quest for the perfect app. Listed below are four features your mobiles sales app must have to get the maximum benefits from this technology.

Ability to work offline

What's the point in going mobile if you can't access critical content while you're on-the-go? Regardless of internet connection, you should be able to use your device to make a pitch anytime, anywhere. Not all mobile sales apps have this capability, so you could get stuck looking unprepared if you're giving a presentation in a spot with weak or no internet connection. Fortunately some apps, like App Data Room, allow you to access content no matter where you are.

Customization capabilities

A large part of sales success is differentiation. What can you offer that others cannot? For this reason, the ability to customize is important when selecting an enterprise mobile sales app. Customizations allow you to stand out from the crowd and create a platform specific to your brand and the products or services you offer. At App Data Room, we can even integrate your customized application with CRM, Marketing Automation, build unique company-specific features and create an easy-to-deploy app in a fraction of the time associated with app development.

Centralized control

Centralized control means that a certain group of people controls the content that is uploaded and available in the app at any given time. Ensuring that sales teams have the appropriate materials for each client. If urgent changes need to be made to a presentation, this group of content administrators can make the updates and roll it out to the entire team in real-time.

Centralized control also ensures that your branding remains consistent from presentation to presentation. If the marketing department governs the content, you can rest assured that each presentation is accurate, compliant and reflects your brand.

Support for multiple platforms

Whether you use iOS, Windows or Android, a mobile sales app shouldn't discriminate. Employ a platform that supports all devices so that your salespeople can connect despite technological preferences. This holds especially true if you have implemented a BYOD policy within your organization.

These indispensable features are a strong starting point to ensure the success of your mobile sales app.

Saturday 2 January 2016

How will you get Traffic after Launching Your New App?


There are over 1.5 million apps in both Apple and Android's app stores, and the number is increasing by the minute. If you want your app to have a shot at success against the vastly expanding app world, read on to find out what you should do immediately after your app launches:

Invest in an App Marketing & Analytics Software 

The data insights and learnings from the first few weeks following your app's launch are invaluable. They set the direction you follow as you move into growth and optimization. If you don't have the right app marketing and analytics tool, or are relying on a website analytics tool, you can never possibly set yourself up for success.

Have an Onboarding Process

Getting users to download and open your app is half the battle, but the other half is retaining them. Setting your user up for success by having an on-boarding process can make a huge difference on whether they continue to engage with it. 

How do you go about putting together a successful onboarding process? If you follow the below best practices, you'll have a solid plan in place:

Don't bury the lead: Make sure your user knows right out of the gate the value and benefits they get when they use your app.

Showcase key functionality: Show them the main features of the app, and how simple it is to complete a desired task.

Make it easy to sign-up: Since sign-ups are often a barrier of app adoption, make it as simple as possible to do so. Whenever possible, don't make them create a new account. Instead, allow new users to sign in through their existing social media accounts or Google.

Lead the way with a CTA: It's also a good idea to include a call-to-action at the end of your onboarding experience to point the new user in the right direction. This CTA can ask them to complete a desired task or simply get them excited about using your app.

Address the Feedback

One of the most important things you can do after launching your app is to closely monitor feedback from early adopters to understand the pits and peaks of your functionality. Where are people getting hung up? Are they using features differently than you expected? You should be keeping a very close eye on app store reviews as well as beta testers and take their comments seriously. This not only helps you promptly address issues with your app, but also helps you prioritize updates and optimizations. Your users will love to see their feedback heard and addressed in future app updates.

Pay Attention to Feature Usage

While user feedback is extremely valuable, what can be even more telling are their actions. App analytics allows you to closely monitor usage, or even lack-thereof, to determine which features users are gravitating towards and which are falling flat. It's easy to misjudge how users will engage with your app.

Acquire the Right Users

If you haven't launched any user acquisition campaigns yet, now is the time to do so. You've gathered some important data into who your target audience is, and you should use that to your advantage when launching your app acquisition campaigns.

Running paid user acquisition campaigns can be costly, which is why it's essential to ensure you're getting your money's worth. Understanding where your app's referral traffic is coming from is a sure-fire way to measure the success of your campaign. Pay attention to the data to understand where your most engaged users are coming from. That way, you know where to more closely focus your efforts and which efforts to ditch. 

Optimize Your UI

App experience and design is crucial. Users have grown accustomed to some beautiful app interfaces that are not only sleek in design but function too. Based on all the data insights you're getting combined with some research of your own, you should continually be thinking of ways to optimize the user interface and experience of your app. However, remember that you can have the most beautifully designed app in the world, but if the functionality is sub-par, you're screwed. The opposite is also true. Your app needs to be first-class to compete in the ever-expanding marketplace.

Personalize the App Experience

Now that you understand how different users like to engage with your app, it's time to get personal. App users have grown accustomed to being catered to, and your app should be no exception to this rule. Any communication from your app should feel highly personalized. Messages sent to users, whether push or in-app should be segmented based on their behaviour and preferences so they feel tailored just for them.  The goal is when users access your app; they feel like it knows them. 

Friday 1 January 2016

Custom Mobile Apps: Advantages in Efficient Business Management


Technological inceptions and inventions have revolutionized the way businesses are operated and managed. There is an increase in demand for access to business information and applications through various mobile technologies by the business workforce. Therefore, you should strive relentlessly to position your firm effectively to benefit from the trend. To make sure that your employees are better informed for increased productivity, you should venture into the world of mobile apps for workplace management.

More than 3.3 billion unique mobile apps available on various app stores have automated most of the offline tasks. All it requires is to find a right kind of mobile app suitable for your need and satisfy requirements.

When you integrate your mobile devices with a variety of applications and software, you make it easier for your workers to collaborate and for your organization to communicate with customers, vendors and staff. Thus, your employees can remain productive even when they are away from the office with prompt communication and sharing of important information. Mobile apps, such as employee time clock, which are meant to enhance employees' productivity, are instrumental in an organization's growth.

Such productivity apps have revolutionized the working atmosphere in offices. They can enable you to offer new products and services to your customers while simultaneously increasing the efficiency and creativity of your employees. Here are some of the ways through which you can use the mobile apps technology to increase your profit margin.

NETWORKING/COMMUNICATION

Your workers can download the native apps that allow them to connect with their colleagues to enhance networking and prompt sharing of information. The importance of mobile web-based applications in the enhancement of prompt communication with different audiences is necessary for networking. Improved customer service and efficient use of staff office time are realized with the help of the mobile technologies.

Moreover, you can offer more products and services to your clients using the technology. The extra products and services include quotations, making presentations to customers, checking your stock levels via office network, and interactive order processing. The employees out in the field can hand in their reports and collaborate with their colleagues in the office.

DEVELOPMENT

Since the mobile apps technology is interactive, you can receive immediate feedback on your products and services from customers. Through the prompt feedback, you can conduct faster research and development for your company enabling you to stay afloat of all competition. This technology will enable you to upgrade your products and services faster using the mobile inventory management apps. Moreover, your customers feel a sense of ownership as they are convinced of having a direct role in your company's development.

MARKETING

Mobile apps present you with a new dimension of marketing your company worldwide. Potential customers can see your advertisements on their mobile devices. Moreover, you can create customized advertisements to reach specific audiences hence increasing your conversion ratio. Since more people are using their mobile devices to browse the internet, you are presented with consistently increasing market segment to exploit.

COMMERCE

Integrating mobile apps technology with your business will enable you to manage the commerce aspects of your company. You can distribute vouchers, loyalty cards and coupons using the apps. Mobile ticketing together with content purchase and delivery is also achievable using this technology. Additionally, the apps enable you to provide location-based services to your customers for instance local discount offers. Customers can order electronically via the mobile apps and in some cases you can deliver catalogs via your mobile devices.

Advancement in technology is guaranteed to improve the products and services you offer to your customers. Therefore, you can manage your business efficiently from all over the world using mobile apps. Integrate your business with the mobile technology for enhanced efficiency in operation and management of your company, partners, staff, and customers.