It seems that everyone these days has some great idea for a mobile app. Some writers believe that there is a novel in everyone, likewise some believe that there is an app within everyone. Whether it be an entertainment mobile app, a useful tool, an addictive game or something to boost one’s productivity, people have an idea that they want to bring to digital life.
Now people can plan all they want and some jump straight into marketing strategies, monetization tactics and hammering out fine details about their mobile app. But like waves crashing upon beach boulders, their hopes, plans and excitement often come to a grinding halt when faced with the seemingly impassable wall of technical know-how. There are those who have taken the time to learn how to code and how to go through the process of developing a mobile app from scratch, but for the other hopeful app creators, the technical proficiency just simply isn’t there so they have the option of outsourcing the project to an app development company.
Before hiring a mobile app development company, those looking to build their apps must first acquire key and even crucial pieces of information and practices. To help discern these properties, we have engaged a handful of top mobile app developers from our directory.
Outsourcing the mobile app development successfully
There are numerous reasons why the solution for many out looking to get an app off the ground would be to work with a mobile app developer. The rewards of the hard work will be many, but before a single line of code is even written there are things that must be addressed beforehand, and it is good for a client to familiarize themselves with these parameters to ensure success.
Take the simple yet critical act of communication. It seems such an easy and logical thing for most, but mobile apps can die right before your very eyes due to lack of proper communication. For mobile app development companies, it is essential to establish rules, parameters and methods of contact with the client to ensure that information is being shared effectively and that conversations are done efficiently. Creating standards, setting thresholds and guidelines are a good way to ensure the success of an app build. The same goes for the other points included in the terms of service, such as securing safe payment methods, guarantees and access to code.
It is critical for clients to ensure that the provider understands and is ready to align themselves with their business goals. It is also crucial that communication with the provider is smooth and easy. The only way a distributed team can be successful is if they can communicate efficiently.
Another important aspect is the clarity of the client’s product vision as well as the client’s focus on delivery, their ability to avoid the temptation of “gold plating”. The Agile methodology has to be more tan a buzzword, it has to be a way of life, a philosophy that all the team members, including the client, live by.
When evaluating the potential provider, rather than focusing on rates, the client should focus on the value the selected provider brings to the table, beyond their execution capability, i.e. experience, creativity, problem solving skills, etc.
A well-established communication with the developers is a must. This is the first piece of advice that we can give to those who have decided to outsource their mobile app development.
Create your software specification properly in close cooperation with the development team in order to avoid future misunderstandings: how were they supposed to have known that you wanted to have an online order feature if you didn’t document it initially?
One of the most important pieces of advice is to choose a trusted development agency with a proven track record and portfolio expertise in building products similar to yours.
From our experience, the most important things when outsourcing a mobile app project are:
If you are interested in having a well-developed mobile app for your business, then you can give consideration to outsourcing app development project because of its myriad advantages. It is believed that when outsourcing you should inspect all the aspects of the project and at the same time several other important things like:
The reputation of mobile app development companies
Mobile app development companies are essentially businesses, some are big firms that can employ hundreds of developers and other IT professionals, while others are small yet highly agile two to five-man teams, but in all cases, they must abide by certain universal rules of business. One of the most important of which is attaining and maintaining a good reputation. Remember that reputation cannot be bought or paid for, especially in this day and age where everything is being reviewed, upvoted, thumbs downed, like or unfollowed in real time.
App development companies need to take a long term approach when it comes to reputation and cultivate a loyal following by doing high quality work and consistently over delivering. With that being said, solutions do exist in the marketplace to help manage and mitigate damage to a company’s reputation. And, since no amount of money can buy reputation, it is essential that a company willing to be hired by a client looking for outsourcing spends time building an online reputation.
Our company is listed on several online app development directories. Our clients can find the references and overall information about us. We consider our clients’ feedback to be one of our most valued assets. It is a powerful tool that we use to prove our reputation and to show that we are not ashamed to display them.
When it comes to building business and attracting a large number of customers, nothing is more important than the reputation of the business. Creating a good reputation not only takes time, but requires a lot of effort also. There is nothing wrong in saying that if an organization has a good reputation in the marketplace, then consumers prefer that company over other options. The reputation of a company in the market enables it to differentiate its offerings from others in this highly competitive market. Hence, reputation should not be overlooked at any cost.
A good reputation is not something that you earn within a day, it requires years of hard work! With 6 years on the market and more than 60 apps developed, we think, that we deserve the place that we are now. We think that reputation is very important, without being perceived as a quality, reliable and trustworthy company, we wouldn’t be able to access such clients as Coca-Cola, Credit Agricole and Roche.
Our presence in Social Media (blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many others) has three main goals:
Other than our own website we use third party directories such as AppFutura to showcase our portfolio and provide a venue for our customers to provide verified feedback
Marketing strategies
While app development companies may be tempted to stick to their wheel house and only focus on coding, wireframing, and other technical matters, it is essential for the success of their business to also focus on attracting clients. After all, what is a business without clients? There are numerous ways to get eyeballs looking towards a business, and as times change so too does the marketing and advertisement tactics employed by businesses. In this context, the focus falls on two categories of gaining customers attentions; online and offline.
Most people are familiar with online strategies such as the use of Adwords and the use of digital marketing, posting on blogs and of course providing material through a company website. Offline, however, is a totally different story. In this scenario mobile app development companies must leverage personal relationships, be willing to get uncomfortable and press the flesh to build new bridges between themselves and their peers.
Building a good client list can seem like an overwhelming task. A stream of new customers are very important to grow a business in a streamlined manner. Below are some fruitful ways that can bring in more customers:
Customers are not only considered core to your business, but they are your business. So, there is a need to acquire new consumers. Here are some profitable ways which plays a vital role in growing your customer base:
We use both offline and online marketing strategies. On one hand, we love meeting with our clients in person. Our founders travel all over the world and meet with other software houses and start-up hubs. Our office is very much alive as well. We host our clients very often as they love visiting our beautiful city, Cracow, and meeting with our team. We also attend different kinds of conferences and meet with students on job fairs. We definitely don’t sit locked in our office all the time!
We also have a very strong online presence with our website, blog and social media channels we are trying to be as approachable to our potential clients as we can. You can also find us on various mobile app developer rankings such as AppFutura, where we constantly maintain a very high position.
The references we receive from our former clients are also one of our best sources for getting new ones. Their trust in us is so high that they often come back to us with new app ideas and recommend us to their closest friends! If you try to google us you will find dozens of positive reviews about us, spread across the Internet. This is something that we are very proud of because we really take good care of our customers and we are glad that they appreciate that.
The Internet is a very powerful tool and we are happy, that with the proper use of it, you don’t need to waste your time and money for TV commercials or newspaper ads. Our strategy is to provide our customers the most unique and useful content they can find. And to show them that we are an ambitious and hardworking team of people who enjoy their job, which is especially shown on our Instagram account.
Many clients come to us based on the recommendation that they received from someone they know, while others just find us online, searching through references and use cases.
Most of our customers come through word of mouth, but we also get leads through participating in meetups in the various parts of the World where we have a local presence.
Conclusion
The fact is that there are a myriad of variables when outsourcing the mobile app development, topics and actions to consider when working with a client. There are the things that need to be done to attract business, things that need to be done to secure business and things that need to be done to execute the task to the best of the company’s abilities.
Just like how one may view the construction of the house as a monumental task (and indeed it is), it is actually the setting of the foundation soundly and correctly that will dictate whether the house stands strong and true in the long run. As such, a mobile app development company should endeavor to work with and inform their client thoroughly before a single wireframe is sketched or a line of code typed in. Setting a strong foundation, laying down the rules of how the whole project will be conducted will be essential to its success.
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