Launching A New App For Your Business: 3 Essential Steps 

Many modern businesses will now utilise an app of some kind. This could be an app that they have released themselves, or they may have partnered with an app for their own benefit. Consider how many restaurants are now linked to delivery apps, for example. If you’ve decided to launch an app for your own business, you may wonder how to make it happen. There are three essential steps for the launch of an app. This article will explore them further for your benefit.

The Development Stage

One of the first things you should consider is what app you want. You may have a rough idea, but you should spend time fine-tuning it so you can start planning it effectively. The planning stage will likely take a while, and there will be lots to think about.

Consider your business and what purpose your app will have. Will it help with ordering products, or will it help provide an essential service? Understanding what you want will help you develop the app the way you have envisioned. On a similar note, you should also spend time thinking about your ideal target audience. 

Developing the app will be no easy task. It is likely you will need to partner with IT and app specialists to help code and design your app. There are a lot of considerations when designing an app, and you should sit with the development team regularly to go over these points and make it clear what you want. This will also be the best time for them to update you about the development process. 

This process may take time, so you should be aware of dates and goals ahead of time. Don’t promise your customers a date you can’t keep, as this will hurt your branding. Wait until you have a solid release date, and ensure the app is ready to go. 

The Launch Stage

Once your app has been planned, and you’re happy with the development, it could be time to launch. That’s not to say that you have to undergo a full launch. Instead, you could soft launch the app as a beta. This means letting people use the app without it yet being fully released. This is a great way for you to find out if everything is working as intended or if you will need to fix anything before full release.

You may also find some bugs or security issues that will need addressing sooner rather than later. It’s good to find these now, as you can still make changes without harming your product’s success chances. For this reason, many app developers stress test their app before release by trying to break it. The more people that are able to stress test the app, the more likely any issues can be fast.

When it comes to cybersecurity and protecting the digital interests of your business, it will be key to ensure your technology is up to date, and that you have processes in place. This could come in the form of IT support. You should partner with an IT support expert such as Texaport. They offer cyber support and can help manage your IT network, reducing any downtime. This can ensure you can focus on the app and that you are securely connecting to your internal network. 

Once you are happy with the bug testing and beta launch of the app, you will then have to consider how you will fully launch the app. You should set a date and start marketing the app. Depending on what the app is, there would be a few different ways to do this. It could be paid adds via social media, or it could be via newsletters to your existing customers. 

The Feedback Stage

After launching your app for a while, it will be in your best interest to seek feedback. This feedback will likely be different to the beta launch, as you will have reached more people. You can find feedback about your app in a few different ways. If your app has been launched onto the Apple or Android store, you can read reviews there.

You should also ask those who download and use your app for feedback. This could be via prompts on the app, or it could be via emails and on your website. Direct feedback from your customers may be more useful, but it will be best to get everything possible.

Getting customer feedback, in general, will be useful. There are tips to help you get feedback, and it’s important that you listen to them. For example, you could issue surveys or offer live chat support. That’s not to say that you should change everything based on reviews, but you should see if there is a pattern that shows something needs changing.

If you decide that something needs changing, and it likely will, you should start looking into updates sooner rather than later. All apps will go through different versions and update constantly, so don’t feel like this is a failure, it’s more of an evolution. Consider all that was mentioned, and your app should be a success.