The number of mobile users worldwide is growing consistently at an astronomical pace. Saying mobile apps have become essential for survival won’t be an overstatement at all. The insane growth of mobile apps showcases there’s an app for everything. You just name it and you have it. Some apps have been embedded in our lives in a way that we are using them unnoticeably. Some of these apps come as an in-built feature into mobile phones such as calculators, reminders, flashlights, and others. These are termed utility apps.
What are utility apps?
Utility apps are apps that can take care of the routine taks and funtional needs of user which otherwise would have required to be done by applying additional resources and exerting physical methods for completion.
Utility apps have become an integral part of people’s lifestyles. Some of these apps come as pre-installed on mobile phones to perform individual functions. The demands for utility apps are increasing which brings revenue at scale. There is a variety of utility apps such as phone cleaner apps, photo/video hide, task management, QR code scanner, and reminder apps used by people.
Why utility apps are failing?
The utility apps have streamlined communication by connecting disparate resources digitally, which has made lives better. However, only a few of the utility apps succeed from the first day of launch. There are a lot of things that contribute to utility app failure, let’s have a look at some of those reasons;
No goal
The app development is a business move, where clearly defining the goals from the outset is paramount. Without defining the goals, it’s difficult to figure out the issues that the app will solve, features to include, and benefits they offer to the target users. The guessing game won’t bring success to the app.
Poor market research
The apps are abandoned by the users when they are not a good fit. It means without knowing the target market and target users, addressing the users’ problems or pain points with a utility app development is implausible. Without competition research, offering something new to the customers that makes them loyal fans is impossible
No proper strategy in place
A successful app launch starts with a good strategy that translates the customers’ needs into a fully-functional app. The absence of a well-researched and well-planned strategy, that’s required at every stage of development makes the app fail.
Bad technology
Only those apps stand out in the market that are following the latest trends. Leveraging outdated technology won’t allow your utility app to meet modern customers’ requirements.
No monetization strategy in place
With no optimized road to profitability, monetizing with apps is implausible. No monetization strategy creation from the beginning makes the app fail.
No security and scalability
The app when plagued with security threats makes the app suffers from reputation and financial damages. Not keeping security measures on the top of mind makes the utility app go out of the users’ minds. Besides, no planning for architecture scalability makes it difficult for businesses to accommodate future growth and expansion.
10 tips that can help you build a successful utility app
You have decided to build the app to increase sales, better engage the customers, improve customer experience, stay competitive, and boost brand awareness. When the app fails, businesses can’t reap the aforementioned benefits. However, following the 10 tips that successful apps have in common can help your utility app stay ahead of the curve.
Create USP
The run-of-the-mill features in your utility app won’t allow it to enjoy the gala success. Differentiating the app from similar apps through a unique value proposition enables your app to give reasons to install the app. It requires brainstorming about the things that make the app unique. The unique value proposition (UVP) acts like a slogan for the app that tells the app’s benefits to the users and how it’s different from the competition. The clear and concise UVP becomes a USP for utility apps.
Perform SWOT analysis
Spending valuable time and hard-earned money on market research help in knowing if the utility is market-ready or not. SWOT (S-strength, W- weakness, O- opportunities, T- threats) analysis helps in identifying the opportunities hidden in plain sight and lets you know the problems that the app will resolve.
The strength of the mobile app idea showcases the benefits that the app will deliver to the target audience, improve the bottom line, and be better than the competition or not.
Weakness highlights the limitations and hurdles that may lead to app failure.
Opportunities are identified after analyzing strengths and weaknesses. The gaps are filled with improvements that help in leapfrogging the competition.
Threats are the potential challenges that the app may face due to evolving customers’ preferences, technology changes, and market shifts.
Outline the goal
When it comes to defining the goal, you should be specific and keep the measurable goal that is realistic and time-bound. Mapping out the user journey and identifying user interactions in primary use-cases are important for app objectives. Later, defining the KPIs- frequency of app usage, number of visits, app abandonment, and churning rate helps in tracking the app’s success levels.
User segmentation
Segmenting the target users helps in providing the best thing to the customers. The user segmentation based on the device that customers use, their geographical location, user behavior, and user data translates into improved user engagement and enhanced marketing strategies. The app analytics helps in better tracking data and turning them into rich insights, which is essential for the app’s success.
Decide the platform
The platform selection plays a huge role in identifying the features to keep, user experience optimization, deciding monetization strategies, and planning marketing campaigns. The iOS and Android platforms acquired 90% of the global audience. After narrowing down the platform choice to one or both, the entrepreneurs need to decide on the development strategy- native, cross-platform, or hybrid they consider. The native development works like a pro for quality development and the latter two options are good for cost-effective app development in reduced time.
Plan tech stack
Technology stack is the backbone of your app that must be chosen intelligently to keep your utility app live forever irrespective of market trends changes or increasing customers’ demands. Choose a scalable tech stack to ensure the utility app performs on upcoming devices and OSs. Discuss with the development team to ensure a scalable tech stack and modular architecture that pays to the business later by manifolds.
Build design that wow the users
The design of utility apps can make or break the app’s success because if the design won’t align with customer expectations, they take no time in abandoning the app. the utility apps must be simple and easy to use to pique the user interest.
Make sure overloading the app with too much information or images is not a great idea because the users get frustrated when they don’t find anything at the first sight. A/B testing helps in finding the design that resonates with target users.
Develop the app
Great app designs won’t guarantee the app functions as expected. Building a prototype is necessary to design the app workflow and plan the app features so that adjustments are made earlier such that the app idea starts shaping into a reality. The prototype is closely related to the app’s objective wherein users’ data play a vital role in making it data-centric. The data-driven MVP development helps in bringing the concept to life with proper execution. Later, the success of the MVP launch helps the entrepreneur to know how to move ahead.
Decide the monetization strategies
Making money is all-important for the appreneurs because relying on investors is not a plain-sailing journey. The app monetization strategies enable the app to self-sustain. The entrepreneurs can make the money using different revenue models.
- The paid downloads involve the users’ need to pay a fee upfront when they download the app. Pricing the app rightly helps you make the users download the app. Otherwise, the users less often pay for utility app downloads.
- The ad revenue model is quite popular in utility apps that involve placing various ads on the app. The entrepreneurs can use one of three types of in-app ads- CPA, CPC, and CPM. The utility apps can opt for banner ads, native ads, or interstitial ads based on target users.
- Keeping the apps free to download and then premium upgrade facilitates users to unlock the advanced features and use the ad-free version of the app.
- The in-app purchase revenue model is famous in the game apps that allow users to buy in-app currencies such as coins or rewards for the best experiences.
Conclusion
Making the utility apps of utmost utility to the users is important to make the app successful. Translating the utility app idea into a reality is not a work of an average Joe. The simple utility app needs to build with precision, data-driven decisions, and user-centric actions. It is best to connect with one of the top app development companies to build the utility app that bridges the gap and delivers wow experiences in the same vein.
