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So your business needs an app?
- 1. 1 So You Need An App For Your Business? So, You Need An App For Your Business? (Spoiler: you probably don’t …) Tom Lucas - b2cloud
- 2. 2 So You Need An App For Your Business? So You Need an App?
- 3. 3 So You Need An App For Your Business? of Australians own a Smartphone! 84 % hours spent on our phones every day! 4 + of phone time is spent in Apps! 90 % Good News – Apps Are Bigger Than Ever! trillion hrs a year will be spent in apps! 3.5 By 2021
- 4. GREAT - LET’S START DEVELOPING!
- 5. 5 So You Need An App For Your Business? ● People are succumbing to “App Fatigue” ● Of the 60 apps on the average phone: ○ 30 are used in any given month ○ 10 on any given day ○ 5 of those are pre-installed native apps ○ Which leaves YOUR app 5 spaces to compete for…… against Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Candy Crush, Snapchat, Spotify etc. etc. etc. ○ 30:10:5 = No one cares about your new app! ● Customer expectations - Yesterday’s amazing is tomorrow’s bare minimum ● ↑ Costs of App Development = ↓ ROI Hold Up! Apps are Harder Than Ever! 60 Apps Installed 30/mth 10/day You are here!
- 6. BUT, DO YOU NEED AN APP? SO - YOU NEED A DIGITAL PRESENCE
- 7. 7 So You Need An App For Your Business? The Digital Landscape Web ✓ Works on all devices* ✓ Easy to update ✓ 1 code base ✓ Doesn’t retain info* ✗ Doesn’t work offline ✗ Relies on knowing URL / Google / Bookmarks Mobile / Apps ✓ Better UX / Faster ✓ Use device features ✓ More secure ✓ Stores info ✓ Works offline ✗More expensive ✗Harder to Maintain Wearables ✓ Works with / without phone ✓ Glanceable ✓ Convenient* ✗Expensive ✗Smaller market size ✗Small screen Social ✓ Huge Market size ✓ Convenient ✓ Easy to manage ✓ Cost effective ✗Not customisable ✗Doesn’t work offline AR/VR ✓ Cool technology ✓ Amazing UX ✗Very small market size ✗Expensive hardware Chatbots ✓ Cost effective ✓ Integrates w/ Social ✗Can be clunky to set up ✗Poor UX when not done well
- 8. 8 So You Need An App For Your Business? An App ≠ Business ● Do you even need an app? Do your users / customers want one? ● How much would you be prepared to bet on it? ● Cost of changes during product development: ● Research = 1x ● Design = 10x ● Development = 100x ● Wouldn’t you like to be sure first? $500k $150k $250k $200k $120k Costs to launch the MVP of famous Start-ups
- 9. 9 So You Need An App For Your Business? Products, Platforms, Projects - Oh My! ● What role will this “app” serve for your business? ● Think about creating digital Products & Platforms ● If you are thinking of this as a one- time “Project”, you need to think again!
- 10. 10 So You Need An App For Your Business? What’s Important to you? ● Do you want / need to own the IP? ● Budget / Costs? ● Time to market? ● User Experience? (Speed, Features, Efficiency) ● Works with existing platforms? (CRM, CMS)
- 11. 11 So You Need An App For Your Business? Still want an app? DIY ($0-$5k) $ Freelance ($5-$20k) $$ Small Agency ($50-$120k) $$$ Specialist Agency ($150-$500k) $$$$ Hire in house team ($400k+) $$$$$ ● How much to build an app? “It depends” ● Start with the problem first, not the solution! ● DIY includes excellent tools that integrate platforms you may be using already
- 12. 12 So You Need An App For Your Business? Steps for Success 1. Understand your business, your users / customers and the market (BMC) 2. Prototype an MVP and get feedback 3. Go back and make changes (Pivot) 4. Write a draft product plan ○ Technology stack / Integrations ○ Features & Functionality ○ Budget ○ Product lifecycle (Releases / updates) ○ Monetisation strategy (Paid, Free, Freemium, Ad supported) 5. Seek feedback on your plan from peers / coaches / mentors 6. Re-write your plan - then go and find someone to execute it 7. Have a plan, but be flexible! For heaven’s sake - listen to your users / customers!
- 13. 13 So You Need An App For Your Business? Tips ● Look for someone to guide you - not just a developer ● Check out their work, not just their website ● Ask for client references ● Find someone in it for the long haul (remember products not projects!) ● Don't be driven by price ● Think about design first, coding second ● Be as specific in your brief as you can - but remain flexible / agile ● Product Ownership - be the captain of the ship ● Be aware of the IP implications of different development approaches ● Involve end users and customers in the design process - you are not your users!
- 14. 14 So You Need An App For Your Business? Activities: Business Model Canvas Value Propositions Design Jam
- 15. 15 So You Need An App For Your Business? Activities – BCM & Value Propositions The Business Model / Value Proposition Canvases
- 16. 16 EIBC - So You Need An App For Your Business? Activity - Design Jam
- 17. 17 So You Need An App For Your Business?
- 18. 18 EIBC - So You Need An App For Your Business? Must have Should have Could have Should have Could have Won’t have Mapping MVP Features Low value High value Hard techEasy tech
- 19. 19 So You Need An App For Your Business? Tools & Processes
- 20. 20 So You Need An App For Your Business? Useful Tools / Links Content UnSplash (Royalty free Photos) Music Canva (Graphic Design) Render Forrest (DIY Promo Video) Communication Slack (Team / Client Chat) Zoom (Video Conferencing) Hire a Freelancer TopTal UpWork Freelancer Communication Slack (Team / Client Chat) Zoom (Video Conferencing) Low Code / No Code App Builders Sales Force Lightning Google App Maker Zoho App Creator Microsoft Power Apps Bubble ViziApps ...more Planning Xtensio (Startup Toolkit Templates) Prod Pad (Product Management) Strategyzer (BCM / Value Propositions) LucidChart (Mind Mapping) Prototyping / User Testing Invision Interface Sketch UserTesting Research Survey Monkey AskWonder Accessibility WCAG2.0 Guidelines Apple Accessibility
- 21. 21 So You Need An App For Your Business? Tom Lucas Digital Strategist b2cloud Get In Touch linkedin.com/in/tomlucasb2cloud tom.l@b2cloud.com.au 03) 9821 0111 @tommylucas @b2cloud b2cloud.com.au
- 22. 22 So You Need An App For Your Business? T: (03) 9821 0111 A: 1/1250 Malvern Rd, Malvern VIC Prepared by: Tom Lucas
Editor's Notes
- Guessing you fall into one of these groups - you already have a business and you've been told you HAVE to have an app…. Or….. you’ve got a brilliant idea for an app Show of hands - Who is in each group? I’m going to be controversial - I’m going to try and talk you OUT of building an app
- Good news! There’s never been a better time to be on mobile! Stats / References Deloitte Mobile Survey Dec 2016 e-Marketer 2017 (US Stats) ComScore - Mobiles Heirarchy of Needs 2017 (US Stats) / Flurry 2017 App Annie Aug 2017 Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash Photo by Sabri Tuzcu on Unsplash Photo by Rami Al-zayat on Unsplash Photo by Jaelynn Castillo on Unsplash
- Bad news! There’s never been a harder time to create an App! Note: Need to add App Fatigue People are getting sick of managing all these apps, most people have 60-90 apps installed but only a few are used frequently (App Annie - Spotlight on Consumer App Usage, Part 2 2017) 30:10:5 On Average, 30 different Apps are used a month, 10 on any given day. Of the 10 apps used in a day 5 of these are pre-installed utilities (e.g Safari, Camera etc.) (App Annie - Spotlight on Consumer App Usage 2017, Part 1) Which leaves 5 spaces vacant for YOUR app to compete for…… and you’re up against Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Candy Crush, Snapchat, Spotify etc. etc. The average amount of time spent in the app declines exponentially the further down they are ranked, The top 4 apps account for 50%+ of time (Verto Analytics, 2017) Discoverability 2m+ apps in the app stores - only the top 0.2% of each category only is visible (Marco Arment , 2014) although iOS 11 is purporting to make this (*slightly*) better Incumbency to be the next Facebook, you need to be better than Facebook….. & spend the development and marketing dollars to beat them. Customer Expectations There are so many great apps out there that the bar for entry is set incredibly high Ratings - 50% of users wouldn't download 3 star app vs 96% of people for a 4 star app (Marketing Land 2015) Costs of App Development No such thing as the million dollar app idea anymore In 2009 you could build a Fart Jokes app (Wired 2008) or a basic game (Wired, 2009) in a weekend and make $1m in app sales because expectations and competition were low In 2017 (with expectation and competition so high) you might still make $1m in app sales but you’d spend close to that or more just to get product to market
- Customers have so much choice about where they spend their digital time, don't force them to interact YOUR way This is just a small sub-set of all the touch points some-one can interact with you
- Costs to launch the MVP of famous startups (Launch Lab 2016) (these are 2013 figures in US Dollars): Sun Microsystems research (ROI of UX in Enterprise, Medium / Headspring 2016) Costs for making spec changes are 1:1 at research 1:10 after design has begun 1:100 after product has begun development
- What is the role you trying to serve? Marketplace Means of communication Customer Acquisition Revenue Driver It IS my business!!! Any digital product needs ongoing attention, there is no such thing as finished software
- These are very rough figures The answer to any question in software is “it depends” there are infinite combinations of languages, platforms, back-end services, SAAS, PAAS…… That's why you start with the problem first, not the solution! With native apps once you go “outside the phone” i.e. Integrate with other platforms (CRM, CMS, APIs) costs go up exponentially DIY route includes services where you create your own within a 3rd party platform and also tools that integrate with tools you and your business may already be using - Platforms like: Sales Force Lightning (Sales Force) Google App Maker (G Suite for Business) Zoho App Creator (Zoho) Microsoft Power Apps (Office 365, Dynamics, SharePoint) Which offer excellent build it yourself tools that integrate with their platforms Small agencies can be better value if you just need developers and have some capabilities in house (e.g. Design, QA, Project Managers) Specialist agencies are good for large complex projects Hiring your own team makes sense in the long run but don’t underestimate the investment. Again, its not just the developers you need to hire a team of experts
- Some points modified from Entrepreneur article – 7 Steps to Hiring the Perfect App Developer 2013 Look for a developer interested in your business, not just the development. A good development company should be able to not only guide you through the process of development, but also give you input based on their experience with similar apps. Assess their portfolio by actually downloading the named apps / going to the named websites. Keep an eye out for beautiful looking apps with excellent user interfaces that work seamlessly, also lookout for great looking apps that don't work! Check client references, goes without saying! Choose someone you can build an ongoing relationship with, particularly when it comes to support and maintenance. Consider keeping them on a retainer to fix issues that come up after release. Mobile app development is not a one-time activity. Don't let price drive you. Do not select a development partner based solely on a quote. Consider what's important to you (sliders), remember you need a great product, not the cheapest product. Budgets are small (particularly when you're starting up) but you can save costs when considering ways to solve the problem in a more efficient way, remember an app is usually the MOST expensive way to solve a problem, can you achieve the same result via another medium? Think of the whole package, not just the coding. Building an app is not just about coding. It's also about creating a great user experience. Don’t work with solo developer unless you already have access to a team who will perform the rest of the functions such as design, usability and testing. NEVER go to a developer with a blank slate (unless you have bottomless pockets!) always be very clear about what you want (features / functionalities) but also listen to their feedback / leverage their experience. Also be prepared to pivot once you're underway Be actively involved in the development of your product, speak to them daily (virtual standups), guide the direction. Don’t just throw the brief over the fence and expect it to work. Consider the importance of owning the IP, this will dictate the development route you go down. SPEAK TO YOU USERS!!! LISTEN TO THEM!!!!! HEED THEIR ADVICE!!!
- See link in notes for Strategyzer website - highly recommend reading the books
- Design: Use as many sheets as you want, the goal is to sketch just enough to convey your concept. Don’t waste time drawing neatly, or fear the blank canvas! Pitch: Describe your solution to the team and how it addresses the challenge Critique: Employ feedback by mentioning: Ways it solves the problem successfully Areas of opportunity Ideas to improve it
- Think back to the “sliders” exercise, what are the most important features / ideas that support what's REALLY important you? Remember - not everything can (or should!) go into your MVP! Which features deliver against your users Pains and Gains the best? Be ruthless, keep the value proposition front of mind. You don’t want to build a Swiss army knife you want a razor sharp sword that cuts right to the core value proposition
- This is just a sample of the tools available, I highly recommend exploring the universe of great options out there! Click through the links to access content.
- Please reach out with any questions / comments