The Impact of Mobile App Consulting on Business Success
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Several reasons you might need to know for mobile app consulting.
Developing a mobile application is no small feat. It requires expertise, time, and resources, which not all companies possess.
As such, mobile app consulting has become a critical element for businesses aiming to make their mark in the digital world. Renowned enterprises like Slack have even enlisted the help of consultants to create billion-dollar platforms.
This article will delve into the importance of mobile app consulting and why your business might need it.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Market Research
- Understanding the Target Audience
- Role of a Consultant
- Mobile App Strategy
- Planning and Roadmap
- Overcoming Development Challenges
- Choosing the Tech Stack
- Importance and Considerations
- Native vs. Cross-Platform
- Enhancing App Security
- Implementing Security Protocols
- Compliance and Regulations
- Marketing Your App
- Building a Marketing Plan
- App Store Optimization (ASO)
- Conclusion: The Value of Mobile App Consulting
- Leveraging Consultants for Success
- Fronttribe's Free Consultation Offer
Why is Mobile App Consulting Essential?
Mobile app consulting involves leveraging the expertise of professionals to assist in app development. Consultants provide guidance at various stages of the development process, from market research and strategic planning to tech stack selection and security measures. Here is a breakdown of these critical aspects.
Conducting Market Research
Understanding your target audience is an essential precursor to building a successful app. Market research allows you to identify user pain points and goals, which then informs the design of the app experience. However, assumptions can be misleading, leading to potential failure. In fact, a lack of market need is a leading cause of startup failure.
Source: Linda Grasso / CB Insights
Effective market research is time-consuming and requires skill. It involves planning the study, choosing the appropriate research methods, and analyzing the results. Many companies, especially startups, lack the time or workforce to accomplish these tasks.
Moreover, market research can be expensive. Take a look at the sample breakdown of resources required for conducting market research in Australia:
Source: Play Innovation
With high fees involved, it's crucial to ensure your market research delivers valuable insights. This is where a mobile app consultant can be invaluable.
Role of a Consultant in Market Research
A reputable consultant can help you collect data from your target users to understand them better. They conduct thorough market research focusing on four key areas of user data - geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral.
Source: QuestionPro
Take building a fitness app for example. Identifying people interested in fitness can be challenging using just geographic and demographic data. Here, psychographics and behavioral data can provide better insights. If a person already has a gym membership, they are likely interested in fitness.
Source: Fresh Works
In addition to analyzing your users, consultants also assist in competitor research. This helps you learn from your competitors' successes and failures without incurring the associated costs.
Source: Septa Key
In essence, if you were to hire a consultant for only one aspect of your development, market research should be it.
Developing a Mobile App Strategy
Creating a successful mobile app requires careful planning and brainstorming. An app needs to have a strong core idea, user-friendly interface, and effective monetization. It also needs to be as bug-free as possible. This is where a solid mobile app strategy, provided by a consultant, can be beneficial.
An app strategy serves as a roadmap during development, guiding your approach from design to testing and launching.
Source: Fram
Developing a strategic plan can be challenging due to various factors that need to be considered. For instance, should you go native or cross-platform? What's the merit of an F-shape layout over a Z-shape pattern? When is the best time to conduct user testing?
A consultant can provide direction and clarity, advising you on the best methods based on your project's needs, budget, and circumstances.
Overcoming App Development Challenges
App development is filled with challenges that might not be evident if you haven't developed an app before.
Source: Crust Lab
Mobile app consultants, with their experience in the entire app development cycle, can identify potential roadblocks and devise strategies to overcome them. For example, user experience (UX) is a critical contributor to an app's success.
A well-constructed mobile app plan can help improve UX through methods like wireframing, which allows early detection of UX mistakes.
A critical part of a mobile app strategy is the problem statement, which summarizes the main problem your app aims to solve and how it benefits users.
Another crucial aspect of a mobile app strategy is your technology stack, which can impact your app's stability, performance, and security. Let's delve into that next.
Choosing the Right Tech Stack
Your tech stack comprises the technologies you'll use to build your app, including programming language, third-party tools, frameworks, and services. Tech stacks determine your app's capabilities.
For example, C++ is often chosen for financial apps due to its computational speed and efficiency, which are necessary for intensive data processing.
However, without experience, deciding on a tech stack can be challenging, as it requires in-depth technical knowledge.
How do you know whether Java is a better language than Kotlin for your Android app? Consultants can help with such decisions based on their hands-on experience with these tools.
For instance, if your priority is to launch your app quickly, Python might be a good choice due to its ease of use and excellent debugging tools. If security is a concern, Java might be a better option.
Different programming languages fit different use cases, as shown below:
Another critical decision is whether to go native or cross-platform, which also depends on different factors including your budget, timeline, and goals. Each approach has its tech stack. For instance, native iOS app development requires Swift or Objective-C, while cross-platform development uses tools like React Native.
However, arguably, the most critical tech stack decisions are related to security, which we'll discuss next.
Enhancing Mobile App Security
Security is a critical aspect of any modern app due to the prevalence of cyber attacks. For example, ransomware costs businesses billions of dollars worldwide, and this figure is expected to rise significantly in the coming years.
Attempting to handle security without proper expertise can be risky. You might leave vulnerabilities in your app that attackers can exploit.
A consultant with cybersecurity experience can help you implement protocols such as biometrics, two-factor authentication (2FA), encryption, and more.
However, security shouldn't be limited to the app itself. Consider the entire app ecosystem as well, using a framework like the seven layers of cybersecurity.
If you're developing a fintech app, you must also be aware of financial regulations in your market. These rules can often be complex, and you need a specialist who is familiar with them.
Security is a key component of your app, and you must ensure it's effective and up-to-date. A consultant can help you achieve this.
Marketing Your Mobile App
Launching an innovative app doesn't guarantee that people will automatically use it. You must put in effort to market your app to potential users.
However, marketing involves various tactics, making it challenging to manage on your own.
A consultant can help you build a marketing plan that suits your budget and market. They can guide you on specific strategies like app store optimization (ASO), which involves tweaking your app store listing to increase visibility and downloads.
More importantly, a consultant can help you track and measure your marketing efforts, allowing you to identify successful tactics and optimize them for better results.
Conclusion: The Value of Mobile App Consulting
In today's competitive market, not all businesses have the resources to develop an app independently. This is where mobile app consulting comes into play. Consultants can compensate for the resources you lack, enabling you to deliver a quality app to the market faster. Therefore, don't hesitate to hire a consultant, even if you feel you don't need one. They might provide a unique perspective that could help your app succeed.
FRONTTRIBE offers free consultation sessions (fully NDA'd) to assess your project and determine the necessary steps for success. Schedule a call with us today to get started!
