LIVE FROM APPS WORLD EUROPE 2014, LONDON: Developers must have a compelling use case for their apps and take a business-like approach if they are to succeed, according to industry players speaking at the event today.
“If you approach it as ‘I want to do an app’, it’s not going to work. Always approach it as a business,” said Peter Briffet, COO of mobile event ticket company YPlan.
“If you haven’t got a use case, you won’t be able to have a viable business,” he added, noting the need for titles to be a meaningful proposition on a daily basis.
Leena Iyar, marketing executive with mobile collaboration platform Moxtra, said that building an app-based business requires “real usage”.
This can be achieved by thinking carefully about the problem an app is addressing and whether a market exists for it, she explained.
John Henderson, principal of White Star Capital, noted the importance of ensuring that apps are located on the home screen of users’ smartphones.
“You need to have a compelling enough use case to be on the home screen,” the executive noted, explaining that apps located elsewhere don’t tend to make money.
The effective communication of the use case is also important, Marco Nardone, founder and CEO of messaging app Fling, said: “If I don’t see value added in the first few seconds, I’m not going to come back again.”
Iyar suggested that app makers should pay close attention to how people are interacting with their products beyond the initial use case. By doing this, Moxtra realised that there would be demand for an SDK providing access to some of its functionality.
In terms of making an impact when products are released, Jed Christiansen, director of seed investor TechStars, advised developers to involve potential customers as early as possible in the development process. This should ensure the first release can achieve traction.
Nardone went further by advocating the launch of products before they’re completely ready in order to gauge the reaction of the market before further work is conducted.
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