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Improve Your Company Image With An App

Nowadays it seems that everyone and everything has an app. There is a good reason for this. Even if you don’t think you will make many sales through an app, there are certain things that every company needs, and that can be delivered easily through an app. Customer service, for instance, is important for every company today. Using an app, you can allow your customers to contact you directly, and even automate many aspects of customer service. Customers now expect this level of service, and so the consequences of not providing it can be severe. If you are doing well, it is likely that your customers want to leave you positive reviews. If they have something to complain about, you should have a way of easily (and publically) responding to this. An app provides both. Perhaps the most important way that an app can help your business, however, is in allowing you to build and develop your image. Even if you are not able to offer services to your customers directly through an app, the mere fact of having one can help to distinguish your company in a crowded marketplace. At the end of the day, in today’s business environment any company that does not have an app is in danger of being left behind. Cover All The Channels A decade ago, there was a much more distant relationship between customers and companies than there is today. Customers were happy to buy goods and services from the cheapest or closest supplier, and viewed this transaction strictly in economic terms. Today, customers expect a more personal relationship with the companies they do business with. This is especially true of millennials, but is changing the way that business is done across all demographics and sectors. In practical terms, this means that companies must be able to communicate with their customers across as many channels as possible. An app allows any company an easy way to do this, providing a two-way communication channel between employees and customers via social media. Integrating your business into social networks might seem like an obscure way of boosting your sales, especially if you are in a well-established sector, but it is not. Even on the most basic level, allowing your customers to share positive experiences is one of the most effective marketing tools out there. Differentiate Yourself Though it might sound like a simplistic observation, companies that provide apps are more visible than those that don’t. In terms of visibility, what could be better than having your company’s logo on the home screen of the phones of your most valued customers? Another key benefit of developing an app for your company is that it allows you to inform your customers about the sheer range of services you offer. Encouraging your repeat customers to order services through an app not only saves you both time, but it can also provide an opportunity for these customers to explore services and products related to their core business.For some companies, apps can also provide an easy way for customers to customize the products they order. This, in turn, provides customers with a greater level of convenience in ordering goods and services, and will encourage brand loyalty. Beyond these practical concerns, having a well-designed app projects an image of your company as one that is willing to embrace innovation. As a result, even apps with limited functionality, such as those that merely provide a product catalogue, can improve sales by offering potential customers a streamlined way of browsing. Ultimately, what most customers want is an easy way of ordering the goods and services they need, and nothing can provide this better than an app. Reaching The Next Level of Communication People today interact with companies in a different way than they used to, and expect brands to respond to their questions and needs. In addition, they expect companies to be reachable via the platforms that customers use in their everyday lives. As a result, companies need to integrate new forms of communication into their everyday marketing and customer service activities. Having an active presence on social media, for instance, allows companies to highlight positive customer experiences, combat criticisms, and ultimately improve their communication with their customers. An app can be a very effective way of doing this, encouraging customers to share their thoughts. Implementing an app also brings benefits in terms of direct marketing. It is possible, for instance, to develop an app that is able to push notifications to customers’ phones. This can be useful in prompting repeat orders, or simply as a way of eliciting feedback. In the end, using an app for communication ensures that however your customers want to contact you, they can. Do I Really Need An App? I’m afraid that the short answer is yes. Even if your company has happily existed for a hundred years without an app, today the consequences of not having one can be severe. No matter what sector you do business in, it is likely that your competitors are developing their own apps, and so not doing the same runs the risk of you being left behind. The process of developing an app might sound like a complex one, but it need not be. Any quality app development company will be happy to discuss your requirements, and to develop an app that adds genuine value to your business. The development process requires, of course, that you have a good understanding of what your customers want and need from an app. If you are not sure about this, there is a simple way to find out: ask them! Doing this will allow your customers to be involved in development at the very earliest stage, and will allow you to develop your app in a collaborative process between your company, your customers, and your app developer. Even if you don’t think you need an app, it is worth talking to an expert; they might be able to convince you otherwise!

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How to Make Sure Your App Does not Fail After Launch?

Any kind of application your launch in 2023 is a launched business — just like a rocket, it is either gonna fly to the moon or stay on Earth forever. In this article, we decided to help you with the best ideas on how to avoid your app failing on AppStore or Google Play after launch. Step 1 — Research As we said, any app you build is a startup. And, as a good startup, it must begin with a brilliant idea on solving your client’s problems. No problem = no downloads, huh? This could be avoided in case you research your targeted audience and market properly. Think of which platform would you targeted audience use — is that Android or iOS? Is there an existing app that duplicates your idea in major features? Does your business idea actually need an app? Maybe an AMP website would be enough? After you get all the possible answers, test them on your possible users. An MVP (minimum viable product) or even a Type form should be enough to get to know what your potential clients think of you. By the way, you’d better find the best possible user persona, which is a semi-fictional representation of a possible user of your app. Try to include as many details as possible that would describe your potential clients — from their demographics to their behavior patterns.So, once again, research-research-research. Step 2 — Marketing The second most-often encountered reason for an app to fail on the App Store is the fact that the startup team does not invest in marketing. If this application is new to the market (and yes, it is), you will obviously need to promote it to your potential clients. Think of marketing channels you will use, the budget you are ready to invest in promotion, and where you are most likely to meet your targeted audience. Of course, this piece of advice depends a lot on the previous one — research your clients! By the way, do not forget that app marketing is not a one-time event. You will need to continuously work on your marketing strategies and processes. You could market your biggest updates and new features that change the user’s experience within your app. Step 3 — UX & UI After the business model, UX and app design are altogether the most important part of a mobile-based startup. If you get millions of downloads, but the app abandonment rate is high,  you will never get a happy bunch of clients ready to pay you for your services. This part of your work also needs an optimized on boarding process. If you do not get to impress your users quickly with fast and ready-to-use design, your app’s abandonment rate will only get higher, which means that you will lose your customers. So yes, you’d better invest in UX and test it multiple times on different focus groups if you want to get a stable working app with thousands of happy clients. One more thing… While we are not Apple, Inc., and we do not present an iPhone in this article, (this would be a rather bad marketing action, huh?) we must underline that you do need to update your app after you launch it on the market. Believe us, there will be bugs to be fixed even if you test it 2-3 months prior to the release, and you will also want to add new features which would adapt your business to growing and developing market.

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What Makes a Great App?

You may think that there is an app for every single thing today. And that is nearly true, just as it is true that 80% of the time we spend on our smartphones remains for the apps, while the remaining 20% goes for the browser. Users downloaded nearly 200 thousand apps in 2017, and this number will get 75% bigger by 2021. These thoughts mainly mean that if you want to create an online business, you have to consider your users’ mobile experience. In this article, we will go through what you need to consider while working on your app and what to do to make it successful no matter the competition and market size. 1. Focus on one target feature Think of Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox — all of these apps only focused on one single feature when created. Uber was polishing its black car service until it became the industry leader in terms of luxury and business transportation. Only afterward, the app’s team decided to create a mass-market oriented feature. And that is what makes a great app, too — clearly defined target audience. Moreover, this feature has to solve an exactly-defined problem. If there are apps that resolve the same problem you are targeting, think of an innovative way to fix it. Be something Lyft became for Uber! 2. Define a clear target audience You need to understand who your target audience is. Disperse it by age groups, interests, jobs, and occupations, locations they live in, basically — every kind of factor that may describe them in a targeting campaign. (Check Facebook targeting options first). As an example — our customer, Zabit Magomedsharipov, asked to create an app for his fans so that they could be “closer” to the athlete and his performance. Therefore, this app has a clearly defined audience — people that would support Zabit in UFC fights. We, as the developers, know their ages and preferences, and that is the information we use in creating the app on most of the stages, from framework design to animations created in the app. 3. Make a stable and fast app If you want to create an app that would dominate the AppStore and Google Play rankings, it needs to be extremely stable. Thousands of possible users may approach you and your developers’ team to fix potential bugs & crashes that occur after the app goes online for the first time. That is why the fast support & update team (that we also offer here at Messapps) is also crucial for your newly-born app. Most of the great apps are extremely fast, as well. Their response times are minimal, and their users can do what they want in seconds. 4. Your app’s design needs to be polished In 2023, your app’s design is a feature, too. It needs to be responsive, fast, and beautiful, similar to either iOS or Android standards and creative at the same time.Do not forget to add extra “polishing” effects. These might include beautiful animations, transitions, sounds, and haptics that ensure an excellent experience for any device your user might have. So yes, if you are rolling out an app when the newest iPhones are out on the market, do not forget to adapt your screen sizes. 5. Trim the storage space down For most of the users, music and photos remain prioritized in terms of their device’s memory capacity. That is why when they do not get an extra 100Mb for a video to post on their Instagram, they will highly likely delete an app they do not depend on. One important note — if your app does not represent a bank or a music streaming service, that is what will happen to your product. That is why it is vital to store most of the data you use in a cloud or to use as little storage space as possible on your user’s device. 6. Make privacy first In 2019, most of the tech companies focus their attention on users’ privacy. It is a crucial issue, indeed, since digital marketing tricks can easily use your users’ devices to target some personalized ads on them. Almost 30% of users have uninstalled an app because of privacy concerns, according to a study. Do not disrupt the UX by numerous messages telling that you care about privacy, but also do not try to request too much personal information from your users. In the case of hacks and threats, update your app or inform your users that the mentioned type of malware will not influence their data. 7. Last but not least — language Unfortunately, we do not live in Babylon anymore. Most of the people all around the world speak different languages. You may be surprised, but according to statistics, 72% of app downloads remain for the clients who do not speak English. That is why you and your team need to find a localization agent for your app. He or she will be there to help you translate the main features of your app for the audience you are targeting. Let’s repeat the points that are vital for a great app: Well, of course, if you feel like being more of a business owner than a developer, there still is a solution. Contact Messapps, and we will figure out a no-worry way to develop your app.

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Attracting Investors Through Design

New technologies can be amazing. They can help people solve their problems, or simplify their lives. Despite all this, they can look difficult and incomprehensible. The goal here is not just to make a beautiful presentation of the project. It is more about using DESIGN to show investors and potential users the true value of your innovation. Design is at the heart of many startups such as GitHub, Airbnb, Square, and Fitbit. But what is “design”? Look at your current product. Does your design make it innovative? Useful? Understandable? Aesthetic? Will it be long lasting or will it be outdated in a couple of years? Great design has its roots in startup culture itself. Many entrepreneurs, developers, and engineers don’t just recognize that design can improve their products. Moreover, they include designers as part of the product founding team. 3 Reasons Why You Should Pay Closer Attention to Design To sum up What distinguishes design from art is the presence of functionality. So in pitching a project to investors design solve several problems. Good design without superfluous words can explain what your product is about. Secondly, the design of the presentation overall should convince potential investors to invest in your idea. In other words, it should sell itself. It’s getting harder and harder today to stand out due to the tech alone. Designers from modern giants like  Apple, Dropbox, Airbnb, and others have changed the world. It has happened not just because their companies have better technology, but because they make their products more comfortable, aesthetic, and human. Blog Souce- https://messapps.com/allcategories/strategy/attracting-investors-through-design/

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Why Apps Get Rejected

The App Store is every iOS developer’s best friend until your app is rejected, and then it quickly becomes your enemy. Ensuring your app will be accepted by the App Store review process before submission is essential for every app developer. A rejected app can not only be a bad finish to a smooth development process but it can also cause unnecessary delays. Apple clearly outlines in its App Store Review Guidelines a total of twenty eight areas for consideration to ensure your app is accepted and not rejected. For developers new to iOS or unfamiliar with the App Store Review Guidelines, this will provide an introduction to common reasons for rejection and how to ensure your app is accepted. The key areas every app is reviewed on are: The reasons for an app’s rejection are varying and represented across the four key areas listed above, however the following detailed reasons are the most common culprits. “More information needed” According to Apple, the most common reason for rejection, accounting for 14%, was “more information needed”. This occurs when an app is submitted to the App Store for review and the developer does not provide enough information or materials for the app to be tested by the App Store review team. For instance, not providing any additionally needed hardware that pairs with the app like an accessory will result in a failed submission. Additionally, if the app requires a special environment, it is necessary to send a video demo showing the app’s functionality in this unique environment. The App Store team will not seek out a beautiful mountain range to test your panorama landscape app, it’s your role as a developer to show them your app in action! “Exhibit bugs” An astonishing 8% of apps are rejected because they still “exhibit bugs”. These problems must be addressed, tested, and solved before you submit your app to the App Store. Any issues related to long load times or crashes will be grounds for rejection. It is important that you extensively test every feature and each screen in a comprehensive manner amongst your dedicated team of developers. An effective method for testing any bugs is also through a beta version released to a limited audience. These users/testers can either be friends and family of the client or ideally potential early adopters of the app. Not complying with Apple’s Developer Program License Agreement Developer’s failing to comply with Apple’s ‘Developer Program License Agreement’ account for 6% of total app rejections. This agreement is a legal document between the developer and Apple with the purpose of detailing the allowable channels of distribution, which are outlined as:“ (1) through the App Store, if selected by Apple, (2) through the VPP/B2B Program Site, if selected by Apple, (3) on a limited basis for use on Registered Devices (as defined below), and (4) for beta testing through Apple’s TestFlight Program.” Poor UI Also accounting for 6% of rejections is an inability to meet Guideline 10.6 in the UI section outlined in the App Store Review Guidelines. The guideline says, “If your user interface is complex or less than very good, it may be rejected”. This is a challenging reason for rejection because developers are unsure exactly what needs to be fixed or changed. Developer’s first test should be ensuring their app’s UI reflects Apple’s resource on ‘Designing Great Apps’, which it says allows you to, “build the polished, engaging, and intuitive apps that Apple customers expect”. Additionally, Apple clearly outlines the user interface specifications in their iOS Human Interface Guidelines to ensure consistency and ease of use. Metadata issues Lastly, 5% of apps are rejected for not complying with Guideline 3.3 under the ‘Metadata’ section. The guideline says, “Apps with names, descriptions, screenshots, or previews not relevant to the content and functionality of the App will be rejected”. This can take the form of misleading information or inconsistencies between the description and the functionality of the app. “Other reasons” Importantly, in total 42% of apps are rejected for what Apple described as “Other Reasons”, each reason accounting for less than 2% of that total. While there are some recurring reasons that apps are rejected, the vast majority of rejections are from unique reasons often specific to that app or that developer. 10 of the most popular additional reasons for rejection are outlined below: Familiarize yourself with this guide and Apple’s to ensure your app is accepted on the first submission! And remember that should you decide to partner with us we will guarantee the approval of your app. Blog Source- https://messapps.com/allcategories/strategy/apps-get-rejected/

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