It is okay to make a mistake. We should learn from those mistakes. That’s what we have been told since the beginning, right? Everyone makes mistakes, even experts do. Startups make wrong decisions at times which places them towards failure. Well, it is no surprise to believe that those startups do not learn from their mistakes and implement improvements to fix them.
You don’t want to be one of those 90% of the startups that fail, right? You must aim to become a part of that 1% of startups that become Unicorns like Uber, Slack, Airbnb, and so on.
What do you need to run a successful business? For one, you need to build an on-demand app using which you can run your entire business. If you are a business that offers services on user demand, the mobile app that your build must have a user-friendly UI/UX, advanced features, etc.
No matter which app development platform you choose – iOS or Android, it is possible that you would make a mistake that can break your step stool to success.
So, let’s dig into the 4 biggest mistakes that can lead you to failure and learn how you can avoid them. But before that, you must learn a bit about the ongoing scenario in the mobile app market.
Competition in Mobile App Marketplace
As per the 2022 statistics, the total app market revenue has already reached US$475.90 Billion. Moreover, this revenue is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 8.55% between 2022-2027.
With millions of mobile apps competing on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, it is hard to say how many apps have a chance to succeed.
Statista.com also revealed in their 2022 report that the number of total app downloads is projected to reach 235.30 Billion. This number has likely grown, at least that’s what you can assume.
Well, the big picture is that people around the world are steadily adopting mobile apps, encouraging startups and other businesses to build more apps!
With such a bright scope, it is clear that you already have a big pool of potential customers out there. All you have to do is develop a top-of-the-line on-demand app that provides your customers with everything they need at the touch of a button.
4 On-demand App Development Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
If you have made up your mind about launching an on-demand app like Uber, Gojek, or Grab, then you shouldn’t skip this part.
Before you start your mobile app development process, you must glance through the 4 biggest mistakes that startups like you have already made.
Learn how you can avoid making the same mistakes and end up failing before reaching the break-even point.
Mistake #1: Insufficient market research
It is understood that you are in a hurry to launch your on-demand before your peers do. But, in the same haste, you are sure to make your first mistake – undergoing on-demand app development without conducting sufficient market research.
Simply searching for the pros of launching an on-demand app for your business and kick-starting the development process is something you should never vote for. Lack of market research has the following disadvantages:
- You will never learn what your competitors are doing.
- You won’t be able to create effective plans and strategies.
- Poor decision-making.
- Restricted opportunities at hand.
How to avoid the mistake?
Take some considerable time to learn about your target market. It is advisable to perform primary and secondary research.
Also, don’t forget to focus on conducting your competitor analysis so that you know what they are doing and what’s going on in the market.
Mistake #2: Overlooking the importance of creating an MVP
MVP or Minimum Viable Product is the early-stage prototype or version of your on-demand app. The key purpose of creating an MVP is to get critical feedback from the users so that startups can work on implementing further improvements in it.
In short, by creating an MVP, you can effectively get feedback directly from the users and make the necessary improvements in the app before investing all your resources into it.
Overlooking the importance of the MVP will leave your entire project at risk of failing. Plus, you will not get to enter the market as quickly as the competitors.
How to avoid the mistake?
Create an MVP after you conduct the market research. When developing the on-demand app MVP, see that you are resolving a problem. For example, when building an Uber Clone App, integrate everything the local people want such as multilingual, local payment gateway, manual ride booking, etc.
Add only the basic features and functions at first. When done, carry on functional and non-functional testing to prevent poor experience and build a strong prototype.
Mistake #3: Mismanaging the on-demand app development budget
Underestimating the total app development cost and mismanaging the budget is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make.
Remember, on-demand app development is an expensive process. You have to be careful about how you handle your finances. Usually, startups miscalculate the total cost and that is one thing that can drown your dreams of creating a successful mobile app like Uber or a super app such as Gojek.
On top of that, if you incur an unexpected cost, your entire budget planning can go awry.
How to avoid the mistake?
To avoid the risks of budget mismanagement or underestimating the total app development cost, the best thing you can do is:
- Set aside money for unexpected expenses.
- If you plan to add a new feature, create an estimate first before going over budget.
- Set realistic budget expectations.
- Consider all the factors when creating your budget – overheads, developing costs, infrastructure costs, marketing requirements, etc.
Mistake #4: Choosing the wrong mobile app development team
Even good on-demand apps can fail if they choose the wrong app development team.
Reducing app development costs is one of the primary reasons behind startups choosing the wrong app developers. However, in the loop of finding the app developers charging lower, startup entrepreneurs fail to realize that they might be choosing the wrong guys.
How to avoid the mistake?
To avoid committing the same mistake, you need to find app developers who have already completed similar projects.
Confirm their expertise in the field beforehand. Also, take a look at their pricing and compare it with the kind of on-demand apps like Uber, Grab, Postmates, etc., that they have already developed.
Take the demo app trials to get a firsthand experience of the quality of their apps. See how they respond to queries.
Choose the app development team or firm only if they commit to providing you with the licensed source code of your on-demand app.
Final Words
Undoubtedly, the process of developing on-demand apps like Uber is long and frustrating. It is obvious for developers and even startup owners to make mistakes.
However, if you are aware of the most common mistakes and know how to prevent them, you can actually develop the app without many headaches.
Go through these common and the biggest app development mistakes and determine if you have already committed one.
Get in touch with experts who can help you resolve the mistakes today so that your hard work doesn’t suffer in the end!