{"id":10548,"date":"2016-10-18T10:55:08","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T15:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=10548"},"modified":"2019-05-21T17:25:34","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T22:25:34","slug":"4-essential-questions-to-ask-before-building-a-mobile-business-app-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/4-essential-questions-to-ask-before-building-a-mobile-business-app-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"4 essential questions to ask before building a mobile business app (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"Summary: As businesses rush to build mobile apps, they often dive into the project without proper planning, or without an adequate understanding of their mobile app options. As you might imagine, this causes problems. It produces the wrong type of mobile app, or mobile apps that the company doesn\u2019t really need–wasting time and money in the process. Learn the questions you should ask to avoid these problems.<\/em><\/span>
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photo credit: FirmBee<\/a> via pixabay<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Mobile application adoption is growing rapidly in the business world. Recent research<\/span><\/a> finds that 82% of technology decision makers view apps as integral to their organization.<\/p>\n

The problem: <\/strong>Mobile applications are still uncharted territory for businesses. Many jump into mobile app development without understanding the ins and outs of a successful mobile app.<\/p>\n

The result:<\/strong> Studies find that nearly 80% of enterprise mobile apps are abandoned after their first use<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, developing a mobile app isn\u2019t cheap. While cost varies dramatically depending on the application, surveys find an enterprise app ranges from $25k \u2013 over $1,000,000, with an average cost of $271,000. <\/p>\n

Think about that for a minute. All of the time and expense of building an enterprise mobile app goes to waste 80% of the time.<\/p>\n

Why? <\/p>\n

In many cases, these businesses aren\u2019t asking the right questions before they start their projects. They\u2019re diving in, without a true understanding of what they need. <\/p>\n

What questions should you ask before building a mobile app for your business? This topic is so broad, that we\u2019ll split it up into two articles. Today, let\u2019s explore the first 4 questions you must ask before building a mobile app.<\/p>\n

1. Is Your Mobile App a ‘Vitamin’ or ‘Painkiller?\u2019<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a mistake made by many companies these days: They come up with an idea, turn it into an app, and then wonder why their users don\u2019t use it.<\/p>\n

The problem: Their app doesn\u2019t solve a problem that their users are trying to solve. It doesn\u2019t address the user\u2019s pain. As explained below, that\u2019s one of the most important aspects of any successful mobile app.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIs Your Mobile App a ‘Vitamin’ or ‘Painkiller?\u2019, asks Ian Naylor, CEO at AppInstitute<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s vital to understand the problems your product is addressing. Vitamin Products are nice to have, but not must haves. These products will generally be low priority and so the marketing message and price point need to reflect this. Painkiller Products are must haves. They\u2019re addressing a real pain point in a business and so the language should address this and generally the pricing can be more aggressive. Coupling these points with the persona\u2019s and perspective of the users can make a huge impact to a product’s success. For example, the closer the painkiller is to the decision maker, the bigger the take-up.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, there\u2019s one caveat to this point: Don’t guess what problem the users want to solve. It\u2019s easy to look at the user\u2019s problem, and assume you know how to fix it. However, the \u201cpain point\u201d must come straight from the users. Talk to the app\u2019s target audience, and try to truly understand the problem they\u2019re facing. Only then can you create a \u201cpainkiller\u201d app.<\/p>\n

2. How does a mobile app support a higher level business goal we have? <\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s assume your app idea is truly a \u201cpainkiller\u201d for your customers\/prospects. Does that mean you should jump right in and build it? Not necessarily. It\u2019s possible that your app might solve a pain point, but not help your business.<\/p>\n

The question you must ask is, \u201cHow much is this application worth to my business?\u201d What\u2019s the payback? <\/p>\n

Now, the payback isn\u2019t necessarily revenue. It could be areas like productivity, customer engagement, automation, and far more. But, as explained below, any successful app must support a larger business initiative.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThis question is critical because often, businesses just feel compelled to be “mobile”, due to technology and competitor trends, so they make an app,\u201d says Zack Naylor, CEO & co-founder at Aurelius<\/span><\/a>. \u201cBut, it fails because they failed to appropriately define exactly how creating a mobile app should some how support a larger business initiative (like acquiring new customers, deepening relationships, extending the value of another one of their products, etc.)\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Will My Mobile App Produce a Compelling Experience that Only a Native App can Provide?<\/h3>\n
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photo credit: geralt<\/a> via pixabay<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many businesses make the same mistake when considering mobile apps: They equate mobile apps to native apps. <\/p>\n

However, they don\u2019t realize (or willfully ignore) that the native approach is just one of three different mobile app options. It\u2019s also the most expensive and time consuming approach.<\/p>\n

Do you really need a native app? It all depends on your business and the goals for your app. I won\u2019t get into all of the different options here, but we have a handy comparison chart here<\/span><\/a>, which goes into more detail about each option. <\/p>\n

The point is this: Never assume you need a native app. As explained below, unless your app needs an experience that only a native app can provide, you\u2019re often better off with a different option.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe see many businesses build a native app that is just a copy of their web site,\u201d says Terence Channon, Managing Director, Saltmines Group<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIf something can be done equally well via a mobile site, then the additional programming and investment to have an app is likely not worthwhile – and furthermore, customers won’t want to use it. An app for a restaurant that has the hours of operation and a menu? That can be done via a mobile site – and easier for a customer to access. Welcoming the customer via the native app when they walk into the venue based on their location, that is more compelling. Make sure the app offers a unique experience that justifies the user investing time and phone space to download and use.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

4. What platform are you going to develop in? <\/h3>\n

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous question. If you choose the mobile web approach, the answer is easy. It\u2019s already cross platform. <\/p>\n

However, those that choose the native approach are often hit with a harsh realization. Converting an app from one platform the next is not easy. Building apps for different platforms requires completely separate applications.<\/p>\n

Do you need an application that works across all platforms? Generally speaking, the answer is \u201cyes,\u201d but it really depends on what you\u2019re trying to accomplish with your app.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cOnce you know what you trying to achieve you need to choose a platform to develop on,\u201d says Grant Price, Ceo of Opinion Orange<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIf money is not your issue are you can get your developer to create your app from the ground up but it can be costly. If money is a concern choosing a coding platform will help speed up the process and save costs. Different platforms have different strengths and limitations. That’s why knowing what you want to achieve is important.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Summary<\/h3>\n

These are the first four questions you must ask before building an enterprise mobile app. Stay tuned, as we’ll cover more in an upcoming article. Would you add anything to this list? If you would like to add anything to this list, I\u2019d love to hear it. Feel free to share in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: As businesses rush to build mobile apps, they often dive into the project without proper planning, or without an adequate understanding of their mobile app options. As you might imagine, this causes problems. It produces the wrong type of mobile app, or mobile apps that the company doesn\u2019t really need–wasting time and money in …<\/p>\n

4 essential questions to ask before building a mobile business app (part 1)<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","slim_seo":{"title":"4 essential questions to ask before building a mobile business app (part 1) - mrc's Cup of Joe Blog","description":"Summary: As businesses rush to build mobile apps, they often dive into the project without proper planning, or without an adequate understanding of their mobile"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[34,35],"class_list":["post-10548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-mobile","tag-mobile-apps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10548"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11700,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10548\/revisions\/11700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}