Too many people think of themselves as mobile developers or that they work at mobile companies.
I’m in the restaurant business. My job is help people get the food or drink they want, and be as minimal part of their experience as possible.
Maybe you have competitors that are larger and have better mobile apps? Maybe you have competitors that are smaller than us that have better apps? How do you fix it?
First – Be Inspired
One of my favorite reads is Where Good Ideas Come From, by Steven Johnson. Assuming you don’t want to pause reading this blog and spend three hours reading that book, watch 90 seconds from his TED talk:
That lesson, about how eureka moments come from combining technological advances with societal shifts, should remind us that there are no shortage of new ideas – just a shortage of people looking for them.
Second – Stop Navel Gazing
First, if anyone on your team answers “My favorite mobile app is our own” you should stop asking their opinion. Mine was Great Clips. What is yours?
Third – Don’t Keep Up with the Joneses
“Good artists copy, Great artists steal” What do you think this means? It means you may not be the first to try something, but you did it so well that everyone thinks of you when they see that style.
Don’t just copy the competition just because they’re doing something. You have to start with why.
Fourth – Appreciate Your Time
- There are dozens of companies that will whitelabel you a mobile app.
- Every hour you spend on something is one less hour on something else.
- Are you really the expert?
- Does doing this in-house give you a competitive advantage?
- If you had no baggage/legacy/existing infrastructure, you’d clearly go with door A – but what if you’ve already have 5/10/25 years of software in your stack?
Fifth – Don’t Overvalue Your Roadmap
It’s incredibly tempting to create a road map when you’re driving a software product. You get to reap the glory of announcing desired features without even a downpayment of work. It takes no design, no consideration, or even discipline to respond to feature requests by making them a bullet point on a road map. It’s like buying goodwill on credit, but what you don’t pay for now, you’ll pay for later with interest.
DHH, of 37 Signals, says it best: “You don’t need a product road map”. Of course don’t blindly take that sentence as gospel, but don’t become obsessed with your roadmap – be comfortable with the pivot.
Last – Love the Disruption
Your app’s potential comes from whatever positive (for you) disruption you can create. Groove has some amazing data points that remind us why learning from our customers is the best way to know if your disruption is sparking joy:
- While happy customers might tell nine friends, unhappy customers, on average, tell sixteen.
- Businesses that grow their customer retention rates by as little as 5% typically see profit increases ranging from 25% to 95%.
- 86% of customers will pay more for a better customer experience.
- 32% of social media users who contact a brand expect a response within 30 minutes, and 42% expect a response within 60 minutes.
