Mobile apps - Breaking away from the clutter

Marketshastra Round 2

IMPLICATIONS : What are the implications of proliferation of apps in app stores today?

With a large number of popular apps in the same category, there is unprecedented competitiveness in the market1

Entertainment Tools Casual Personalization Lifestyle0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000 11070 10586 10522 10334

7128

Number of apps with >50k downloads

Top 5 categories on Play Store™ by number of apps with >50k downloads

~11.17% of all apps in the Play Store™ are either undeveloped or erratic1

Key Inferences

App stores are flooded by developers who are publishing new apps every day2

iOS Android0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

250%

160%200%

YoY Growth Rate (# of apps) as of 2014

iOS Android150%155%160%165%170%175%180%185% 180%

160%

YoY Growth Rate (# of developers) as of 2014

iOS

Android

0 200000 400000 600000

280,000

390,000

# of developers

1.6 million apps – Android1.5 million apps – iOS 3

Sources: 1. – AppsBrain Statistics ; 2. – AppFigures Statistics ; 3. Statista Statistics ; 4. Primary research, see spreadsheet of responses

Play Store™ has ~290k apps with average ratings of 4 or below

As more apps are developed, app indifference is setting in, where most apps go unnoticed or are commonly

under-utilized.

56% of the smartphone users reported to have more than 20 apps in their phone and only 12% claimed to use more than 20 apps regularly4 (in a week), clearly showing signs of

app indifference.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi

Dawn of the Future

Success of an App

App-first, app only or otherwise

App-market scenario

Current App Market Scenario (1/2)

App-development today involves

minimal technical expertise

The growing smartphone market makes development

lucrative

Disrupting the market is nearly impossible with

available technology

Surviving in the existing market

needs high responsiveness

Soon, most “me-too” apps will fade with emergence of clear

category leaders

The average consumer is

becoming more tech-savvy

Spreadsheet of Responses

SUCCESS FACTOR : What are the factors that affect the success of an app?

Current App Market Scenario (2/2)

App-differentiation and development of USP

• Lack of market research• Developer loses focus on problem-

solving, in awe of his creation

Carving out a niche positioning is necessary for success in the fragmented app market, like Hike focuses on free SMSes

1

Timing of release of apps• Most apps are released without proper

testing, leading to poor initial customer review

Focus should be on launching a tested, well-developed version of the product, rather than on moving in early in an already crowded market

2

Security and privacy

• Use of insecure 3P frameworks may cause phishing and ambiguous crashes

• Personal / app usage information sharing makes people uncomfortable

Secure, though cost-heavy development is sustainableLook for alternative business models, beyond selling BigData analytics feed

3

Consumer requirement identification• Most apps address ‘nice-to-have’ needs

and with storage space constraints, people don’t download these apps

Develop a ‘must-have’ need based core competency for the app, around which background features may be added

4

Responsiveness - update frequency• User reviews post-launch and technical

expertise of the development team in meeting the needs is crucial

Develop a sustainable and modifiable code with a team that is prompt in responding to development requirements

5

Factor Problems and Root Causes Solution


Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario

DAWN OF THE FUTURE (1/2)

FUTURE OF APPS : A bubble that is waiting to burst or a fad that is here to stay??

The estimated world population vs mobile device

population by the year 2016*

7.3Bworld

10BMobile device

For every 1 person in the world, we would have 1.4

mobile devices

Jul-13 Jun-14 ^20170

50100150200250300

50 75

268

App downloads (in bil-lions)*

^ - expected

A 560% increase in one and half years in terms of app

downloads

2014 201605

1015202530

11.4

24.5

Expected Revenue through apps (in billion

dollars)*

A 215% increase in two years in terms of expected

revenue

According to these data, the future of mobile apps looks bright and increasing at a healthy pace.

THE HARD FACTS

The other side of the coin

Acquiring the first few thousand users are easy, but post that it costs app startups anywhere between 250K to a million USD#, just to make a play in the app based services space.

*Source - http://businessdegrees.uab.edu

There aren’t that many app-focused incubators anymore. Also, the ones that are present are indistinguishable from other accelerators. This marks the end of low-level entry opportunity.

Start up issues

“Facebook will be the gateway for content, and Google will be the gateway for transactions in the future. Content is useful and helping users find that is interesting. But if you can enable a transaction, well, you’ve hit a goldmine.” - Vijay Anand, founder and CEO of The Startup Centre


Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario

FUTURE OF APPS : A bubble that is waiting to burst or a fad that is here to stay??

With increase in the review rates by app users and geo-targeted push notifications, app marketers could step up their game with increased personalization. Also, with more sophisticated tools for collecting and analyzing in-app data, they are getting to know their users preferences and are much more empowered to tailor messages to increase app usage.

Productivity apps Immersive appsUtility apps

OUR TWO CENTS

REVIEWS AND PERSONALIZATION : VITAL FOR SUCCESS UTILITY APPS : THE FORGOTTEN HERO

VIDEO MARKETING : ‘KILLING’ IT NICELY INTERNET OF THINGS : IS IT A THREAT TO APPS?

With video previews being the new ‘IN thing’ in Apple’s app store, we predict that we might see a full video adoption for app marketing. Looking at the leader in the video streaming market, YouTube, the mobile traffic is expected to hit 50-60% , with 98% of watching video on their smartphone. The video ad market is expected to hit $2.7B by 2017, YouTube will be a key platform for advertisers for apps.

Fitness trackers. Smart watches. Health monitors. The wearables got a lot of attention this year. The Internet of Things (IoT) has already taken off, but it is the future of IoT that is the concern. From innovations like Google Glass and the connected car, to the slew of new smart watches, the future of mobile apps looks to integrate them seamlessly into our lives. So, are apps dead? Certainly not. Is the context of app usage changing? Yes.

Utility apps are found in every mobile phones and most mobile devices nowadays comes with many implicitly installed utility apps. Tapping into utility apps and making it upgraded could draw traction to it and help in increasing app downloads in future.

DAWN OF THE FUTURE (2/2)


Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario

MARKETING: PRE-LAUNCH PHASE

Microsite containing USPs of the app and minimum interactive features Low investment in market research and competitor analyses

Development blog with regular updates about versions-in-progress of the app

Identifying niche bloggers and social network admins who would mention/write about the app

Rewarding active beta testers and offering them early sign-ups

Absence of a feedback loop of beta testers and early app users

Using unique keywords for the app name

App store optimization

Absence of a realistic release date

Absence of a precise and lucidly detailed description

Absence of organic acquisition of users

Lack of search engine marketing and absence in mobile advertisement platforms


Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario

SUCCESS OF AN APP (1/3)

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

Coexist, not compete

Offer services that current apps offer in a bigger, better package

Engage potential customers on the microsite with interactive features and experience

Provide sneak peaks, previews, invite-based downloads, teaser videos for exclusivity

Invite tech reviewers and blogs to review the new app – the good and the bad both

Build in social sharing so users can brag about any new experience with the app

Encourage feedback from customers and beta testers and incorporate modifications

More than a complete package Encourage users to brag

Microsite Matters Rave reviews Heed the Feedback

MARKETING: Launch Phase



Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario

MARKETING: POST LAUNCH PHASE

Analyze the number of users who retain the app after a month of the release to compare it with predicted figures during pre-launch phase

Release regular updates to keep users and customers engaged and interested

Work towards having some content work offline in the app, This will help in caching requests and responses which will make it easier to retrieve and present content to the user without having to make a network request

Do not overdo push notifications. Too many notifications can irritate users and prompt them to uninstall the app. Work towards having a robust customer response and support system.

Send emails to potential reviewers, users, customers and testers. Start with friends of the current users. Encourage users to email their reviews to their friends list.

Analyze the customer journey map – what is the maximum executable activity on the app. Improve the value of the app by providing more similar actionable items.


Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario



Dawn of the Future

Success of an App


App-market scenario

APPlicable or not?

Why?

Increasing smartphone penetration and internet user base

On an average, more time spent on mobile than computers due to increased mobility of devices

Slow internet in India and other developing countries hampers website browsing

APP-FIRST, APP-ONLY OR OTHERWISE

Upcoming trends

Accelerated Mobile Pages, which display rich high quality but light weight websites with improved mobile web performance

WebLight, which helps in display of websites in lower, easily loading quality

Aggregator apps which display preferred website content and store them for offline views too

Why not?

Decreasing free storage due to explosion of apps in each category

Rise of app indifference due to excess apps in every usable category

Additional download costs & apps requiring constant data usage to stay updated disillusions users

App-only strategy is only a fad, not a long term solution as more apps lead to customer confusion and

disillusionment

Websites are both more developer-friendly and user-friendly

With technology, websites are getting lighter on mobile browsers. Also, internet is becoming faster.

Our

Take

Thank you

Business

Mobile apps - Breaking away from the clutter