Why Customer Research is Crucial for Successful Mobile App Development in 2024

Mobile app development has steadily gained momentum since the last one decade, and with the increased adaption of mobile applications in the business world, every business wishes to develop its mobile app with the help of a mobile app development company and use it for business promotion.

Owing to the handy nature of smartphone devices, mobile apps offer businesses a great customer reach than a website. 

And in fact, an average user spends more than 81% of his total mobile usage time on the apps installed in his device. This certainly speaks the popularity of mobile apps and how much potential they carry to take a business to success.

Before you develop a mobile app you generally pay attention to the various factors or points of considerations which include:

• The mobile app platform or the operating system on which the app needs to be built;
• The custom mobile application development company you need to hire for your work;
• The budget of your app;
• The way you need to promote your app;
• Application scope;
• Functionalities involved and more.

But, have you paid a crucial amount of attention to the customer base you wish to pitch or the target audience to whom you will market your app?

Well, you need to be pretty sure about the target customer base you need to pitch as it would decide the success of your app and eventually the success of your business.

Significance of Customer Research for Successful Mobile App Development

Here we bring you some points on why customer research is crucial for successful mobile app development:

1. Your Mobile Operating System: Android or iOS?

As we talk about your target customer base, it decides the mobile app platform on which you need to build your application. You need to choose between the two most popular mobile app development platforms – Android and iOS.

Both these platforms have a different customer base, often termed as Android users and iOS users. So, you need to know how there is a gap between these two kinds of users.

Android platform is the most popular mobile app platform occupying more than 80% of the market. So, if you wish to target a more extensive customer base, you need to hire Android app developer and build an Android application.

However, another criterion that follows is that the Android app users have a lower in-app purchase average than iOS app developers and it targets a mass consumer base, having a lower average buying potential as compared to the iOS app users.

On the other end, there is an iOS app development platform that targets a lower customer base than Android but is opted by a more premium customer base than the Android app development market.

The iOS app development market is more pronounced when it comes to in-app purchase rates. The buying potential of iOS users is also far higher than the average buying potential of Android app users.

However, if you are tracking a mass customer base, you need to opt for an Android application development company that could help you build an engaging app for your business.

2. Nature of Your Business

You need to pay a critical amount of attention to the nature of your business as it decides the way your business needs to be presented and what would be your ideal customer base. Or we can take it vice versa- the customer research you do need to be extensive and in detail so to make sure that you are pitching the right audience for your business.

Your target audience should be likely to convert into your potential customers. This further goes on the first point and decides the mobile app development platform you choose and the mobile app development company you choose.

For example, You are an e-commerce business; then your target customer base will be a mass customer base, so you need to opt for Android app development platform as it would allow you to promote your business to a mass customer base.

While, if you sell luxurious items, your target customer base would be more premium customers. Therefore, you need to go for iOS app development as it might help you draw more revenue than an Android app.

3. The Way You Market Your App

Your target customer base decides the way you market your app, so you need to be very clear about it. If you are targeting iOS users, you can go for paid app downloads; you can promote in-app purchases.

With this, your app needs to be more precise in terms of design and user experience as according to the preferences of iPhone users. With this, iOS app users generally prefer to download authenticate applications that are certified and have high ratings on the App Store. You can market your app on various social media channels and your website.

On the other end, if you are targeting the mass customer base through Android applications, you need to go for free app download and promote in-app purchases. You need to hire an Android app developer who can craft a purely engaging mobile application for you.

Your Android app needs to feature an interactive design with higher visual engagement than an iOS application. Android apps can be marketed more promptly and efficiently through various social media websites and apps, as they lead in the number of downloads over the iOS apps.

4. The Budget of Your App Development Project

Based on the target customer base, you choose to decide the mobile app development platform where you pitch your business. Further, based on the platform, you choose your app budget.

Generally, it is seen that native iOS app development costs more than native Android app development and therefore, the platform you choose is vital. Other than this, the Android app development platform allows a different level of compatibility for the features you wish to incorporate in your application than iOS applications.

The above points rightly describe the reason why customer research is crucial for successful mobile app development. So, you need to be very particular about the customer research you do for your business application along with the mobile app developer company you choose.

Factors That Contribute to a Successful Mobile App

After doing all the research work, now its time to get on the ground and start designing and developing the app. In general, the app’s feature and functionalities solely depend upon the purpose of the app; still, some features need to be in an app to make it a success.

Try to blend all these features with the fundamentals mentioned above of the mobile app development for a successful app.

For more insights into the mobile app development process and its principles, you can comment below, and we will answer your query at the earliest.

By Manish

Sr. Content Strategist

Meet Manish Chandra Srivastava, the Strategic Content Architect & Marketing Guru who turns brands into legends. Armed with a Masters in Mass Communication (2015-17), Manish has dazzled giants like Collegedunia, Embibe, and Archies. His work is spotlighted on Hackernoon, Gamasutra, and Elearning Industry.

Beyond the writer’s block, Manish is often found distracted by movies, video games, AI, and other such nerdy stuff. But the point remains, If you need your brand to shine, Manish is who you need.