Conquering the AppStore and Android Market: How Does It Work?

Everyone wants an app on the AppStore or the Android market. Yet, many people create an app for the sake of having it while harboring hopes that it might eventually take off. Huge mistake!

Hello everyone! I hope you are already planning your summer holiday and you are ready to take a well-deserved break. Yet, do not pack your bags too soon! First, make a check list of the tasks that can help your business prosper and compare your progress so far against it! I presume that by now you know why optimizing your website for the mobile web is an assignment that should be featured on that check list. If you have already taken care of mobile optimization, you can breathe a sigh of relief and you can continue with your other priorities. Doing a great job helps you enjoy your holidays even more!

Now, before I start daydreaming about summertime and cold drinks, I want to delve into the subject of mobile marketing and give you some insights that can either help you make an application that can rock the AppStore, the Android Market, or both, or spare you the humiliation of failing to reach people and wasting valuable resources. If this offer sounds good to you, then all you have to do is read on.

Shaking the foundations of the App Store, taking over the Android Market, building an outstanding Blackberry app… No, those are not the wild dreams of businesses, marketers or developers. This is not even wishful thinking. On the contrary, this has been the buzzword of the business world for quite some time. Indeed, whereas mobile applications allow great developers and savvy marketers to create instant hits for various platforms, they also open a broad avenue to big companies as they enable them to literally move to the phones and tablets of their customers. Come to think of it, mobile apps are the fastest, the easiest, and one of the most gratifying ways to reach people and interact with them. Hence, the big hype about mobile applications is not such a stretch after all. In fact, your product or service has greater chances of being spotted on somebody’s phone or tablet than being noticed on TV or in a newspaper. A recent article featured on TechCrunch reveals that time spent on mobile devices has surpassed web browsing! This is a huge WOW! Therefore, the mobile revolution has redefined the rules of PR, marketing, and advertising beyond belief. Once again. In a way, we all have to start marketing our products and/or ourselves from scratch to look hip and trendy. Therefore, it somehow makes sense that every business wants to have an app on the AppStore or the Android market. After all, this could be a convenient shortcut to business expansion and consolidation. Yet, there is a little caveat: not just every product and/or service is worthy of a mobile application. Now, before you jump at me, I will tell you why this is the case and maybe my professional tips and experience will help you re-think your strategies for mobile domination. Just make sure you read the following paragraphs carefully.

There were times when most of the apps had an equal start on the App Store and the Android Market. Those times were almost five years ago. At that point, the mobile revolution was just starting, there were a few apps available, and the devices in use were not as sophisticated as the ones we have nowadays. Constant innovation, however, has changed the entire context. Apple threw the gauntlet at developers and marketers. Android followed suit. The results are somehow overwhelming. Nowadays, mobile application stores are literally abundant in apps of every breed, shape, and size: from funny and interactive games, to road maps, to apps that allow you to sort your grocery list. Absolutely mind-blowing. Yet, this is not all. Being what there are, the app stores and market places are literally crowded. Even a bit overcrowded. Every day, a solid number of more than 1000 apps are submitted and approved solely on the App Store. Figures do not lie. So far, games are the biggest winners on the App Store. Nonetheless, other apps are doing fine as well, so if gaming is not your industry, you should not lose faith. After all, there is a space for everyone under the sun or in this case, on the App Store, the Android Market, the Blackberry Appworld, etc. Nonetheless, this statement should not make you jump for joy. Whereas, there is some space for your app on the App Store or the Android Market, there might not be any space for your mobile wonder on the devices of the users you are targeting!

Sad but true! Just grab your phone or tablet and start browsing the application realms. You will notice there are plenty of apps, gathering virtual dust on the mobile shelves as nobody seems to be interested in them. Disappointing.

What is even worse, developing a mobile application is not a cheap endeavor. On the contrary, sometimes it could be quite a risky flirt with luck. You can ask around and many developers, marketers, and businesses will tell you that they had been burning the midnight oil and working hard on applications that never took off. They will also tell you about the amount of money they spent. Thousands of euros/dollars invested in broken dreams. Bone-crushing.

If you start looking for the reasons why apps fail, you will find plenty of them. Today, however, I want to focus on the primordial reason why some apps never make it. The answer, as already suggested, is because they are stillborn.

If we start dissecting the very notion of an app, we’ll find out that in its fiery core, an application is nothing more than a product or a service that has to fill in an imaginary or a perceived need of people. Hence, if I go back in time to one of my older articles about business concepts, it won’t come to you as a surprise if I tell you that some apps are developed without any value-added rationale whatsoever. Consequently, they are stillborn and doomed to fail.

Indeed, not just every business can pass the value-added barrier on the App Store or the Android Market. This not-so-visible hurdle, however, exists only in the minds of phone or tablet owners, who have to download and/or purchase your mobile creation, not in the minds of the technical guys who approve of your app and place it in the respective store. Thus, not just every business is worthy of an app. If you are let’s say a game development company like Capcom, you MUST have a mobile app. If you are sell burgers, you might want to follow the steps of Chippotle or Taco Bell and let people use their phones to order your products or locate your stores. If you have a restaurant, you can create a system that allows people to book a table, etc. Possibilities are endless. If you, however, make an application that does not have that extra value-added twist, do not even bother. Why making an app that solely promotes your company portfolio? Do you think that people would be interested in downloading it and/or keeping it on their devices? Bear in mind that the devices have limited memory and an application that serves no purpose is deleted instantaneously. This is the only way people can make some space for other applications that are actually worth downloading and using on a daily basis.

Therefore, before moving onto development, make sure you come up with a very good concept. Think of a way in which your application can add value to people’s lives. Consider its purpose carefully and ask around. Sometimes ideas that we consider awesome turn out to be not so awesome after all. Hence, weigh the pros and the cons carefully. Remember, not just every business concept can have a bright future on the mobile application stores. If your app is an expensive mobile replica of your website and it serves promotional purposes only, please, do not spend your money on it. It is bound to fail! The only way your app can succeed is if it solves a real problem that people are experiencing and it makes their lives easier or at least a bit brighter. Anything else is a waste of valuable resources.

Prior to hiring a developer or getting busy coding the next big app, bear in mind the following tips:

• Rule # 1: Marketability precedes development.
• Rule # 2: See Rule # 1

So put on your thinking hats and come up with a good concept. If you are not sure about it, take your time, talk to people, ask your followers on Twitter, glean some information on Facebook, talk to potential users and then, appraise the risks. Never rush! Better safe than sorry! If people like your idea, commence development. Otherwise, abandon that particular mobile application ship and think of other concepts that can become hits on the App Store or the Android Market.

Well, this is all for today. Thanks for taking the time to read my article. It is somehow superficial, but if you have any particular questions, you can always send us a tweet, contact us on Facebook or write a comment below. We have the expertise and the experience to give you a bloody good answer. So, I bid you all adieu and I kindly ask you to check out our newest marketing, software, and business tips and tricks machine entitled ‘Stuff We Say’. You might find the pithy comments particularly useful or worthy of re-tweeting, sharing, and remembering. Or maybe not. In any case, give it a try and do not forget to subscribe to the feed that rocks if you want to read something about how to successfully market your great applications on the App Store or the Android Market next time around!