Only Online:How to create a mobile app
Jackie Magher Ashton (Com ’98) and Jay Ashton (GSBA ’02) created Baby Brain, the iPhone app for parents. Forbes named Baby Brain the best cool gadget for new moms.
Fill a need
Mobile apps abound these days, but the possibility for new apps is limitless. Think of something that could be made more efficient and fun using your app. Come up with something that no one else is doing, or that no one is doing well. We created Baby Brain to do something moms had traditionally done using paper and pencil—tracking their baby’s eating and sleeping habits during those early days. The iPhone came out the week before our first child was born. We wanted an app with Baby Brain’s functionality, but it didn’t exist—so we created it.
Do the research
Research other apps to see what is out there. Did someone already create “your” app? If so, can you do it better? If there are some competitive apps out there, read their reviews carefully and find out what improvements users want so that you can create a better app.
Find a good developer and strike a good deal
Find an experienced developer that is invested in your idea. Developers are not cheap, and the price per download is low, so you need to be smart about your development costs. We researched development teams that had created successful apps previously for brand name businesses. We were then able to strike a creative revenue-sharing deal with them that lowered our upfront costs significantly. It also motivated the development team to have a vested interest in the overall success of our app.
Test, re-test and test again
The last thing you want is a user who excitedly uses your app for the first time, only to find it immediately crash. Include testing and updates as a part of your contract with your developers so that they are required to make fixes and updates to the app. Think about how your users will be using the app, then test again and again until you are sure there are no problems.
Market your app
App stores are cluttered, and navigating them is difficult. For your app to be successful, you need to market it yourself. Create a website and make it easy for users to contact you. Write a blog about your launch. Reach out to bloggers in the relevant industries and tell them about your app. When you find users who love your app, don’t be shy about asking them to share their thoughts in a review. Post all of your press links to Facebook, Twitter and your website.
Offer great customer support
Users can and will get frustrated using your app, even when it is working just as it should. People just want to be heard and to have their frustrations validated. Respond immediately to customer requests and concerns and stay in close contact with your users.
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Comments
I would like to discuss the assertion made above, specifically that substantive review is a prerequisite to successful preparation for standardized exams. In my estimation, and I should say in large part due to my personal history in preparing for an exam that is highly substantive in nature (the GMAT exam, which is required for admission to business school), I did not feel that I need a great deal of substantive review. On the contrary, I found that I needed to focus almost entirely on the strategic aspects of the exam. For example, in the data sufficiency section, which is without question the most challenging portion of the GMAT exam, strategies are far more important than substantive knowledge.
As a UVA grad myself, I get this magazine in the mail. I was studying for the GMAT exam and saw the ad and contacted Jefferson Prep. To be honest, they have by far the worst customer service I've ever received. Richard, their "president/owner" or whatever title he likes to attach to his name is simply rude. He does not understand what it means to provide someone with a remote sense of customer service. But besides Richard himself, here are my comments after I actually signed up and paid for the course. Its a scam. They have nice people picking up the phone and luring you into signing up, but the tutors are simply "study-buddies". The tutor was a great person, but simply not a great tutor by any standard of imagination. The tutor was not familiar with the updated versions of the exam and they try to teach you things that are outdated. It got to the point where my time was better spent studying by myself rather than wasting with the tutor, and that gets pricey. On top of that, their "corporate office", if you can call the three guys that work in their office that answer the phones, are complete jerks. When they want your money, they are great. As soon as they get the money, and you need some sort of assistance, they refuse to speak with you, and ask you to email them all the complaints, and hang up the phone. I have contacted Better Business Bureau to suspend this company, along with contacting UVA and asking them to never advertise this company. Please save your money. Spend it for great tutors, and there are great tutors out there, but they simply dont work for this company.
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