How to Pitch a Mobile App to Your Clients

With mobile trends on the rise, agencies have a tremendous opportunity to expand and increase profits by becoming a mobile app reseller. But to have success in this space, you need to understand the science of mobile app pitching. 

Nearly every business can benefit from app development. This means that everyone is a potential client.

As an agency, you have a significant advantage since you already have existing relationships with various businesses. 

Everything is already in place. Now you just need to find a white label reseller program and pitch the app ideas to your clients. 

I’ve been working in the tech space for nearly two decades. Throughout that time, I’ve seen hundreds of app pitches. As someone who has been on both sides of these pitches, I know first-hand what works and what doesn’t.

I created this guide to highlight and explain mobile app pitching tips for agencies. I’ll show you exactly how to craft a winning pitch to your clients. 

Identify the Decision Makers

To have a successful app pitch, the first thing you need to do is make sure that you’re pitching to the right person. Identify the decision-maker and figure out how to contact them. 

For those of you pitching to an existing client, you’ll likely have a point of contact at that company. But don’t assume that this point of contact is the decision-maker for an app development project. 

Being direct is the best way to get in touch with the right person in the organization. 

Simply ask your contact who you can speak to about app development. Be prepared to have a “quick pitch” ready for this person. Even if they aren’t the final decision maker, you’ll likely have to win them over first, before they pass the message along to the right person. 

Again, this is easier if you’re pitching clients that you already have a relationship with. Depending on how long your agency has been working with a business, you probably have multiple points of contact at the company. 

In my experience, the larger the business, the more challenging it is to identify the decision-maker. That’s because multiple positions within the organization will have influence.

For example, the CTO might have the final say in whether or not an app gets built. But the CFO, CEO, and VP of Marketing will let their opinions be heard. So your pitch needs to be persuasive enough to reach each of these positions. 

Pitch everyone at the same time whenever possible. If your agency has local clients, doing this in-person will be your best bet. Otherwise, a conference call with everyone on the line will be sufficient. 

For most small businesses, the owner will always be the decision-maker. They likely won’t be swayed or influenced by other positions. So keep that in mind when you’re pitching app ideas to those clients. 

Understand the Business Goals for Each Client

A big mistake I see agencies make all of the time is using the same pitch for every client. Sure, this is easier, but it won’t get you anywhere. 

These are the top three reasons why small businesses build mobile apps.

SMe Mobile App

All three of these reasons are very different. Therefore, the pitch for each would need to come from different angles. 

If you give a generalized pitch, your clients will see right through it.

Make it personal. Be specific. If this is a company that your agency has already been working with, bring up the goals and KPIs that you’re already addressing. Use real numbers to explain how your agency has helped them get so far, but the app will take things to the next level. 

Stay away from the “Dear Sir or Madam” and “To whom it may concern” approach. 

Your agency won’t be able to sell any apps like that. 

Quality is far more important than quantity when it comes to mobile app pitching. I’d rather spend time doing in-depth and highly researched pitches for ten clients, then creating one general pitch and using it on 100 clients. 

Yes, it will obviously take much more work from you and your team to craft unique pitches for each client. But this approach will deliver significantly stronger results. 

Don’t make assumptions. Not every business wants to hear a pitch about an app that drives revenue from another channel. Some companies would rather put emphasis on things like customer loyalty and retention. So you need to know which angles to push in your client pitches.

You should also be ready to encounter clients who do not have a clear sense of their goals. In these instances, your agency can help them establish some direction before you pitch them with an in-depth app idea. 

Address Frustrations and Pain Points

Identifying the goals of your clients is just one component of a successful app pitch. Will a mobile app make your client’s business better? Yes. But what exactly does that mean?

Lots of clients will have the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality.

That’s why you need to show them areas of their business that are actually broken. Identify frustrations or pain points and explain how an app will close those gaps.

Show your clients other customer success stories of mobile app development. 

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I cannot stress this point enough. Every pitch needs to be unique. The challenges of one client won’t be identical to others. 

For example, let’s say one client is having trouble improving the customer experience, which is a common frustration. Building an app to address those pain points is a viable solution.

Customer Experience Challenges

This pitch will be all about the customer. 

It will cover their journey throughout each stage of the conversion funnel. You’ll address the customer frustrations using a mobile website, and explain why apps convert higher than the mobile web. The pitch will cover customer loyalty programs, referrals, personalization, and other relevant CX pain points that can be improved.

But this information could be irrelevant to other clients.

Some of your clients’ biggest challenges might be internal. For example, companies with remote employees and field service workers can use an app to improve internal communication. 

A pitch for an HR mobile app will look completely different than app related to improving CX. 

That’s why it’s crucial that you take the time, do plenty of research, and conduct due diligence on each client before you consider pitching an app idea to them. 

Focus on Value, Not Features

App development has endless opportunities. So it’s tempting for agencies and resellers to talk about every feature and possibility for building an app. 

But focusing your pitch on features is a mistake. Don’t make things more complicated than they need to be. 

Lots of people are resistant to change. So if you pitch an app to them that will change their entire operation and process, it’s likely to get rejected. Instead, focus on just one or two core features that are aligned with the company goals and fix the pain points that were previously identified. 

After you talk about the main features, use the rest of your pitch to emphasize value. 

Businesses don’t want to build an app just for the sake of doing it. There needs to be value in this decision. 

For example, let’s say you’re consulting for a retail business. They have a few brick and mortar locations, and an ecommerce website. The company’s goal is to increase customer retention, and their biggest frustration is missing out on mobile web conversions.

Your pitch should focus on using a mobile app to drive conversions and retain customers with a loyalty program. You don’t need to go into detail about customer acquisition, accepting mobile payments in-store, push notifications, mobile referral programs, and more. That’s too overwhelming. 

Stick to the value of implementing a mobile loyalty program. Let your entire pitch drive that point.

Make it clear to the client that they’ll have more opportunities to add new features down the road. Adding everything at once will be too much for the client to comprehend. Plus, it can even cause some development and performance issues with the app. 

Paint a Picture

Mobile app pitch can only go so far if it’s all hypothetical. It’s tough for a client to wrap their mind around an idea if they can’t see it or feel it.

That’s why it’s your job to show them exactly how their app will look, feel, and perform. Consider developing a quick demo or illustration of the app to use during your pitch.

For example, let’s say one of your clients owns a restaurant. Show them different templates for restaurant mobile apps. 

You don’t need to go through the process of integrating their menu or set up a reservations function. Just use their name and logo on a few different homepage templates.

If other clients have built similar apps through your reseller platform in the past, use those as examples to show your clients. This will showcase that building an app is tangible, and not just some idea that is incomprehensible to imagine. 

Paint a picture of the user experience.

Who will be using the app? Whether it’s a mobile commerce customer or a remote employee for an in-house communication app, the user experience will be one of your biggest selling points.

Conduct Industry and Competitive Research

We’ve already discussed the importance of understanding the specific goals and needs of an individual organization before you give them an app pitch idea. But your due diligence must go beyond that.

Show your clients real reasons why they need an app with industry statistics and competitive research. If you don’t know where to start your research, check out these guides:

All three of these resources are full of facts, trends, stats, and data you can use during your client pitches.

Competitive research will be another significant selling point. As you research your clients’ biggest threats in the industry, you’ll uncover one of two things; the competitors either have mobile apps or don’t have mobile apps. You might find some with an “app coming soon” listed on the website. But you can put that in the “has an app” category. 

Pending the results of your findings, this part of your pitch will go one of two ways.

If their competition has an app, you need to stress the importance of building one immediately to keep up with them. Otherwise, the client will be at risk of losing customers.

Alternatively, if their competitors do not have an app, focus the pitch on becoming an early adopter to gain an edge. By getting to market before the competition, your clients can gain a significant competitive advantage in their industries. 

Create a Roadmap

Naturally, your clients will have some questions after your pitch. I’m sure you’ll even field some questions in the middle of your pitch. No problem. Just be prepared, and give them enough information, so they aren’t left wondering. 

The most logical question for any client who is interested in building an app is “how do we proceed?”

You should have a rough roadmap and timeline ready during your presentation. Don’t leave your clients wondering or tell them that you haven’t thought that far ahead yet. That’s unprofessional and won’t win anyone over. 

Since you won’t know exactly what features your client wants to build, don’t include any firm dates in the timeline. Instead, just show them the standard progression of app development.

Mobile App Development Timeline

Depending on your business model and how your reseller platform is set up, there are a couple of different ways the app can be developed.

You can build the app for your clients using the platform. Or you can simply provide the white-label software and let them make it on their own.

Discuss these options with your clients during the pitch. Explain that they have control over the entire process. 

This is a great time to circle back to the couple of core features that you mentioned earlier in your pitch. Explain that the more features you add, the longer the development process will take. So it’s best to work on those main functions first, and they can always add more post-launch. 

Even if you’re new to white label reselling, you want your clients to feel comfortable building an app with you. Having a firm grasp of the roadmap and timeline will put their minds at ease. 

Emphasize Customer Support

Make sure you choose a reseller program that gives you dedicated white label support. You’re definitely going to need it during development and after launch as well.

Whether it’s for an update, adjustment, new feature, or just general questions and troubleshooting, your white label provider needs to be there for you.

This way, you’ll be able to pass that support over to your clients. 

If your reseller platform can handle all of the heavy lifting on the tech side of things, it’s a major selling point during your pitch. For example, if you use BuildFire’s white label reseller program, our team will handle publishing the apps for you. 

So let your clients know that all they have to do is focus on development. Once it’s done, you’ll take it off of their hands and get it live in the app stores. 

Bundle Your Services

If you already have an established agency, you have the advantage of mobile app pitching to your existing clients. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be out looking for new clients as well.

According to a recent study, getting new clients is the biggest challenge faced by agencies this year. 

By offering app development services, your agency will stand out against the competition. 

You can essentially become a one-stop-shop for prospects. Market yourself accordingly by bundling your services into one package. 

For example, let’s say your agency specializes in SEO, PPC, and social media advertising. Include app development in your plans and simply adjust the prices accordingly. 

Building an app doesn’t always need to be sold as a standalone add-on. When you include it in the bundle, it’s more appealing for your clients as well. Now they can get everything they need from a single agency, instead of having to shop around for different services elsewhere. 

Learn From Unsuccessful Mobile App Pitching

Every client you pitch will not build an app. This is just a reality that you need to accept.

Don’t get discouraged. There are dozens of reasons why some clients won’t be interested. Whether it’s budget limitations or stubbornness to change, all pitches will not be successful. It’s even possible that the client didn’t buy because you botched the pitch; it happens.

Regardless of the reason, you need to learn from those mistakes and turn them into wins moving forward.

Try to identify the turning point when the pitch went south. Did the client ask a question that you were unprepared to answer? Were you speaking to the right person? Did you do enough research on the business, industry, and competition?

Be honest with yourself. 

Fortunately, pitching apps to your clients is like anything else. The more often you do it, the better you’ll get at it. 

Conclusion

You need to find the right white label reseller program to successfully pitch apps to your clients. 

Even if you’re the best salesperson in the world, your pitch will only be as good as your product once the client asks to see a demo or try it out. 

BuildFire has everything you need to create a white label program. Whether you have an established agency or want to start selling apps from scratch, we have the tools and resources to get you started.

Check out this case study to see how King Concepts used BuildFire to grow their agency. 

Before you start pitching apps to your agency clients, make sure you use this guide as a reference. Just follow the winning formula that I’ve outlined above. 

8 Biggest Challenges Faced by HR Departments

Human resources is arguably the most important department in any business. But modern workforce environments have created lots of HR issues and inefficiencies. More specifically, companies are having trouble overcoming the remote employee challenges of HR. 

Does your business have field workers, remote staff, or other deskless employees? Your HR department needs to make adjustments to accommodate those members of your organization.

It doesn’t matter how large or how small your business is; leveraging mobile technology is the best way to address imperfections and limitations in human resources.

Whether you have a team of five or a team of 500, a workforce mobile app can be the solution to your HR challenges. 

I’ve personally consulted with dozens of businesses that were faced with remote employee challenges of HR. So I know first-hand the frustration and pain points that you’re dealing with. You can check out these case studies and customer stories to see how businesses used mobile technology to improve their HR department. 

Based on my experience, I’ve identified the eight biggest HR department challenges today. I created this guide to shed some light on these challenges and provide guidance for working through them. 

1. Employee Engagement

Employee engagement can make or break the success of your business. In fact, a recent study suggests that companies with highly engaged employees achieve double the annual net income compared to businesses with low employee engagement. 

It’s tough for HR departments to keep employees engaged if those workers are remote. 

Field workers and deskless employees feel a disconnect between their employers. This explains why just 26% of employees in the US are engaged. 

Employee Engagement

The remaining employees are either not engaged at all, or actively disengaged, which is even worse for your business. 

A remote worker may not have much if any, face to face contact with a manager, supervisor, or HR department. They just show up at a job site or a customer home to fulfill their duties and move on. This creates a sense of your staff just going through the motions, as opposed to being engaged.

According to a study of 82,000 businesses and 1.8 million employees across 49 industries, companies with engaged employees are 20% more productive than companies with low engagement. 

Those companies are 21% more profitable and have 10% higher customer loyalty. 

So how can your HR department overcome engagement issues? Consider building a workforce mobile app. 

Your remote staff will always have access to their mobile device, whether on-site, on the road, or even at home. An app gives them the ability to feel connected to the company at all times, which will ultimately boost their engagement. 

From timesheets to scheduling, vacation requests, and other tasks managed by HR can be accessed and completed in a mobile app.

I consulted with a business last year that had a problem with too many remote workers calling out of work at the last minute. We discovered the root of the issue was that the process to request a day off was too complicated. It was easier for the staff to just call in sick before their shift started.

Those employees were not engaged and didn’t care about the ramifications these call-offs were causing. 

But by creating a mobile app and making it easier for staff to request days off in advance, the HR department eliminated this problem. This is just one of the many use-cases to improve employee engagement with an HR mobile app

2. Remote Workforce Communication

Effective communication with field service employees is nearly impossible without the right technology. It’s reliant on emails, phone calls, and paper records. These tend to go unanswered or missing, respectively. 

Take a moment to analyze your current HR processes. If a remote worker wants to get in touch with HR, what steps do they need to take? If HR needs to contact an employee, how do they do it?

With in-house staff, it’s possible for employees to walk directly into the HR office. The HR department also has the ability to speak face-to-face with workers on-site for whatever they need.

While this process isn’t the most efficient, it’s still easier than reaching a deskless employee, field service representative, or workers on the go.

Take a look at the most common reasons why internal communications are not working at companies, according to employees.

Internal Communications

In summary, there seems to be an overload of information, unorganized channels set up for communication, and remote workers are excluded.

Does this sound like the problems faced by your HR department?

Cost of Poor Employee Communication

Poor employee communication is more costly than you think. In fact, about $37 billion is lost each year due to communication problems. 

Workers spend 28% of their days reading, writing, and responding to emails. They spend an additional 19% of their time tracking down necessary information required for completing tasks. 

Now, let’s focus more on your remote employee challenges of HR.

38% of the virtual workforce says communication is the biggest issue. An additional 33% of those workers say their company lacks the right technology to accommodate their needs. 

A mobile app addresses all of these HR challenges and pain points associated with poor communication. 

Remote workers are forced to send emails on the go. They also play phone tag on a daily basis. Your workforce app will give them full access to crucial information at their fingertips.

The HR department can send memos or other important messages as a push notification, as opposed to an email that can get buried or lost in the shuffle. 

One of the best examples of how an app can improve HR communication is Preferred Materials Inc. The company has nearly 2,000 employees across roughly 50 job sites. Before leveraging mobile technology, the HR team was only able to communicate with 20% of the staff effectively. 

After launching a mobile app to improve internal employee communication, 81% of their remote workforce was reached. You can read the full Preferred Materials case study here.  

3. Training and Development

Think about your current process for training and onboarding new employees. What about your system for employee development?

In my experience, lots of businesses and HR departments have trouble in both of these areas. There is a disconnect between what’s expected by the employer, and how that information gets relayed to the staff. 

That’s because training, onboarding, and development systems are outdated. New employees are usually taken through a day or a week of training, facilitated by a combination of senior staff and an HR rep. Obviously, this varies depending on the business and position. 

Again, I don’t want to generalize, but it seems as though most companies view training and development as an expensive cost. So they cut corners and try to get it done as fast as possible.

According to the Harvard Business Review, 22% of businesses don’t even have a formal onboarding program. 

Only 28% of companies can definitively say that their onboarding process is highly successful. That number is far too low. This is one of the most crucial times in employee development.

The way an employee is trained from the beginning will have a lasting impact on their productivity and engagement throughout their duration at the position. 

In fact, the HBR study shows that it takes about eight months for a new hire to reach full productivity. But 33% of all new hires look for a new job within the first six months after being hired. 23% of new hires don’t make it to their first anniversary. 

Investing in Technology

HR departments would be much better off by investing in technology to improve the training and development process. That’s why internal business mobile apps will be the number one technology transforming the workplace environment in the coming years. 

With an app, new hires can access everything they need to know about the training programs and onboarding process from the palms of their hands. 

They can access study materials and even take quizzes or tests for in-house certifications.

The HR department will be able to monitor the progress of new hires as they go through the training and onboarding process on the backend side of the app. This ensures that everyone is going through the steps as required.

Mobile app usage for training and development doesn’t need to stop after a new hire has been onboarded. The HR department can continue using this tool for development on all employees at different stages throughout their careers. 

For example, let’s say an employee that has been working for two years needs some type of certification or continued learning course. The entire process can be facilitated directly through the app. 

Overall, this cost-effective technology makes it easier for employees to absorb training materials on their own time. This will ultimately give your company a competitive advantage in terms of innovation and sustainability. 

Check out this case study on Praxair, to see how a real company saved $480,000 on training costs with a mobile app. 

4. Attracting and Retaining Talent

The days of employees finding a job, being grateful for the opportunity, and sticking with the same company for the rest of their lives are long behind us. 

The new workforce has a different mentality. They understand their value and how much businesses need great talent to be successful. 

As a result, HR departments are having trouble finding the right talent. Once someone is hired, it’s equally as challenging to retain them for the long term.

If your company lacks new technology, attracting and retaining talent will continue to be a challenge moving forward. 

In fact, 71% of Millennials say that a company’s use of technology will influence if they want to work at that organization or not. It’s not just the younger generation of the workforce; 66% of Generation X and 53% of Boomers agree with this statement. 

We previously discussed how an HR mobile app could be used for training and development. 

Well, 58% of employees say that continued professional development is a contributing factor to their overall job satisfaction. That’s why 63% of workers seek jobs from organizations where they have access to training and workshops. 

An app gives your company an edge over the competition seeking candidates from the same talent pool. If an employee has the opportunity to work for an employer leveraging technology to make everyone’s life easier, they are going to take it. 

5. Reducing Costs

At first glance, your HR department might view a mobile app as an unnecessary up-front expense. It’s common to have this mentality, and you’re not alone in those thoughts. 

But in reality, inefficiencies in HR actually cost your business much more in the long run.

We just discussed the importance of hiring and retaining talent. So how much does it cost to replace an employee?

Cost of Replacing Employees

Depending on the position, it can cost up to 400% of an employee’s annual salary to replace them. That alone is enough of a reason to build an HR mobile app.

Even if you’re not experiencing high employee turnover right now, this will be an HR challenge moving forward if you can’t adapt to new technology trends

But this is just one way to save money with a mobile app. An app will make your employees and HR team more productive. 

Think about how long it takes your HR department to assist employees and perform basic tasks. Each time someone has to call HR or send an email, it takes away from their job-related duties. This creates a bottleneck in human resources, which is one of the biggest remote employee challenges of HR.

Imagine if just one HR employee spends 10 minutes per hour fielding calls and replying to emails from remote employees. That translates to 400 minutes per week, and 347 hours per year.

That’s more than two full months of work. Now imagine how much this costs you if your HR department has five team members, each doing the same thing. What if they spend 20 minutes per hour on these tasks?

From an efficiency standpoint, the costs associated with HR communication are astronomical. An app can potentially save multiple employee salaries with just one function.

6. Human Error

Let’s put cost, efficiency, and employee satisfaction to the side for a moment. Doing things manually puts you at risk for human errors.

Without technology and automation, this is a significant remote employee challenge of HR. 

We’ve already discussed some of the everyday manual tasks required by HR representatives and remote employees at organizations without mobile technology. I’m referring to phone calls, emails, physical paperwork, and things of that nature.

Even your best and most experienced employees are vulnerable to mistakes. It’s so easy for an email, file, piece of paper, or hand-written note to get misplaced or filed incorrectly. 

Take a look at the top reasons why organizations using manual methods evaluate HR software.

Improving efficiency and organization is the overwhelming majority response to this survey. Reducing human error definitely falls into this category. 

In my experience, I see the most HR human error in payroll. 

Processing payroll is arguably the import function of an HR department. Miscalculations in hours, overtime, taxes, and employee classification are unavoidable if you’re doing everything by hand.

I don’t know what’s worse; overpaying or underpaying employees. But I’ve seen both happen at nearly every business without automation and the right technology in the HR department. 

33% of employers make payroll errors every year. These errors cause compliance issues, which is why 40% of small business owners incur IRS penalties as a result of these errors.

7. Providing Employee Self-Service

If you’re not leveraging the right technology, your HR department won’t be able to offer employee self-service. The lack of employee self-service tools is one of the significant remote employee challenges of HR. 

Access to payroll, benefits, training materials, and other resources can only be found if an employee contacts HR directly. As we’ve already explained, this is hugely inefficient. 

For starters, if forces remote employees to contact HR during business hours. This is usually 9-5, Monday to Friday for most companies. However, field service workers don’t always work traditional 9-5 jobs. This means they won’t be able to communicate with HR on nights, weekends, or early mornings. 

Rather than calling or emailing HR to ask a question about their benefits, request time off, or view a paystub, all of this can be easily accessed in an employee self-service mobile app. 

More than half of employers do not offer employee self-service tools. 

With that said, 73% of employees expect organizations to offer ESS tools. This relates back to one of our previous HR challenges about attracting and retaining talent. 

Employees who can view this type of information on their own time will be happier and more productive. This also eliminates inefficiencies in the HR department, since your HR staff won’t be fielding as many inquiries via phone and email. 

It’s a win-win scenario for everyone and helps keep your costs low. 

8. Poor Accessibility

Accessibility goes beyond employee self-service. Technically, you could offer ESS tools through a web-based portal to meet that demand. However, this still creates poor accessibility challenges in HR for remote employees.

Your staff needs access to information and tools from anywhere, not just from a computer.

Smartphones are always on with them. From job sites to coffee shops, vehicles, and their living room couches, an HR mobile app can be accessed from anywhere. 

Accessibility is arguably the biggest remote employee challenge of HR. Your deskless workforce can’t get import information on-site. This causes a disconnect and creates problems with tasks and performance. 

How does a technician working in a customer’s home access information about the job requirements and update the work order status? How can that same employee access resources to help them better serve the client? 

Without an app, everything is done manually. Then your staff is forced to update information at a later time or date from a computer or submit physical paperwork. This doubles the workload and is more susceptible to human error, as we’ve previously discussed. 

Check out this case study about Ninja Zone to learn more about how a mobile app improved accessibility for their company. 

The app helped gym trainers access materials in real-time while they were away from the office and unable to reach a computer. 

Conclusion

In reality, human resources departments are faced with dozens of challenges on a daily basis. But these eight are the most common and relatable the majority of organizations. 

This is especially the case for businesses with deskless workers and remote employees. 

I’ve seen first-hand how mobile apps can eliminate the remote employee challenges of HR departments. When you’re ready to solve these problems at your company, you can get started building an app today

At BuildFire, you’ll have the option to build an app on your own or let our experts build it for you. 

Don’t wait any longer. As you’ve learned in this guide, failing to leverage mobile technology is costing you money every day. It creates efficiency and productivity issues as well, and puts your company at risk for losing high-quality talent. 

11 Common Mistakes Mobile App Developers Make Every Day

Nobody is perfect. App developers and mobile app resellers are no exception to this rule. Throughout my years overseeing the app development process, I’ve seen first-hand about almost all mobile app development mistakes under the sun. 

Some of these developer mistakes are more significant than others. Whether it costs you time, money, or both, these errors can be frustrating. 

But for those of you who are just getting started with app development, whether it be as a reseller or business owner, you have a huge advantage here.

I’m sure you’ve been told to follow the path of those who succeeded before you. Well, you can also avoid the path of people who failed before you; learn from their mistakes.

Nobody intends to make a mistake during the app development process. 99% of the mistakes I’ve seen on a daily basis could have easily been avoided if the developer knew about them ahead of time. That’s what inspired me to write this guide.

Before you start a new development project, you need to review these common 11 mobile app mistakes. By avoiding app development mistakes, you’ll endure less frustration and increase your chances of building a successful app. 

Mistake #1: Neglecting Research and Due Diligence

Overseeing app development has taught me that people are impatient by nature. They want to dive in and start creating immediately, without taking the proper steps ahead of time.

If this sounds like you, I admire your enthusiasm. But you need to slow down and conduct your due diligence before you proceed.

Taking the time to find the best platform and solution for app development now will save you months or even years of frustration down the road. The app creation tool you choose can make or break the success of your project, so don’t rush this decision. 

There are so many different ways to build an app:

  • Coding on your own.
  • Using an app creator on your own without coding.
  • Hiring an agency.
  • Working with a freelancer.
  • Becoming a white label reseller.

The list goes on and on. Plus, there are different subsections within each option. For example, there are small local agencies, large international agencies, and everything in between. 

You can’t make this decision in ten minutes while browsing the web at a local coffee shop. It takes time to find the perfect app development solution for your needs. 

This process can be compared to buying a car. You don’t just show up to the dealership one day on a whim and leave with a car an hour later. You’ll read consumer reports, customer reviews, take test drives, and shop around different dealerships. 

The same process can be applied here. Read customer stories and case studies before you choose a development company. Subscribe to their newsletter. Request a consultation. Try a demo or free trial.

This is the only way to truly find the best development platform for your reseller agency or business app. 

Mistake #2: Poor Budget Management

Blowing through a budget is another common developer mistake that I see on a regular basis. There are a few main reasons why this happens:

  • Inaccurate budget estimate from the start.
  • Failure to plan for all components of the project.
  • Unexpected costs.

It’s important that you have a rough idea of how much your app will cost from the beginning. You can use tools like a mobile app cost calculator to help get an accurate estimate. 

But the initial development isn’t the only thing you need to plan for. Other phases need to be taken into consideration when you’re creating a budget

Your budget should also allocate funds for unexpected costs that could arise along the way.

If you decide that you want to add new features or make changes to your initial plan, your project won’t go over-budget if that was built into the estimate. 

It’s important that you set realistic budget expectations from the beginning. Lots of developers have a number in mind that they think will be sufficient to build an app, based on something they read or a conversation they had with a friend. But so many factors must be taken into consideration here.

If you keep up with the latest mobile app development trends, you’ll learn that technology is constantly evolving. Features like AI, AR, and other integrations will impact your budget. 

For those of you interested in becoming a mobile app reseller, you need to have an accurate budget to estimate your profit margins correctly. 

Mistake #3: Not Creating an MVP

Diving right into the final build is another common mistake made by app developers. 

An MVP (minimum viable product) will help you test the app and evaluate its performance. During the MVP stages of development, the app will only be comprised of essential features. 

Here’s an analogy. Let’s say you were building a car.

The final product will have a radio, a GPS system, leather seats, automatic windows, and a new paint job. But an MVP of that car just needs to have four wheels, a frame, steering wheel, and an engine. As long as the car does what it’s supposed to, it’s an acceptable minimum viable product. 

An MVP is not an experiment for your app. This is another common app mistake. 

Back to the car analogy. You wouldn’t build a motorcycle or a helicopter as your MVP if the final product is supposed to be a four-door sedan. 

So if you’re building an HR mobile app to improve employee efficiencies, a social media app isn’t a viable MVP.

Instead, you’d want to focus on the core components of the app. Such as building individual employee log-in capabilities and the ability to send push notifications for announcements. As development continues, you can add features like access to payroll information and benefits.

Mistake #4: Poor UI/UX Build

Sometimes we get so lost in development that we forget about how the app will actually be used. Neglecting the user interface of an app is a mistake that needs to be avoided at all costs.

A poor UI/UX design is one of the top reasons why people uninstall apps

why uninstall apps

People have certain expectations when they open an app. Follow the lead of the most successful and popular apps on the market today as an example.

All of these apps have simple navigation, a search function, and the home menu that can be easily accessed from any screen. 

Sometimes developers make the mistake of trying to get too creative with the UI, which ultimately hinders the user experience. 

Here’s an analogy. When you visit a website, you’re expecting the main menu to be at the top of the screen, right? That’s how you’ll navigate to different pages and find your way around the site.

Now, what if you went to a website, and the main menu was in a grid at the bottom right side of your screen? 

Technically, that’s not incorrect. People can design a website however they want to. But the users will be frustrated with this design since it’s not what they’ve grown accustomed to. 

The same concept can be applied to your mobile app. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and win the most innovative homepage design in the history of app development. 

Stick to what works. If the user is forced to make three or four clicks just to return to a home screen or navigate to another screen in the app, they will not enjoy the app experience. 

Prioritize UI, or else you’ll have lots of unhappy app users. 

Mistake #5: Failing to Test Properly

I briefly mentioned testing earlier when we discussed MVPs. But to have a successful mobile app, you need to take your testing to the next level.

Testing is an ongoing process and needs to be performed throughout the entire development process. Not only will it improve the user experience, but it’s the only way to work out any bugs or problems with the app.

Here’s an overview of the most common challenges in mobile app testing over time. 

As you can see from the graph, the vast majority of developers test their apps. That’s no longer a problem. 

But several challenges still remain, which hinders the testing process.

To combat some of the most common testing mistakes and barriers, follow these tips and best practices:

  • Define your testing process and procedure. (How often will you test? Who will test? Etc.)
  • Have a dedicated in-house testing environment. 
  • Use both in-house and outsourced mobile app testing experts. 
  • Get the right tools and equipment to facilitate your tests.
  • Schedule time for testing.

Using in-house and outsourced experts to test your app is crucial. A developer or team of developers working on an app every day will have a bias. They know how the app works and what it’s supposed to do. An in-house tester may not think the UI needs improvement if they were involved with the design process. 

But a third-party expert who is impartial and has never seen the app before will be able to provide much better feedback. 

Mistake #6: Building For Too Many Platforms

Depending on the purpose of your app, you might be tempted to make it available for as many users as possible. While this obviously has its upsides for mobile app marketing, it can create challenges from a development standpoint. 

If you’re going to build a traditional native mobile app, creating an iOS and Android app will likely double your budget.

Both projects will be treated as two separate development ventures. So if you’ve never built an app before, taking on two builds at the same time is a daunting task. 

Rather than accelerating your initial development costs and starting something that’s too much for you to handle, stick to just one platform if you’re building a native app.

Alternatively, you can build for iOS and Android simultaneously using an app builder. These platforms reduce your development costs and timeline while giving you the ability to create an app without writing a single line of code.  

If you want to learn how to code or work with a partner that will code a native app from scratch, that’s fine. I’d just focus on one platform if you go that route. Otherwise, using an app builder will be the best way to avoid these problems altogether.

Mistake #7: Poor Communication During Development

The majority of mobile app failures can be traced back to poor communication during the development process. 

While most people agree that effective communication during a project is extremely important, just a small percentage of people believe that their business is achieving that. 

This statement holds true for any project, but the stakes are magnified when it comes to something as important as mobile app development. 

The only way to avoid this mistake is by prioritizing communication from the beginning. 

I’ve supervised dozens of app development projects over the years. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that there is no such thing as over-communicating. Keeping your partners, colleagues, development team, or whoever else updated with your progress or ideas can’t hurt you. 

Maybe you repeat something that was already said. So what? It’s better than assuming everyone is on the same page when they really aren’t. 

If you’re hiring a developer to build an app for you, that person isn’t a mind-reader. You need to be clear throughout every stage of what your expectations are. 

For those of you who plan to white label and resell apps, your communication skills could make or break the success of your mobile app reseller business. Unhappy clients are expensive and can even give you some sleepless nights. It’s worth the extra five minutes every so often to get organized. 

Depending on the size of the app development project, you can have daily, weekly, or bi-weekly meetings with everyone involved. A quick status update from each member of the team is usually enough to get the job done. 

Mistake #8: Going Overboard With Features and Functions

Apps today are seemingly limitless. They can do just about anything that you can imagine.

With that said, it doesn’t mean that your app needs to include every app feature and function available just because it’s possible. Stick to the core features of what your app really needs to function properly.

Adding too many features will set you up for loads of problems down the road. From an initial development standpoint, it’s going to increase your budget with each new feature you add. 

Jamming your app full of features can even hinder its performance. Apps with too many features are more susceptible to bugs, errors, and crashes. 

Furthermore, adding features will impact the size of your app. Research shows that one in four people will delete an app for a lack of phone storage. 

why people delete apps

This also makes it a challenge to update your app, which we’ll talk about in greater detail shortly.

Since app development and technology is so cool, it’s tempting to add new features. But you need to think twice and ask yourself if new features are actually necessary. If it doesn’t add value to the app, then leave it out. 

Let’s say you’re building an ecommerce app. Can you add a calculator, flashlight, calendar integration, and social media log-in? Sure. But why would you?

An ecommerce app is complex enough without all of the unnecessary bells and whistles. So just focus on features needed to facilitate mobile commerce transactions. 

Mistake #9: Partnering With the Wrong Development Team

I’ve seen good app ideas fail because the wrong person developed it. This is an expensive mistake that needs to be avoided at all costs. 

Ironically, one of the reasons why people pick the wrong development team is because they are price-sensitive. They try to save money by outsourcing development to a freelancer overseas at a fraction of the rate for an agency in the US. 

Then that freelancer stops responding, falls behind schedule, or delivers an app that doesn’t meet your expectations. 

You’ll want to find a development team that will give you as little or as much control during the process as you choose. Do you want to develop the app on your own? Do you want the developers to build it for you? Do you want to do most of the work with a little bit of help and guidance along the way? Finding a developer that can meet all of those needs will be your best option.

If you want to become an app reseller, choosing the right development platform is the most important step in the process.

That development platform is your entire product. If that team doesn’t provide you with the support, resources, and materials required to service your clients, you’ll be in a world of trouble. 

Mistake #10: Not Preparing For Updates

It’s a common misconception that app development ends when the app launches. That’s far from the case. In reality, development never stops. No app is perfect, and you’ll need to make improvements on a regular basis. 

About 30% of apps are updated at least once a month. More than 80% of apps are updated every six months. 

upload frequency

You must plan for these updates from the beginning. Updates will impact your budget, as well as your decision to choose one developer over another. 

Updates are required to improve the user experience, eliminate bugs, and remain compatible with the latest operating software on various devices. 

If you’ve spent every last penny in your budget for the initial app launch, you won’t be able to make any updates without coming out of pocket.

Choose an app builder that provides full-service and maintenance even after you finish building the app. 

As a reseller, you need to keep these app updates in mind for your clients as well. Your white-label service provider must make this easy for you. At the end of the day, updates can benefit your bottom line. You can continue to generate income long-term even after the app has launched by providing updates and additional support services to your clients.

But that’s only possible if you’re on the right reseller program with a development platform that can provide those needs. 

Mistake #11: Mirroring Your Mobile Website

Lots of business owners understand the importance of having a mobile presence. So there’s a good chance that you already have a mobile-friendly website. 

After learning that mobile apps convert higher than the mobile web, you might be interested in building an app for your business. Don’t make this app a clone of your website.

There’s a reason why apps perform better than mobile sites. Apps offer features and functions that a mobile website cannot. Mirroring your app after the mobile site would be a waste of your resources and opportunity.

Plus, users have different expectations for an app compared to a website. The purpose of the app is to make the customer journey easier and provide enhanced value to the users. 

If the app isn’t different than the mobile site, why should they bother downloading the app?

Your app can have some similarities as your website, such as the color scheme, theme, and brand image. But beyond that, the app needs to create a completely different user experience. 

Conclusion

Like any big project, developing an app can be frustrating at times. Mobile app development mistakes happen to everyone, including myself. 

But if you understand the most common developer mistakes, you can avoid them altogether. 

Whether you’re building an app on your own, looking to hire a developer, or interested in becoming a mobile app reseller, avoiding the mobile app development mistakes in this guide will save you time, money, resources, and headaches in the long run. 

Will you still make mistakes along the way? Probably. But it won’t be anything that is insurmountable. 

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