app development

Tips on App User Retention: How to Keep Users Coming Back

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With the app environment projected to grow by 270% by 2020, there is plenty of room for new ideas to join the ranks of the already 5 BILLION apps in the app stores. However, true success in the app store doesn’t just boil down to pure downloads when you launch, it is also related to user retention and app longevity. This means that while you might think to generate the app idea was all the brainstorming you had to do, looking towards the future is what can really make or break your success! Look at the marketplace You might have already checked out the competition when you were generating your app idea, but that doesn’t mean you should stop your research. By looking at similar apps to your app idea or apps in a similar category, you can see how different apps are trying to cater to their users. Read the app reviews for those apps and see what people are saying. Are they wishing that the app had a new feature or included an improvement somewhere? Are there any complaints about the app’s performance or its current features? Think about where and how other apps are going wrong so that you can steer clear and not make the same mistakes. Let other apps do the mistake trailblazing for you and you’ll soon discover that features your app has will be received with open arms. Anticipate your audience’s growth As technology improves and apps cater to more specialized markets, app producers are being forced to think of ways of how to hold onto their current audience for longer periods of time. Put another way, like trying to fit into that itchy sweater your grandmother knit you when you were 12, some features you created when your app first launched might not fit your audience years or even months from now. So, to curb this possible outcome, you need to think about where the current users of your audience might be months or years from now. As related to the type of app you have, what kind of user longevity can you expect? While it is true that many apps maintain their longevity purely out of the nature of their market such as those social networking apps, even those have evolved in some way shape or form. Compare Myspace to Facebook and you’ll see exactly what I mean. By thinking about how you can add features to still appeal to that initial audience as it ages, your app will be in a great position to maintain its position firmly on your users’ home screens. Have a cache of improvements lying in wait Closely tied to anticipating how your audience might grow is the idea that you should always have new ideas cooking in the confines of your app’s new feature kitchen. However, whereas thinking about new features to evolve along with your audience is one aspect of the new feature process, new features for all users is something else entirely. Here, we’re talking about new features that you would launch for your entire app audience that will re-engage and re-invigorate your current user base thus resulting in an additional influx of new users. Introducing things like new filters for a photo app or new recipes for a cooking app can mean a world of difference for someone who initially downloaded your app because they thought it looked cool but then didn’t think it was worth keeping. Start looking for inspiration based on how people are either reacting to your app (if it has been launched) or how people are reacting to similar apps in the market. What additional features did you think about when you first came up with the idea? How can you expand on those? But REMEMBER, this does not mean that every new idea you generate should be pushed to the app store immediately. As the title for this tip suggests, you should always have a cache of new ideas in store so that you can pepper your audience and constantly engage them. If you release all your new ideas at once, it is likely that no one will fully be able to appreciate every single one and that new feature you thought would really change the game will end up falling on deaf ears. So, keep writing down new ideas and features and you’ll ensure that you not only hold onto your current audience but engage new users for years to come.

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All You Need To Know About In-App Purchases

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At the end of the day, every app developer intends to generate revenue from their creations. The goal is not merely to cover the costs of its production, but also to turn a profit as well. After all, we might love what we do. So, if our apps don’t bring in revenue, who’s going to pay the bills and put food on our tables? Nowadays, monetizing your mobile app is a hugely important factor to consider. It is sure to be at the forefront of most app developer’s minds. Are In-App Purchases A Nice Way To Earn? There are lots of different ways to create revenue from app development. One of the most popular right now is by using in-app purchases. The in-app purchase market is booming right now, and we’re sure you’ve been following the figures closely yourselves. According to recent statistics, the total global revenue created solely by in-app purchases in 2017 was almost $40 billion. That’s highly significant, when the previous year saw a final sum of less than half of that figure. It also takes on the greater significance that the 2017 total made from paid-app downloads (previously the strongest way to make money from apps) was $30 billion. It shows you where the money-making potential in apps really lies. In-app purchases are ruling the app industry right now. If you’re an app developer looking for ways to turn what you do into a viable living, this should really be your primary point of focus for the time being. For developers, the use of in-app purchases has a clear benefit. It makes money and gives you a very evident source of feedback, regarding how well your app is doing on the market, and how engaged your users are. From the user’s point of view, in-app purchases are viewed either as a great way to take their experience with the app further. Also, it’s a way to gain more enjoyment and usability from the service you provide or as an instant turn-off, which leads them to abandon the app completely as soon as they’re asked to cough up money for features. Getting the balance right – so as to encourage the user that the purchase is worthwhile – is no mean feat. Plenty of app developers have fallen by the wayside as a result of errors of judgement in this regard. In this brief guide, we’re going to be giving an overview of in-app purchases. Also, we will be thinking about how best to make them work for you. The New App Store Policies As we all know, the App Store is pretty much constantly updating and changing its policies, in an attempt to continually keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the app industry. While this can be a bit of a headache, it’s fair to say that the majority of App Store policies are in place for good reason. Their diligence does ensure that quality remains high and user experiences remain positive. Now, the App Store has four types of in-app purchasing models you can pursue your app creations. Naturally, before you even begin implementing any of them, there are a handful of legal hoops to jump through, forms to sign, and tax declarations to make. Once those are all done, you’re free to go ahead with either: Consumables These are typically in-app purchases for games. Consumables would include one-off purchases for lives, gems, passwords etc. Once they’re purchased and ‘consumed’, another payment would have to be made in order to benefit from them again. Non-Consumables This type of in-app purchase model usually involves giving users access to some sort of premium content. Purchased once, and without an expiry date, a typical example would be a filter for a photo app. Auto-renewable Subscriptions Users will agree to pay on a regular basis in order to subscribe to a service or feature. So, the payment will be taken at agreed intervals until the user agrees to cancel. Non-renewing Subscriptions These will be subscriptions with a set expiration date, for example, a season membership to a club or streaming service. How to Implement In-App Purchasing If you’re considering bringing in-app purchasing into your app, it’s really something you need to have thought about from the very beginning of your app design. After all, it will probably end up being a key feature of your product. And if it hasn’t been part of your plan from the start, it can be tricky to retrofit in-app purchasing options into the finished app. Once you’ve made the decision to implement in-app purchasing, you’ll need to think carefully about a whole number of factors. There are a whole load of things to consider when it comes to this particular niche of app development. And it’s probably worthwhile taking some real time to plan out different options, and see which work best for you and your intended audience. The Best and Most Common Way of Using In-App Purchases As previously mentioned, there are several types of in-app purchases your users could make. However, the area which has seen the most success when it comes to monetizing apps has been the world of mobile games. This probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. We’re all well away of how easy it is to become quite fixated on mobile games. The whole set-up of the vast majority of games involves progressing to the next level with an aim of ultimately completing the whole thing. As a result, in-app purchases make perfect sense: the game might be perfectly completable without any purchases being involved. If you want to get to that destination a little more quickly and easily (alongside some super-cool, exclusive power-up features etc), then purchases can logically and effectively come into play. How To Earn Money Without Limiting Your Users The main technique for gaining success with your in-app purchases is to ensure your consumables etc really add value to the app experience. Nobody wants to spend their money on something

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Top Trending Niches in App Development

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In business, you can find many niches that appear stable. The environment is key for the nurturing of a dream. Niches exist in every kind of business. For example, there are companies that specifically sell glasses, jeans, phones, houses, etc. In the app development business, existing niches continue to grow and are in need of innovations and improvements. Yesterday we had teachers, today we have educational apps with videos and subscriptions. Yesterday we had standard wooden desks, today we have app-controlled tactile desks. Let’s have a look at what niches you can break into and build your application. Education 5-10 years ago was the dawn of online education. A few years later it became a new niche in online business. There is no need to sit in a classroom and be lectured anymore; you can attend class from the comfort of your own home with technology now. Online education is trending. Twenty years ago people needed to go to colleges, institutes, or academies to become specialists in a particular subject. They would flip through volumes of text in order to learn something new. Today the Internet makes our lives easier because we have not to physically attend university in order to master a skill or mine knowledge via books. Anything we need is on the Internet. That’s the reason why we should pay attention to this niche. We’re also not limited to educational platforms such as Udemy. You can earn money by selling knowledge via app store by creating an education app that presents the information in a logical manner. You can use text or video to deliver your teaching. It doesn’t matter which medium you choose just make sure it comes off as unique, unusual, interesting, and has a practical value for your audience. You can create even your own cookbook or Spanish courses. Health Health is a popular social sphere. Your responsibility directly depends on what you offer. If you work on your own fitness application you are responsible for accurate data presentation. If you get involved with a telemedical platform, it’s an even greater level of responsibility. So, why health? This sphere requires accurate solutions. If somebody found a ‘magic pill’ in this sphere, he/she would turn become a celebrity overnight. The important thing is that such an application must solve an existing problem. As I have mentioned, it’s a social sphere, so here the quality of service is much more important than the number of downloads. Don’t forget about your users because their well-being partly depends on your product. Apps For Children Most apps for kids are created to entertain and develop at the same time. Parents strive to provide their kids with the best things: toys, books, food, living conditions, etc. Today many children have their own iPads, iPhones, and even Apple Watch accessories. Let’s go offline for a moment. How many soft toys, table games, and other interesting things are presented on the market? More than we can count. All of them are created for kids. These customers think about the quality, prices, and practicality of these products. The niche of interactive apps is not as narrow as the niche of yacht navigation apps, for example. There are little creative restraints while working on apps for kids. You can create interactive books, alphabet, digital painting desks, or full games with storytelling and arcade elements. The format of your product is not the problem here. The problems lie in detail. Your app will be used by kids, not adults, right? This means that you need to do research on existing children’s apps and talk to your potential audience (parents) to clarify issues. Only after that can you can build solutions. So, if your product is for a young audience it needs to go through the parents first. Parents need to understand why they need to download it or buy in-app content. Calendars And Timers Individual calendars and timers are trendy. Usually, they take the form of an application for a particular issue. For example, your audience is people who want to stop smoking. You create an app based on the standard calendar and timer for iOS and tailor it to the issue at hand. This application counts your days without a cigarette and shows past history as well as gives out in-app achievements. Users use this app for motivation. Calendars can be connected with Health Kit as many apps that follow a woman’s menstrual cycle are. You can choose problems and try to solve them via timers and calendars if you want to develop them in this niche. These types of apps are progressing. Maybe tomorrow people synchronize timers with their cars’ computers to be notified when to change oil or something else. Private Messengers We see how governments of different countries try to get access to popular messenger apps and social networks. 5 years ago this process was launched. The governments justified these actions as anti-terror measures. What if the vast majority of people in the world ARE NOT terrorists, but they don’t want anyone to know about their contacts, messages, data that they share. Today developing an app for communication is not complicated. Privacy and the trend of data encryption are not short and due to the blocking of Telegram in Russia, the demand for such apps will grow. Developing your own messenger is a good idea for a startup. Furthermore, data encryption with private access only provides value that is enticing on the market. All you need is to provide stability in your messenger app, making it simple for people to converse with each other in a safe way.

App Development: What Can Go Wrong And How Make It Right

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Let’s start off with an undeniable truth: there are plenty of times when app development can be very, very challenging indeed. The industry is constantly changing and evolving, new technologies and innovations mean app developers must continually be on our toes and ahead of the curve, and there’s also the ever-present reality unexpected surprises, last minute changes, and all those factors which generally making things that little bit more difficult. Despite this, when things are going well, app development can be an absolute breeze. There are those wonderful moments when everything just seems to slot into place, communication between the developer and the client is flowing, and the app itself is created with hardly any issues whatsoever. The big question we’re all left facing is, then, how do we ensure that our app development experiences involve more situations like the latter, and less like the former? We’d love to say that was just one catch-all formula to follow, but that would make life far too easy! Instead, let’s take a closer look at some of the most common and likely challenges you’ll come across when having an app development, and consider how to surmount each problem in turn. Clarify Your Goals and Objectives As a new brand, business, sole trader or individual, you want your app to best showcase whatever it is that you do. You know that it has to be user-friendly, attractive, and working to a high spec. However, is that enough to ensure that you get the app that you want? One of the biggest challenges that app developers face from their clients is a lack of clarity regarding exactly what it is the app is for. Every business nowadays knows that they want an iPhone or mobile device app – it’s become almost the standard in the modern business landscape – but before even setting out on the app creation journey, you’re going to need a pretty clear map to guide everyone’s way to the destination. Before you start the process of developing your app or having your app developed, think very carefully about exactly what it is for, who it is for, and the goals and aims you’d like it to achieve. Is your app to help boost sales? Is it to hype a particular product, event, or service? Is for entertainment purposes, or to help spread brand awareness? These are just the initial questions you’ll have to be asking yourself – and as you get further into the first stages of developing the app, you’ll have plenty more questions to answer along the way. It might sound like a bit of a headache, but unless you and your developers are crystal clear from the very beginning what your app’s all about, you’re going to find that journey will end up being a lot longer and more complicated than initially expected! Decide Who Will Be Developing Your App It might sound like an obvious point, but all too many people looking to have an app developed start out by being unsure of who to reach out to in order to get the job done properly. There is no shortage of app developers out there in the wider world today – go onto any freelancing website, and you’ll find thousands of amateurs and home professionals clamoring for your attention. What’s more, type ‘app developers’ into your search engine, and you’ll be faced with a plethora of professional app development studio websites, too. How to decide? Obviously, there’s going to be a considerable difference in price between a lone freelance app developer working from his bedroom in Bangalore, and a professional app studio based in London. There will also be a huge number of options between these two extremes, too, but we’d advise you to choose carefully and consider a couple of points before jumping into a commitment. The main thing you should always, always keep in mind is to request the app developer’s portfolio of similar projects to your own. A commendable and professional app developer should have a wide array of examples to show you of successfully completed apps and should have no problem whatsoever in passing over these details for your consideration. No portfolio = no contract. Plain and simple! It’s also important to be aware of the limitations of their services, what sort of technology they’re using, and whether they’ll be happy to update your app in the future if things need changing or modifying. Don’t be afraid to ask the difficult questions, either; a quality developer should be able to answer everything with confidence and with examples to back up their points. Let’s Clarify Budgets As with any creative project, app development has a tendency to take a little longer than expected. A top-quality app company will always strive to get things done on time and within budget, but even then, last minute add-ons and changes can cause deadlines to be overrun, and budgets to be stretched. If you have a strict budget for your app, be sure to very, very plainly put this across to your developer. This will allow them to calculate the limitations of the project, and also to understand how much time they can afford to spend on it, too. Be wary of app developers working on an hourly basis – professional app developers should quote you for the overall project, not for the time it takes to create the app! Communication With The Development Team It’s vital to have an open channel of communication with your development team. Your app is being created for you and your business or venture, and as such, your thoughts, ideas, and visions should be listened to and appreciated, and your input should be implemented whenever possible. Occasionally, you’ll come across an app developer who has a very identifiable style and way of doing things, and they can be challenging to work with, especially if your vision differs greatly to their own. This is why it is so important, as previously

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Business. It Is More Than Just App

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They say no man is an island, just as they say that nothing happens in a vacuum. So many app developers would do very well to heed this kind of advice because often, we’re so caught up in creating and finishing off our apps, we sometimes forget to give a thought as to what happens next. So, you’ve spent some serious time building your app. You’ve constructed the interface, filled it with features, had it beta-tested, and it’s been accepted onto the App Store. What next? Well, next comes the really fun (and often far more challenging) part: the app has become your business venture, and if you’re lucky and the stars are aligned in your favor, it may well become the next big thing. Here’s where so many app developers really start to struggle – after all, many app makers aren’t natural businesspeople, and don’t have the first clue how to manage a successful, growing and evolving business! Some business acumen and knowledge is never a bad thing for an app developer to have. At the end of the day, we all want our apps to make money and for them to be worth our while… but how do we make them grow from being small-time projects which cover their own expenses, into big-time apps which bring in a serious income? We thought we’d take a look through a couple of the basics, and give you some food for thought on this tricky and often baffling subject. Budget, Budget, Budget When it comes to developing apps, your budget is going to be a major factor to keep in mind. You want – at the very least – for the money the app makes to cover the cost of its construction, and keeping to a strict budget is one of the easiest ways to ensure it ultimately turns a profit for you. However, your budgeting skills are going to have to go a lot further once the app is released, especially if it develops some real interest from the online community. Successful apps require upkeep, updates, and somebody on board to respond to client queries and customer questions and all of that does cost money. Make sure your outgoings never exceed your incoming cash flow, and if you do decide to risk some money on new developments, be sure to write up all your budgets and keep an eye on how much you need to make to cover costs. It’s not the most exciting or glamorous side of the world of apps, but careful budgeting can really save you from losing a fortune, or not being able to continue with your app. Make Your Apps Work for You If you’re serious about your career as an app developer, you really do need to make sure that your creations are viable ways to make an income. There are several ways in which you could do this. Probably the most direct and simple way to make money from app development is to do so as a business venture in itself. Hawk your talents and services to companies and brands in need of exciting new apps and interfaces, and make sure they pay you an adequate sum for the work and hours you put in. Once you’ve made a name for yourself, it’s surprisingly easy to find contracts and long-term client relationships which really pay off. However, if you want your apps to be your own business, you’ll have to think pretty carefully about how to make them bring home the money. Again, there are several options: you can include paid advertisements in your apps (although these are increasingly unpopular with both users and the App Store). You could also require your users to have a paid subscription in order to explore exclusive content within the apps, or you could sell gems, tokens, passcodes, or other special content within the app itself, in order to unlock content, levels, or whatever it is your users would like to see. Make sure you aren’t exceeding industry standard rates (you don’t want to rip off your users and leave them feeling unsatisfying), and at the same time, don’t sell yourself short with incredibly cheap prices. Make the payments worth their while, and make them enough to cover your expenses, too. Stay In Touch With Your Users If your app is your business, then your users are your (often paying) customers. This is where many app developers start falling down a little; businesses with customers require customer service skills, and it’s vitally important to make those users feel valued, appreciated, and able to reach out and get in touch with you if they need to. You want to develop some sort of relationship with your users and make sure to respond to their questions, queries, comments, complaints, or suggestions in some way or another. You could have a dedicated email address featured on your app, for example, or you could invite them to engage with you via social media if that feels more comfortable and relevant. The important thing is to keep up contact and let them know you appreciate their custom. They’ll respond by becoming cheerleaders for your app and brand, and spread word about upcoming releases and new features. It’s a win-win situation… but it does require some real effort! There’s No Magic Hat (Unfortunately) Just like any other business, apps do require investment. If you want to take things further, offer more features, promote your business, or become a best-seller… the chances are, you’ll have to reach into your pockets at some point, and pay for some services that will take you to the top. Obviously, if your budget is extremely tight, it might be difficult to do this without some very creative, home-grown, and imaginative techniques. However, if you are able to invest in the promotion and growth of your app, it’s often wise to do so. You need to put money in to get money out, after all. Thankfully, many of

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Common App Risks And How To Overcome Them

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As any app developer will tell you, making a successful app is a process of many parts. Naturally, the main stage of app development is the creation of the app itself – the design stages, the implementation, and the technical aspect of actually constructing the platform and interface. However, once this is completed, there are several further challenges to overcome before your app is released to the wider world or to your clients, at which point you’ll hopefully be able to turn it into an effective money-maker. These include plenty of boxes to tick, hoops to jump through, and legal regulations to adhere to… and it’s fair to say, that stage of the process can be a bit of a headache. While those final parts of the app development process have their risks and tribulations, there are plenty of other pitfalls to avoid at each and every step of the journey towards the app’s completion. For relative newcomers to the app development industry, this is often a case of trial-and-error, and hoping that you’re able to learn from your mistakes. A certain number of mistakes and drawbacks are all par for the course, and more or less inevitable. We thought we’d spend a bit of time looking at the most common risks, drawbacks, and mistakes which rookie app developers (and some more experienced ones, as well) make. App development is never quite as straightforward as any of us would like it to be, but by knowing which risks and potential issues to look out for, hopefully, we can avoid problems further down the line. Remember, in this industry (as in any other) common sense and caution go a long way, and taking your time to do things properly, reading the small print, and not rushing is often enough to see you through safely to the finish line! Let’s take a look at some of the typical risks you’re likely to face, and consider how best to avoid them becoming a problem in your development journey. Cheap Freelancers The app development industry, and creative and tech industries in general, have recently been turned on their head by the emergence of the freelance market. Vast freelancing sites with tens of thousands of users offer up countless app developers and techies, all seemingly able and willing to help you with your app for often very cheap fees. If you’re considering using a freelancer, we’d always recommend approaching with caution. Anybody can wax lyrical about their skills and achievements on a freelancing profile… but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they really have the skills they claim to possess, or that they have the kind of work ethic you need to ensure projects are delivered on time, and to an acceptable standard of quality. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use freelancers at all – in fact, there are some really talented, hardworking people out there who really can save you money. It’s just to say that if you do decide to go down this route, make sure you vet your candidates very carefully indeed and make sure contracts are drawn up properly, evidence of their achievements is supplied in full, and you’re 100% sure they’re up for the job before you hire them. Intellectual Property App developers need to be aware of intellectual property laws and regulations before they proceed or wrap up a project – more than a handful of honest, well-meaning app developers have fallen foul of these rules, and have landed into a whole heap of trouble by not making sure they’re fully compliant. Make sure everybody working on your app or commissioning your app is crystal clear about the intellectual property status of your creation, and get everything in writing to ensure that no confusion arises further down the line. Furthermore, if your app is based on, similar to, or inspired by another existing app, make sure you’ve covered your back against any copyright cases by ensuring your app is different enough in all the key criteria. Legal Aspects There is a whole load of legal aspects to deal with when it comes to putting an app on the market. You really, really, really don’t want to end up getting stung by a lawsuit when you’re trying to make a success of your app and this, sadly, is something that does happen all too often in our industry. This is one of those areas where careful reading, ensuring everything is put in writing, and contract creation is key – just make sure you’re always taking the safer, more secure, and more sensible route before anything is signed off, and avoid taking any shortcuts when it comes to legality. As previously mentioned, a big part of this is guaranteeing that everyone involved is aware of their intellectual property rights. If the app creation has been a group achievement, ensure before the app is launched that everybody in your team has established what their royalties payments (if any) will be, and what percentage of profits they can expect to receive. If your app has been developed for a client, do they have permanent rights over the app, or will those rights be returned to the developer after a certain period of time, or if payments are not made, etc? This is the kind of thing you really need to be crystal clear on from start to finish. Our motto? If in doubt, get a legal expert on board to make sure every box is adequately ticked. Issues with Code Out of all the risks which come up time and time again in app development, bad code is probably the most pervasive, and the most irritating. It won’t come as a surprise to any app developer to know that the most common causes of poor quality code come down to inexperienced developers or code writers. And this brings us back to our previous point of involving freelancers with no guaranteed skills or experiences to their name. It’s always a good idea

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When Done Correctly, App Marketing Is Easy

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So, you’ve had a custom app made, or you’ve built your app by yourself and alongside your development team. You’ve laid out all the plans, identified its key purpose, recognized the needs of a target audience, and taken the steps required to end up with a workable, effective, and efficient final product. Now it’s time to make sure that it makes a splash in all the right places, and gets into the hands and smartphones of your prospective users and customers. As any app developer knows, promoting an app can sometimes feel like an uphill struggle. Marketing isn’t something that comes particularly naturally to a lot of people in the tech world, and faced with the task of advertising and spreading word about your creation is something that all too many people shy away from. While there are plenty of different approaches you can take, and a multitude of paths you could potentially go down, one thing’s for sure: in 99.9% of the cases, it simply isn’t enough to stick your app on the App Store, and hope that the customers will somehow stumble across and download your platform. Thankfully, in reality, app marketing isn’t particularly difficult. There are countless sites out there dedicated to promoting and discovering new apps which work for users in particular industries, or with particular needs. What’s more, there are thousands upon thousands of places in which you can put across your app’s unique features and usability, where members of the public or people in specific sectors will be looking for their next smartphone solution. In this blog, we’ll be looking at some of the most straightforward and simple ways you can promote your app outside the App Store, and hopefully generate some real buzz that will see it rocket to the top of the charts. Promote on Your Website If you run a company or service, then your website is naturally the place where your customers will be heading to find out more about what you do, and inquire about your services. Therefore, if you’re trying to promote your app, your website should – without question – be the first place you go to make your initial marketing efforts. Make sure that you have made mention of your new app on your website’s homepage, and provide a simple link from your website to your app’s listing on the App Store. It’s also a good idea to dedicate a sub-page of your site solely to your app, where you’ll be able to outline its key benefits and features, and offer a video demo or series of photos showing exactly what it’s capable of. Blogs, Forums, and Newspapers The blogosphere is an ever-expanding, continually bustling corner of the internet, where people of all walks of life explore the latest developments in their fields. If you have a blog or newsletter attached to your own website, it would be a very good idea to include news of your app for your customers to read. If not, you should work towards getting a blog dedicated to your app featured on a popular website frequented by your target customers. Newspapers, too, will allow you the chance to spread the word about your app. Think carefully about the kinds of online and print newspapers which most strongly appeal to your target audience, and get a press release sent out which explains why your app is the must-have new feature for your customers’ smartphones. You’d be surprised at how effective this approach is, as traditional news sources and industry magazines carry with them a trusted and professional clout which some blogs may lack. Added to this are the many forums and chat sites out there – the Reddits of the internet, and its many imitators. These are the perfect places to offer promotions to those willing to test our your app, or promo codes for free downloads and special features. Get the forums on your side with some juicy offers and enthusiastic postings, and news of your app will spread like wildfire. App Store Optimization If you aren’t already familiar with the world of SEO and other types of optimization, then it’s something you need to get onto as soon as possible. The App Store can be a bit of a jungle at times, and unless you’re particularly savvy with the way you market and optimize your postings, it’s perfectly possible for your app to become buried beneath a hundred thousand others, and the several hundred apps which are added to the service each and every day. Think carefully (or do some solid research with Google tools) about the types of keywords your potential customers will be using when searching for an app, and make sure that those keywords are included with some logical density in your posting. That way, whenever a Google search or App Store search for a particular type of app is typed into the search box, your app will pop up at the very top of the listings. The same goes for picture optimization; you can use images and video to boost the way your app appears on the App Store, and make it more attractive for those seeking a specific solution. Going Viral The main ambition of any app developer is for their app to ‘go viral’. This means it starts being talked about and shared on social media with ferocious speed and intensity, and quickly becomes a trending item online that an exponential number of people are searching for and coming across. Going viral isn’t something you can guarantee – it’s one of those slightly strange internet phenomena which seems to happen quite randomly most of the time – but you can certainly boost your chances of it happening. How? By using the power of user reviews and referrals, and ensuring that influencers and key players in the industry are talking about your app to their followers, who then go on to share the app with their followers, who talk about it within their

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How to Increase Loyalty and Revenue. Top Tips for Coffee Shop Owners

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Running a cafe or a coffee shop can be a hugely rewarding business. It’s one of those jobs, after all, where you get to add something special to a person’s day, simply by serving them a delicious cup of freshly made coffee or a slice of cake when they’re needing it the most. However, ask any cafe owner and they’ll also be quick to tell you that the business does have its downsides, too as when it comes to high street enterprises, coffee shops can be exhausting to run, and there’s a massive amount of competition out there to contend with. Think about it for a moment. On your local high street, just how many places are there at which you could buy yourself a cup of coffee and a snack? The chances are, there are two, three, maybe even four or five to choose from. That means – by no uncertain terms – that each business owner must strive to stand out from the crowd, and either offer something unique and distinctive through their products and services or find some way to outstrip the competition by promoting loyalty in their customers. The Power of Customer Loyalty Consumer loyalty is something that simply cannot be underestimated. It’s a powerful force, which has the potential to either make or break a business, and companies ranging in size from the very, very small to the world-beating and international put huge efforts into promoting loyalty among clients and consumers. Why? Because with loyalty comes a sense of belonging, a protectiveness, and the suggestion that there is a close and direct link between the business and the customer and all of that results in greater revenue and profits. Loyal customers of coffee shops won’t just come each and every morning for their cappuccino; they’ll also get to know the staff, spend longer in the cafe and spend more money as a result, and introduce their friends, family, and colleagues to the business, too. They become cheerleaders for your brand and spread those all-important word-of-mouth endorsements. There are many, many ways in which a cafe or coffee shop can increase customer loyalty and revenue, and there are dozens of fascinating business models that cafe owners could look into. However, one of the most popular methods doing the rounds at the moment (and indeed, one of the most effective and inspirational) is with the use of a smartphone app. Apps for coffee shops are big news at the moment, and every week, yet another cafe seems to be launching its own app, with a plethora of cool design points and features. It’s not difficult to see how an app can increase and enhance customer loyalty for cafes, either – the apps we choose to download on our phones are a reflection of our favorite brands and businesses, and also a reflection of our lifestyle in general. If your regular coffee shop asked you to download their app and promised that it would enhance your customer experience, it’s hard to imagine saying no to such a request. How Coffee Shop Apps Increase Business There are a number of features out there that can be included in apps for cafes and coffee shops, and the precise nature of each one depends primarily on the business itself, and the kind of service they are trying to promote. However, there are some fundamental features that are adopted more or less across the board, simply because they enhance the customer experience, and add to that sense of loyalty, efficiency, and keeping the customers’ best interests at heart. Let’s take a look at these in turn. Cutting Waiting Times This is the most obvious and perhaps the most beneficial feature of all. Generally speaking, people don’t like waiting in line… and especially not if they’re in a rush to get to work, and need their morning caffeine fix. By creating an app feature that allows someone to avoid queueing for their coffee, you’re immediately increasing the positive experience of visiting your cafe and removing a potential source of stress and frustration from your clients’ day. Virtual queuing and pre-ordering apps have been around for some time in the catering business and in other industries, too, and this particular feature can be very simple to set up, and highly effective once established. How it increases customer loyalty This app feature clearly increases customer loyalty, simply because right now, not a huge number of coffee shops and cafes have this kind of option for their clients. What’s more, if you’re a regular customer of a coffee shop, app features like this allow the client to have something akin to a ‘VIP’ experience – there’s a sense of exclusivity that comes with not waiting in line, and this is something which always goes down well with the public. Loyalty Programmes Lots and lots of coffee shops have had loyalty programs for years. They generally involve little cards, onto which the vendor puts a stamp or a signature each time a hot drink is bought. Collect nine stamps (or however many the policy states as adequate), and the next drink is on the house. It’s a simple, effective idea, and one which does a huge amount to promote customer loyalty. Nowadays, we’re living in a digital age and the era of cardboard-based loyalty programs feels increasingly like a thing of the past. After all, what if your customer forgets their loyalty card at home? Or it gets lost, or put through the laundry by mistake? They could be missing out on a free coffee as a result – and nobody’s going to be happy with that! By moving your loyalty card onto an app, and allowing it to be automatically updated with each purchase, you can make the whole process more streamlined, more reliable, and a whole lot more contemporary. How it increases customer loyalty Everyone appreciates a freebie, and an automatically-updating loyalty card as part of a coffee shop app will encourage your customers

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Essential Features of Successful Coffee Shop Apps

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Coffee shop apps are really taking off right now. Up and down the country, and elsewhere around the world, savvy cafe owners are exploring the possible potential of offering their customers an app with which to enhance their coffee experiences and reaping the rewards which come with them. Simple, elegant, logical, and effective, they’ve become a key trend in the cafe and services industry, and it has been more than exciting to see them develop and turn into something of a groundbreaking movement in this business type. There’s little wonder why coffee shops are leaping on the custom app bandwagon. One of the key aims of any cafe is to increase customer loyalty (and boost sales and revenue as a result), and apps are one of the most effective ways of developing a sense of belonging and community among their clientele. With a custom app, coffee shops are able to reward their customers, speed up proceedings (which is a surefire way of keeping clients happy), and keep in touch with their clientele to develop the communal feel of the business. There’s no limit to the possibilities open to cafe owners when it comes to custom apps. The number of features available is countless, and the fact that each app can be customized to feature the company branding, colors, and themes allows the brand to go further and increase its marketing reach also. While there are a plethora of features out there to choose from, there are five key features that no coffee shop app should be without. Here at Messapps, we’ve worked on a number of apps for cafes, and have successfully identified the bare essentials which coffee shop owners should be aiming for in their custom apps. Let’s take a look through those key criteria one by one. Pre-Ordering Coffee Nobody likes waiting in line when it comes to getting their morning caffeine fix. In fact, the number one factor which puts clients off when visiting a cafe is seeing a long queue… after all, there’s bound to be another cafe around the corner, which may well be much quieter. By including a pre-ordering feature in your custom app, you essentially allow your clients to jump the queue and have their coffee steaming hot, ready, and waiting for their arrival. This is a key factor for boosting that all-important customer loyalty, as a pre-ordering feature makes the customer feel like a VIP or exclusive client, who need not wait in line with those who haven’t taken the time to download the app for themselves. It’s also something which works well for the coffee shop staff, too. Pre-orders can be dealt with swiftly and efficiently by a dedicated team member, which offers the possibility of speeding up processes, making more money, and keeping more customers happy. App Payments in Store As we move further and further towards a cashless society, apps that allow customers to make online payments are becoming increasingly popular. It isn’t difficult to see why: app payments don’t require you to have the right cash on you, nor do they require you to search through your wallet searching for the right debit or credit card. They’re fast, efficient, and simple, and streamline actions as basic and essential as getting your morning cappuccino before heading to the office. Again, app payments in the store are also another thing that can boost that sense of customer loyalty and community. Offering this option to your customers shows that you – as a business owner – care about making things easier for your clientele and that you’re actively exploring ways to streamline your services. It also shows that your cafe is taking steps to stay on top of the latest technological developments and that it’s keen to gain the edge over the competitions… and that’s something that today’s coffee-drinking generation simply can’t get enough of. Find Location This one is mainly relevant for chain companies and coffee shops which have outlets in various locations across the country, or internationally. Your loyal customers love your coffee, go into raptures of delight over your cakes and pastries, and have decided that your company best reflects their own values and preferences. As such, when they’re traveling for business or pleasure, or are simply spending time in another city, the chances are they’d prefer to get themselves a coffee from your coffee shop than from any other. How useful it is, then, for your app to have a location feature! By opening their custom app on their smartphone, they’ll be able to see whether or not your coffee chain has a cafe in their immediate vicinity, and there’s little doubt they’d even go a bit out of their way to get their favorite drink. Even for coffee shops with just a small number of outlets, a location finder can really help – your loyal followers will be keen to tell their friends, family, and colleagues about your company, and the map function will be useful in spreading the word about what makes your coffee shop so unique. Rewards Program If you’re looking to really boost customer loyalty and revenue, then a rewards program is an essential feature you simply cannot do without. Each time your customers buy a coffee, they can receive a virtual ‘stamp’ on a digital rewards card. Collect a certain number of stamps (most coffee shops will ask for seven or nine), and the next coffee comes completely free of charge! Rewards programs on custom coffee shop apps are a fantastic idea, as they remove the risk of losing or forgetting to bring a physical card to the cafe, and ensure that for every drink bought, a stamp is provided. This scheme massively boosts loyalty, as it encourages the customer to only drink at your cafe and keep track of how many points or stamps they’ve collected. News Feed One of the keys to building customer loyalty, and one of the ways of taking your app further than ever, is by

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