Suppose you have a great idea for an application. At least you think so. You do a market analysis and find that your idea simply cannot fail to sell. However, are you sure about this?
1. Problem: Your application does not meet the real needs of users.
It’s better to make sure your assumptions are correct before making design and implementation decisions and expenses. We are often approached by customers because their application is not making the expected profits. Its design is modern, beautiful. Usability tests show that the application is intuitive and using it is not a problem. There is only one problem: users don’t want to use it. So there is a possibility that the application does not meet the real needs of potential customers. Or the need is not so great that people want to look for a solution to meet it. When designing an application, it is worth focusing not on the product, but on the problem that we want to solve. And this problem must be so urgent that users want to regularly use your solution and put effort into installing the application.
Solution:
How not to make this mistake before designing the application? How to check if the assumptions about the need we want to satisfy are correct? Where to get this information? Preferably from the very source – from your potential customers. First, you need to determine who the potential users of your application are. It is worth establishing direct contact with them to find out what their problems, worries and expectations related to a given issue are. In what context and how would they use the product? What competitive solutions are they currently using? You can get answers to these questions through in-depth interviews with representatives of the target group. If your budget allows it, it is best to refer this task to special agencies that carry out such research.
2. Problem: Using the application causes problems for users.
Ok, let’s say you’ve identified a real need for a potential target audience. You already know that your business assumptions were right. However, users are still reluctant to use your application. You see a fair amount of its downloads, but unfortunately low engagement and the number of returning users. What could be wrong? There is a risk that your application is of little use. What does it mean? Several aspects may make users find it difficult to complete basic tasks in the application, which will significantly reduce their level of satisfaction with its use. As a result, they may not come back to it anymore, and they certainly won’t tell their friends about it. The usability is influenced both by the degree of difficulty of using the application during the first contact with it, as well as the speed of using it in subsequent contacts. It is also important how pleasant it is for the user to use the application itself – its functionality and positive experiences that accompany the user while using it. Users, accustomed to the easy and efficient use of applications, will certainly not show patience in solving problems that arise in them. On the contrary, if they find it difficult to use the application, they will quickly leave it and look for a more convenient, easier-to-use product. Certainly, they will not be patient in solving problems that arise in them. On the contrary, if they find it difficult to use the application, they will quickly leave it and look for a more convenient, easier-to-use product. they will certainly not be patient in solving problems that arise in them. On the contrary, if they find it difficult to use the application, they will quickly leave it and look for a more convenient, easier-to-use product.
Solution:
Verify that your app is actually useful. The fact that you find it easy to use does not mean that potential customers will not have a problem with it. Conducting an application usability audit or usability tests with users will identify bugs and difficulties in your application.
3. Problem: The application does not stand out from the competition.
Let’s be honest – there are many applications on the market. Users have easy access to them. Competition is really big in practically every category. So getting through is really hard. If your application does not stand out from the competition, it is worth considering – why should people use it? What will be the unique added value for users? How does your application solve the problems that the competition could not solve? Or maybe solving problems with your application should be faster, easier? So let’s consider how to stand out from similar solutions.
Solution:
Think about what could be done better? What is the unique value proposition for your product? Perhaps you have to look at the problem from a completely different perspective. Using a solution pattern from a completely different, unrelated area of life may also help. Thanks to this, you may find that solving the problem is very simple. The trick to finding the right differentiator lies in finding the right answer to the right question. The answer may therefore be a need that has not yet been satisfied by any application. Maybe a high level of usability, enabling the user to achieve a given goal or task faster and easier (than in the case of the competition)? Or maybe some additional flavor that will increase the attractiveness of your product.
