“Do not put all your eggs in one basket!” – a common refrain among all investors and business entrepreneurs. What it basically means is that, corporate firms should buffer themselves against potential sources of losses (and as we all know, no one can rule out downturns in business). In other words, there should be some other channels to fall back on, in case one field of activity temporarily ceases to be as profitable. With the global mobile app industry projected to be worth more than $76 billion by the end of 2017, diversification is something that app companies from all over are also emphasizing upon. In today’s edition of AppBoard Tuesday (ABT), we will check out the possible types of mobile app diversification:
- Diversification across platforms – iOS apps are (still) the most profitable, Android has an overwhelming lead in terms of market share, and Blackberry can (okay, this is a li’l bit unlikely) make a strong comeback. There are platforms like Windows Phone, and Samsung’s new-fangled Tizen OS too. It makes no sense in specializing in creating Android or iPhone apps only. A sensible mobile app entrepreneur would always have separate teams in his/her company, to handle projects on all the popular platforms. Cross-platform mobile app development is no longer an option – it’s a necessity.
- Diversification regarding app-monetization – Every professional mobile app company is after profits (let’s be frank here) – and that depends on how the newly launched applications perform. Ideally, the portfolio of an app agency should contain both free and paid apps (free apps have a significant numerical lead). The current trend of creating freemium apps (free applications with in-app purchase options) should not be ignored either. The way in which revenue is earned via paid apps is self-explanatory – while for free apps, a viable monetization strategy (e.g., sponsored ads) has to be determined.
- Diversification across genres – This is the age of white-hot smartphone revolution, and people from all age groups use apps on a regular basis. Close to 40% of toddlers under the age of 2 (you read that right) spend hours everyday with iPads. If any mobile app development company decides to make only, say, professional apps – it is, in essence, canceling out all the other groups of app-users from its potential target audience. Travel, finance, business, social networking, educational apps for kids – everything should feature in the portfolio of a company. Mobile game development is another channel that is currently in vogue, and it has huge earning potential. Whenever the download counts of a particular category of apps go down, that can be made up with the steady downloads of other applications.
- Locational diversification – Okay, this option is not for the startups. However, for Android/iPhone app companies that have been on the scene for a few years – expanding to new markets (i.e., opening new branches at overseas locations) is a smart idea. This strategy works on two fronts – firstly, there is no chance of all markets getting ‘saturated’, thanks to the branches at other countries/continents. Secondly, prospective clients would surely be interested in doing business with truly ‘multinational mobile app organizations.’
- Diversification across mobile and web apps – By 2013, native mobile apps had captured 80% of the total time people spend (on average) using applications. This year, the figure has gone beyond 86%, leaving web apps with just a shade over 12% share in the total attention-span of viewers. However, it is way too early (and would be rather naive) to assume that ‘mobile web is already dead’. To keep all bases covered, a company should have a small team specializing in web application development. HTML5 and Java-based web apps still have decent demand levels.
- Service diversification as per budget specifications – Consider this: Someone has contacted you for a free app quote, and (s)he has a budget of $2000. However, yours is a high-end mobile app company – and your charges are fixed at $10000. You will lose that client (of course!), and along with that, everyone else who wish to create iOS/Android apps without having to incur such huge costs. The best policy would be to create separate budget slabs for customers. The latter can select the one they are comfortable with, while requesting for quotes. Information regarding what services are available in each slab should also be specified.
- Diversification of working time – For mobile app developers really willing to reach out to global clients, there is no fixed working-time. It is always day at some part of the world, and requests for quotes can come in at any time, quite literally. Someone from the company should be available to handle potential client queries on a 24×7 basis. There are several top-ranked Android and iPhone app development companies at present, which provide service across 18-20 time-zones. The entire point is – never missing out on a client.
- Diversification in work-teams – Relatively small companies make the mistake of not recruiting enough specialized manpower in-house (in most cases, this is a bid to reduce overall salary/monetary payout figures). In the domain of app development at a professional level, this is probably the biggest folly. It has to be understood that coding, UI/UX designing, mobile app testing and content development are all separate skills – and the same person/group cannot perform all of them satisfactorily (even if (s)he is the most efficient droid on Earth!). There has to different teams put in charge of the diverse day-to-day activities in the company.
- Diversification between freelance app development and working for office – This one is for all the CEOs and mobile app entrepreneurs out there. In addition to the app projects being worked upon at office, they can create iPhone applications on a freelance basis as well. That would: a) keep their coding skills alive, instead of getting dumped under managerial responsibilities, and b) offer opportunities for the bigger freelance clients to become formal partners of the company in future. There have been several cases where people have hired mobile app companies via sites like Freelancer.com – and have later gone on to become the COOs of new branches of the same firms.
- Diversification in brainstorming – Most mobile app developers believe in the practice of having a core group of creative people, who are in charge of brainstorming new ideas for every app. The one thing that is not considered is that – these ‘thinkers’ are not robots, and they can feel jaded and ‘out-of-ideas’. The way out of this problem? Simple enough! For in-house projects, every executive in a mobile application development firm can be requested to submit ideas. There is no saying who might come up with the best idea. In essence, app companies need to make use of the entire knowledge base at its disposal.
- Diversification in activities – There are scopes for looking beyond mobile apps as well. Any app development agency worth its salt would have a team of web developers (fluent in PHP, Java, Python and other languages). Hence, it makes sense for app companies to take up website creation, designing, development and maintenance-related projects – both for extra revenues, as well as to serve more clients. Many corporate clients, in fact, look for companies that can simultaneously create mobile apps and business websites. The more IT sub-domains an app company dabbles in, the better.
- Diversification in mobile app promotions – It’s high time companies started diversifying their strategies for promoting and marketing apps. No longer is the method of exchanging app reviews (often biased ones) with other developers sufficient. Instead, prototypes and demo screens of apps have to be shared with targeted buyers via social media channels – to create a pre-release buzz about the application. After the app has been approved and launched, the store link should be shared at relevant mobile app communities (do not spam, however!). Mentioning the date of the next upgrade and the awards/accolades received (if any) are also effective ways to promote an app.
At the end of the day, mobile app diversification is all about making sure that productivity and profitability levels of a company does not take a nosedive under any circumstance. With a diversified portfolio, well-trained and specialized in-house work-teams and availability around the clock, even a new app company can become a known brand name within a couple of years. Staying cooped up with a limited range of apps no longer cuts it.
That rounds off things for this week’s AppBoard Tuesday (ABT). Can you come up with any ideas for further diversification of mobile app businesses? If yes, do share them with us. Till next Tuesday arrives then…stay well and love thy apps!
Hussain Fakhruddin
CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
Latest posts by Hussain Fakhruddin (see all)
- How do mobile apps help small businesses? - October 10, 2019
- Top 15 Mobile App Ideas For 2020 - October 1, 2019
- Top 15 Software Development Trends To Watch Out For In 2020 - September 18, 2019