The culture of startups is blowing up with more than 70% of young people looking for a chance to invest or come up with new projects. Most of those projects refer to mobile development and it really makes sense.
The latest Statista report predicts almost 269 billion applications to be installed by the end of 2017. It means that developers will keep on building more and more products each day. However, most of those mobile application startups fail.
It does not matter how promising a scenario may seem, startups and enterprises still face different problems that cause app startups to fail. What are the main obstacles on the way to success? How many mobile app startups fail? Are there any ways to find an ultimate solution to those problems? Let’s try to find the answers in this article.
Reason 1 – Inept Design
This problem refers not to mobile applications only, but also to other products. If your design is literally bad, people will never buy, subscribe to your service or download your product. Your mission is to make them fall in love with the application. This is where many startups are unable to meet the expectations of their customers. The inept design is the first and foremost failure factor for most mobile apps.
Despite the fact that it is still necessary to follow the latest design trends to create a fancy and flashing app that will grab the attention of the audience, you do not actually need a parallax effect to make your product good-looking.
Functionality is the main trend when it comes to design. For example, let’s have a look at Facebook – one of the biggest names in the digital world featuring a set of functional apps and services. It has a simple design without any flashy visual effects but it still has millions of users across the globe.
Reason 2 – Poor Marketing Strategy
Inappropriate approach to marketing campaigns is among major reasons why mobile app startups fail. Companies spend thousands of dollars on building an ultimate application, but they totally forget about marketing campaigns.
This results from the fact that most of startups consist of technicians who have never dealt with research and analytics before. They are unable to evaluate the competition and think of a competitive advantage that will let them stand out from the main rivals. A simple marketing analysis can do the trick. You do not need to be a financial expert. ASO, SEO and ad tools will make your promotional campaign as efficient as possible.
Reason 3 – Undefined Buyer Persona
Focusing on your target audience is the most important stage. You need to have a clear vision of your buyer persona. The idea is to realize who your customers are, what they do and why they need your application. If you do not have a clear idea of your target audience, you will never be able to reduce risks of failure for your next app startup. Here are some useful tips to avoid failures:
- divide your potential users into categories based on age, type of device, occupation, location, etc.;
- conduct a survey to find out what your existing customers may expect from a new app;
- build an MVP version of the app and handle the prototyping before you jump to the major development process;
- consider QA testing before deploying the application to fix bugs and ensure smooth running;
- build a strong feedback and deliver modifications and updates promptly.
Still wonder why mobile application startups fail? Let’s get to another reason.
Reason 4 – Inconsistent App
It results in poor approach to testing stage in the development process. Startups try to save money and often underestimate the role of QA engineering. As a result, mobile applications fail to run properly on different types of devices. If you are building a native app for iOS, make sure it performs greatly on both iPads and iPhones. Your product, in this case, has to be optimized for all types of iOS-gadgets.
Reason 5 – Not Enough or Too Many Updates
Rolling out the on-time updates is important. However, too many updates may be of no use. Startups fail to consider such important parameters as demographics, niche, etc. Always keep in mind that every new update or modification is supposed to move your product forward but not to make users stuck in it.
The second issue here is the inability to deliver efficient updates. Why do mobile app startups fail? Because startups do not hear their users. Building a strong feedback is not enough, as you also need to respond. Otherwise, your users are likely to be irritated.
Reason 6 – Not Considering Customer Feedback
Surprisingly many startups and entrepreneurs forget about paying the heed to customers’ feedback. It is always vital to track all available data describing how your users feel about the product, what they say and what they think. Do not ever bring your vision forward, as it will look rather off-putting for the target audience.
Vice versa, if you consider their recommendations and wishes, they will appreciate such approach even if you fail to deliver an efficient update. At least, you gave it a shot in an effort to improve the app and make it more flexible.
Reason 7 – Poor Planning and Budgeting
Money is always the main problem for many startups; the lack of money to be more precise. It seems like all startups run out of funds once they start building the application. If you are not able to cover the cost, give it up and never start developing an app.
Careful planning is the key to success even in case of a limited budget. At the same time, you should assume that your project is very unlikely to generate any profit within the first year after the release.
Some startups count on side investors making efforts to attract bigger companies and enterprises. Some really succeed in raising funds for the project. However, there are a few chances investors will catch on you in the long run. Moreover, collecting funds in terms of timeframes may take a long time. At the same time, once you fail to meet investors’ expectation you can never count on their financial support. Moreover, you will have to cover their expense.
Reason 8 – Lack of Flexibility
This issue comes up as the summary of all reasons we have mentioned above. If you have a brilliant idea for a mobile product and what to bring it to life, you need to be flexible in every aspect of the development process starting from defining the goals and purposes. Consider your users’ advices and comments in order to move your product forward. Change features and learn from your target audience and main competitors.
Reason 9 – Crucial Development Mistakes
Although it sounds like almost real to be true, dev teams tend to make wrong steps during the development process. Not only those pitfalls are to the detriment of the application running process, but also harm marketing campaigns. They may include:
- Huge memory footprints – no one will argue, that developers are supposed to follow the latest mobile app trends. They need to provide features that are in demand. The idea is to amaze your target audience with some handy tools and functions. However, endless list of features will certainly be to the detriment of memory usage. Moreover, if your app occupies all available storage space on user’s smartphone, a user will hardly be pleased with that;
- The lack of testing operations – the only way to realize how your app will be used by your potential customers is to test the product before it reaches the app store. The idea here is to receive a proper feedback on every stage and move you make. With so many free and paid tools available on the net, you will easily handle the A/B testing process. Just never underestimate the testing stage. That’s all we ask;
- Poor UX – removing all errors and fixing all the bugs is good. However, it never guarantees the app success with users. Keep in mind that the code is only a basic feature of your app. It should also have a high level of usability. So, you need to arrange the most convenient and fast in-app journey for your target audience. A simple bit capturing design is a must have. UX is the only way to bring interesting and evolving experience for your app users. No other approach will work out.
Now you know what the main reasons of startups failure are. The only way to avoid any described mistakes is to hire a team of professionals featuring effective project management. It will let you lay back and watch how professionals bring your idea of a mobile app to life. Contact us to discuss your future project.