Consumers spent an estimated $110 billion across various app stores in 2018.
A lot of opportunists want to be on the receiving end of this spending by creating their own app. But most of these people don’t know how to create an app, so they hire a company to help them.
Thus, if you’re looking to make some money of your own, you might want to start an app company so you can cater to these people.
This post will teach you how to start an app development business. With these tips, you should be able to make money from the global demand for apps, without ever having to sell an app of your own.
Let’s begin!
Is Everyone Your Customer?
It’s important to note there are many app development companies that already out there. If you try to compete with all these companies, it’s going to be hard to stand out and convince customers that you’re the right option for them.
To make things easier, it’s worth thinking about how you can niche down your business. You might just offer mobile app development services to eCommerce businesses, for example.
If you specialize in one specific area of app development, you’ll find it much easier to attract clients. For one, it’ll be easier to market your service, because you can narrow down your target market.
But your company will also be more appealing to your target audience. That’s because people prefer to work with experts, rather than generalists.
Build Out Your Team
Running an app development business is difficult, and you’ll probably struggle to do everything on your own.
Because of this, you need to think about building out a team so you can delegate certain tasks.
The kinds of people you need to hire will depend on what your current skills are. For example, you might be very good at programming and so you might not need to hire a developer.
Or, you might be great at marketing, but not so good at the development side of things.
Once you’re aware of what your weaknesses are, you can then go about finding someone that will help you tackle these issues.
You don’t need to hire a full-time member of staff right away, as there’s the option of using freelancers. You can find talented freelancers using a site like Upwork.
When hiring a freelancer, try to look at past examples of their work. In doing so, you’ll be able to get a sense of how good they are, and whether they’ll be able a good fit for the kinds of projects you’ll need help with.
Establish an Online Presence Using Blog Posts
If you don’t have an online presence, it’s going to be hard for potential clients to find you and then inquire about your services.
Fortunately, you can use blog posts to help you establish an online presence, without having to spend a lot of money.
If you’re going to write blog posts, it’s vital you figure out how to write content that your target audience will want to read.
One way you can discover relevant blog post ideas is by using the Google Keyword Tool.
Using this tool, you can identify the kinds of keywords your target market is typing into Google.
If you can create blog posts that focus on these keywords, you’ll be able to get in front of your target audience. If you can do that, you can sell to them, and turn them into customers.
All you need to do is provide the tool with a ‘base keyword’ that’s associated with your niche. If we go with the ecommerce niche mentioned earlier, the base keyword would be ‘ecommerce app development.’
Once you provide the tool with a ‘base keyword,’ it’ll then return some related keywords. You can then use these keywords as inspiration when developing your content ideas.
You can also come up with blog post ideas, by studying competitor content.
If you can create better versions of their content, you may be able to achieve higher rankings than them. This is because your content will provide readers with a better experience, which is something that Google rewards.
You could make the content better by creating a more detailed version. You could even include more images, or graphics that help explain certain complex topics. Check this Offshore software development company.
Understand Your Figures
Before you take on a customer, it’s vital you understand your numbers. If you don’t do this, you may end up undercharging, and this can leave you out of pocket.
To begin with, you might want to be wary of charging customers a set figure. So this means you avoid charging someone $3,000 to develop an app, for example.
The better alternative is to charge customers a base fee, and then an hourly fee that covers the development process.
If you do things this way, you should be able to make a profit even if the app takes a long time to develop, or if there’s a lot of back and forth with the customer.
Your hourly fee is going to depend on what your costs are. If you’re using a freelancer to help you develop the apps, then you’ll need to take their costs into account.
So if they charge $30 per hour, you may need to charge $50 per hour. The difference will then be the margin you make as a result of developing the app.
Constantly Review Your Business
It’s vital you regularly review your business so you can ensure customers are getting the best possible service.
This might mean you ask customers how they feel about your service and then request feedback on what you could do to make things better. You could do this by asking past and existing client to complete an online survey.
You might also want to ask your freelancers/employees how you could make things easier for them.
Additionally, you should pay close attention to the kinds of questions your customers are asking you. In doing so, you may be able to discover new ideas that will help you grow your business.
For instance, customers might ask whether you offer a ‘maintenance program’ once you have built the app. If you don’t provide this, but customers are asking for it, you may be able to improve revenue by fulfilling this need.
Do You Know How to Start an App Development Business?
With the help of the knowledge in this post, you should now understand how to start an app development business.
The early days are going to be difficult, as you’ll probably struggle to find clients. But once you snag your first client, you’ll then have something you can add to your company portfolio. You can then use this app to convince others that they should invest in your services.
People are constantly coming up with ideas for new apps that they want to create. Provided you take action now, you should be able to help these people, and make a tidy profit in the process.
Finding it hard to market your business? Check out this post to learn how you can use content marketing to get the job done.
