The Most Prominent Reasons For Apps Fail

Reasons Apps Fail

With more than 4.5 million apps waiting to be downloaded from the app stores, the competition among apps is high to catch user attention. With this large number, the risk of getting lost in the crowd is always there for every app. However, why apps fail is not because of only this reason. There are other factors as well. In this article, we attempt to list down some reasons why mobile apps fail and how you can identify factors/areas that require to be improved so that they can succeed and meet part of your business goals.

1: Poor Market and Audience Research

It is vital to draw out user personas and form the product demographics during the discovery stage of the mobile app project. Behavior patterns and motivations are some aspects that can be used to include in creating the user personas.

The assumption that users are going to like a mobile app has to be validated. Getting a clear and deep understanding of the target audience and how much the app satisfies a user need is to be thoroughly researched upon. This forms a sizeable part of the launch strategy.

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The best method to understand what you need to build for your users is to take the MVP (minimum viable product) route. This helps to identify user pain points and the knowledge to address those requirements. It also helps you to develop the proper functionality of the product.

Building an app without adequate research may end up in an app that people, in reality, will have no use for.

2: No Originality in the Idea

Successful apps are known to have a strong value proposition in the marketplace. Most ofthe unsuccessful ones are similar to other apps which is why they do not make their mark. Strongly considering the unique value proposition (UVP) of the desired app in the nascent stage of app development will surely prove helpful. This will be a step towards ensuring optimizing user loyalty and also the success of the business.

Drafting a vision statement for the product helps to remove any tangent and set off the development team in the desired direction.

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Prototyping the mobile app is an essential part of the development process. Rapid iteration in this stage helps to arrive at a user-centric product. The development team needs to confirm that the product meets the business objective through these iterations. This should be continuously carried throughout the design-thinking stage to create an innovative product.

3: Lack of an Appropriate Monetization Strategy

The normal thought process of one building a mobile app is to design the app, develop the app, market it, get loyal visitors and make a fortune. However, sadly many do not progress above the first step. Even if you market it well, what is required is a suitable monetization strategy.

Many apps are known to fail more commonly because of the lack of a proper monetization strategy. It is important to set up the models for monetization according to the budget at hand.

The different models may require appropriate modules within the app being developed. The strategies could include In-app sales, subscription models, In-app advertising, payments for unlocking extra features, In-app stores (for sale of merchandise), and newsletter promotions among others.

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It is a well-known fact that paid apps have fewer downloads in a day and free apps are known to perform better in the marketplace. However, a large part of revenue for any app is through a very small part of the audience.

Ensuring maximum value for the user by having a free look-around with minimum features may help. Offering the best parts of the app for free ensures loyal customers. These are useful tips for monetization.

4: Appropriate Choice of Platform

Choosing between Android and iOS for the app launch can be a difficult one. The platforms operate differently and appeal to different types of users. According to statistics, iOS users are seen to be more educated and enjoy higher incomes than Android users. Therefore, monetization strategies such as In-app purchases can be used for iOS users and ad placements for Android users.

The platform that you want to choose for your app depends on the business goal which you have in mind. Moreover, it is important to analyse the target demographics and build a suitable app that satisfies their needs and helps you reach your business goals as well.

5: Poor User Experience

As a basic requirement, any app needs to be intuitive. If you desire your app to be usable, it should be one that a user can use easily and quickly. Other negative user experiences include high loading times, performance issues, difficult-to-access features, and a long registration process.

Benefits for users is the priority for any app. Repeated use of an app always brings more value to an app. For this design-thinking is an important practice that has to be included to discover the unmet needs of users-to-be.

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Where the UX is not simply about knowing just what a user feels about the app, but about understanding the business model completely as also the processes that a client uses. However, this understanding should create solutions that work efficiently within the technology chosen and its boundaries.

6: Inadequate Testing

No app can be launched without any minor bugs. However, major bugs should be avoided. This can happen only with sufficient investment of time, money and qualified personnel for the purpose. Cutting corners here can give you bad heartaches later that you can very well avoid.

A single crash of the app can stop users from even wanting to look at it again. Users have incredibly high expectations when it comes to mobile app features and performance. So beware!

According to some studies, over half of the iOS devices are known to have performance issues like crashing apps or shutting down specific components. Therefore, testing the app thoroughly is a compulsory prerequisite if you want loyal users in the marketplace. Remember, there is no second chance here.

7: A Badly Executed Mobile App Launch

The strategy that is adopted for the launch of a mobile app significantly affects the number of loyal users that you are going to find. The marketing plan at hand should list down the steps for the app launch and the events surrounding it.

Firstly it is important to stick to announced time schedules. Highlighting the value of the app to the potential users before the launch is crucial in that it provides the right build-up for the launch. The launch, every app-maker must understand is beyond just physically launching the app. The updates and re-launches should follow at specified times. This helps to keep your customers engaged as well.

Other challenges that can make or break the success of your mobile app can be summed up as follows:

Delays in the Project

This is a universal problem and will most likely occur when the project is more complex or large. Gaps in talent acquisition, poor planning, budget insufficiencies, and wrong capacity planning can cause this problem. Budget overruns are almost always the cause of delays in a project. The cost keeps on increasing as long as the launch is delayed.

Lack of Expertise

There are times when talented mobile app professionals are missing in the in-house employee group. In such a case, sourcing an able mobile app developer and getting them to partner with the organization is the solution. Training current employees on mobile app development may not be a good solution after all. Partnering with a new professional can facilitate knowledge transfer that may prove useful in the future and also improve employee retention.

Changing Priorities

Changing priorities during the development process can disturb the set timelines. This would eat into the budgets also. The app design should be flexible and one that can cope with change. If the app is rigid, the consequences can turn the entire process out of track.

Scope Creep

This is an all-pervasive problem that is difficult to manage. It refers to additional features that come in at different stages of product development and turn the focus elsewhere. Proper controls have to be effected to steer clear of scope creep.

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End Thoughts …

In addition to all of these, failure to adhere to agile principles and inability to adapt to change can affect project timelines and end in a project mishap. However, on the other extreme, obsession with total perfection has its disadvantages and hinders the ability to ship the
project on time.

The reasons why mobile apps fail thus depend on several factors but the most prominent ones are low-quality research and poor process execution.

About Sayone

We at SayOne have a talented pool of mobile app developers experienced enough to guide you starting from the ideation stage of the app to delivery and support using the best and the latest technologies.

We create the best-in-class mobile app solutions with scalable and responsive designs that suit every single business need of our client.