So you've finally considered getting an app for your business. Your customers are going to thank you for that. With the ever-increasing use of mobile phones, having an app is going to take your business into another channel for opportunities.The world of mobile application development can be quite overwhelming, so we’ll break it down for you.The first thing you’re going to want to do is establish a unique function your application will offer that will appeal to your market. It should be a seamless way for users to access your products, services and/or business offerings.A good time to start thinking about getting an app for your business is when you see that your competitors are in the App Store. In business it’s always about who can capitalize first; if you’re not available to your customers in the way they want to engage with your business, you’re going to fall behind. Be warned, though. If you don't have the resources to maintain your business's mobile application, you're better off establishing a strong presence for your brand on a platform you can manage.

Tools of the Trade

Thought CreationThe first process should be to understand your audience and how they interact with your business. This is where market research is going to benefit your message tremendously. We recommend sleuthing around the App Store/Google Play store to see what your competitors are doing.MVPOnce you’ve established your concept, it’s time to move onto building out your minimum viable product (MVP). During this phase you will be defining your concept/wireframe. This should include a design document which outlines all of the functionality of the app, sketches, UI/UX, flow between screens, and a basic idea of the types of systems that will need to implement. This phase will help reduce engineering hours, and will get the product out as quickly as possible. Essentially, an MVP is a strategy to test the market by driving traffic to the product, and maximizing the amount of traction/engagement.DevelopmentIf your MVP has caught a good amount of traction (meaning the target market is responding with engagement, and metrics such as User actions per session, Tasks completed, photos stored, songs downloaded, are validated) then it is time to move onto building out the complete app. The first step is to choose your OS.The two most popular operating systems are Android, and iPhone. Each has their own benefits, but the main goal of this phase is to set up the app for scalability. Let’s get into some of the frameworks, and programming languages specific to each OS.Android native apps will be best coded on the Eclipse IDE, and programming is done in Java.iPhone native apps will be coded in X-Code, and programming is done in Objective-C & Swift.Hybrid apps are scalable on each OS, and are becoming quite popular. You will need to use the Sencha framework, and programming is done on in Javascript, HTML5, CSS.ExecutionWhether or not you have chosen to take on the task of creating your first app solo, or with an agency, the most important aspect of the app is being able to execute it. At TECKpert, we have a proven track record of running the app through a Debugging, Beta Testing, and Submission process.After the initial process of getting the app through submission and having it available on either platform, we make sure it’s optimized for performance, and have it promoted.