{"id":"3660","date":"2020-02-24T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/?p=3660"},"modified":"2024-08-19T21:06:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T04:06:07","slug":"mobile-app-business-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/mobile-app-business-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you need a mobile app business plan (and how to make a good one)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s not cheap to build an app. One source says <\/a>that building a simple functions app like a timer or a tip calculator costs upwards of $10,000. A more complicated app is much more expensive \u2014 think a quarter of a million dollars. So to build an app without sinking your finances, you need to create a mobile app business plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we dive into what that plan should look like, let’s figure out why your brand should develop an app in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why does my business need an app?<\/h2>\n\n\n

A good app does two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. It gives customers a place to communicate with your brand, and vice versa. A good app will help you see the pitfalls and pluses of your overall brand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. It does something valuable for the customer. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Take Craigslist, for example. For the longest time, Craigslist didn’t have its own app. This gave rise to all sorts of third-party Craigslist search and buy<\/a> apps. The people who preferred buying or selling things through the actual site were forced to either do everything from a laptop or try to use Craigslist on a mobile web browser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But in 2019, Craigslist finally published its own mobile app. <\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"\"
    Photo courtesy of Craigslist iOS<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    While third-party apps may have provided venues for feedback to the third-party brands (not Craigslist), the brand’s own app has a button just for feedback that goes straight to the Craigslist team for review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is how Craigslist is fulfilling that essential customer communication component of an excellent mobile app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Craigslist also provides a valuable service for customers by giving them a way to buy and sell items on Craigslist from their mobile phones or tablets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here we come to the first reason your business needs an app.<\/p>\n\n\n

    Reason #1: Mobile apps are the ultimate form of convenience<\/h3>\n\n\n

    You’ve probably noticed that we live in a hugely fast-paced world. Back when I was in college, iPhones were still a novelty. At the time, a friend of mine summed up the convenience of smartphones nicely: “It’s sweet to be able to Google a question right when it pops into your mind instead of having to wait until you get home to your laptop.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now it’s impossible to go anywhere without seeing faces bent over iPhones or Androids. We no longer have to be bored in grocery store lines \u2014 we can pay bills, answer emails, check social media, read, watch TV, edit videos, and much more. <\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"Your<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    This is all made possible by mobile apps (and a nice data plan). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your brand needs<\/a> an app because apps are essential to our current way of life. Instead of simply seeing if your brand has a nice website, potential customers will also check to see if you have a mobile app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a society, we’re way past wanting to wait until we get home to look up a movie review, find a well-reviewed restaurant, or buy a new e-book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you’ve just started out, keep track of where your website traffic comes from. Does a lot of it come from mobile web browsers? If so, that means people would appreciate the convenience and ease of an app \u2014 which can and should give them more options than your website does. <\/p>\n\n\n

    Reason #2: You run an e-commerce or brick-and-mortar store<\/h3>\n\n\n

    If people buy your merchandise on a web browser, they’ll probably also buy it on a mobile app. And if your e-commerce brand<\/a> targets a younger demographic (think millennials and Gen Z), you’ll definitely want to add an app to your business strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But don’t discount older<\/g> generations. A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center<\/a> found that this percentage of each generational group owns a smartphone:<\/p>\n\n\n\n