Cost of Developing a Fitness App

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A fitness app is a mobile, desktop, or web application that lets users track their health and fitness activities or workouts.

A fitness app meets your health and fitness activities. Fitness apps mainly consist of features for tracking workouts, monitoring physiological body rates, and logging exercises.

Fitness apps share one or more features with health and wellness apps. Some popular fitness apps include Fooducate, MyFitnessPal, Glo, Zones for Training, and Sworkit.

What’s the Typical Cost of Building a Fitness App?

The cost of a fitness app will vary depending on depth, scope, and target users. In addition, app development costs will vary from one app development partner to another.

However, although there are variations in the cost of fitness apps, most vendors or designers will charge an average of $15,000 to develop a solid fitness app. However, this cost is variable. A fitness app can range from as high as $30,000 to as low as $5,000.

In addition, an app with a limited number of features, also called a minimum viable product MVP, will be more affordable and easy to test than an app with extended functionality.

So, it’s advisable to weigh your options before settling for a fitness app.

Factors Affecting the Cost of a Fitness App

Many factors affect the cost of a fitness app. It’s crucial to understand the average hours and total costs (or individual costs) incurred in developing a fitness app to account for the total costs.

Building an efficient and fully scalable fitness app demands an end-to-end understanding of individual material costs as well as the hours of labor. Here are additional factors that will ultimately affect your fitness app development cost.

1. Platform choice

The platform where you’ll launch your app – whether Android or Ios is a defining factor in estimating the cost of your fitness app. Android and IOS are two leading platforms dominating the mobile app marketplace.

Creating an app for each version will take double the time and cost. That’s because you need specific programming languages for the web, mobile, and desktop computers. It’s advisable to choose cross-platform development solutions unless your project is large-scale or whether it targets specific Android and IOS users.

Fitness App Development Costs – Cross-Platform vs. Native
Platform Cross Platform Native
Development Hours Development Costs Development Hours Development Costs
Android + IOS + Web 600 – 800 $150,000 – $250,000 750 – 1000 $200,000 to $300,000 (and $20,000 extra for additional platforms).

 

2. Type of fitness app

You can also calculate the cost of your fitness app based on fitness category levels. Knowing the fitness app type you want to develop can substantially improve your expenditure throughout the project.

Here are some popular fitness app categories and their average costs.

Fitness app category Fitness app sub-category Average cost
Wearable apps Heart monitoring $15,000 – $50,000
Oxygen monitoring
Pulse monitoring
Fitness activity tracking apps Run tracking apps $30,000 – $125,000
Cycling tracking apps
Gym tracking apps
Workout and fitness apps Personal training apps $50,000 – $100,000
Exercise apps
Gym workout apps
Nutrition and diet apps Diet apps $15,000 – $90,000
Food intake app
Nutrition app
Yoga apps Mixed yoga apps $10,000 – $25,000
Yoga workouts
Yoga for beginners
Meditation apps For breathing $20,000 – $100,000
For sleep
For mindfulness

 

3. Location of the developer

Finally, the location of your fitness app developer will affect your app development costs. Developers from different regions tend to have different hourly rates.

Generally, countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia tend to charge on the higher end, while developers from India and Ukraine charge relatively lower.

Always work with trusted experts for the best possible solution for your fitness app.

Launching a New Product? 11 Reasons to Have a Mobile App

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The product life cycle stages provide a benchmark for understanding the product development process. The product life cycle stages include a market introduction, market growth, market maturity, and market decline.

The different stages of a product’s lifecycle pose discrete challenges. The commonly cited challenges with launching a new product include ideation, product roadmap problems, market viability, workflow management, product engineering issues, and the pace of innovation.

So, when launching a new product, you want to be careful not to miss out on any vital points that may affect its adoption. A mobile app is critical for launching a new product, be it software, hardware, consumer electronics, or merchandise.

Mobile apps allow brands and business leaders to actively connect and engage with their target audiences, building the base for future business. Mobile apps provide an interaction platform, connecting prospective customers (and markets) with brand owners.

So, here are eleven reasons to have a mobile app when launching a new product:

1. Customer loyalty

Enterprises operating in competitive market landscapes must go an extra mile to remain visible and competitively positioned. For brands starting in fresh markets, it’s important to think of something to stand out: a gem that distinguishes you from the rest.

Mobile apps can offer start-ups and brands leverage when launching a new product. For instance, apps can lead to repeat business and bolster referrals. In addition, apps can foster new product and service adoption, especially when users share promotions, new products, and new deals.

There’s no doubt that your brand can accurately forecast long-term business outcomes when it has a loyal customer base. So, aim for a well-designed and customized app for your target customers. When launching products, this app may make a difference between a successful product launch and a failure!

2. Improved communication

Mobile apps act as crucial avenues for marketing communication. With mobile apps, you don’t have to overburden your email support because you have an extra communication channel.

In essence, mobile apps can communicate to a wide range of stakeholders, internal and external. With tailored communication and strategic response forums, mobile apps provide the convenience and flexibility of responding on the go. So, regardless of whether you’re catching a flight or traveling by train, you can always follow up on crucial office proceedings with a mobile app.

3. Marketing outreach

Mobile apps are indisputably the best single source of marketing truth. With mobile apps, you don’t have to worry about reaching hundreds, maybe thousands of potential customers, brands, partners, and suppliers. You can do that at a go.

Mobile apps afford enterprises and brands the flexibility, convenience, and agility of connecting with markets and other brands. It’s through mobile apps that you can foster your marketing outreach. Today, most consumers are connected to digital mobile platforms, making mobile a frontier in marketing communications.

4. Online shopping

When launching a new product, brands specify authorized suppliers, including stores, malls, shops, and hypermarkets that stock these specific products. Unfortunately, traditional product launches relied on complex supply chain lines.

The unpredictability and uncertainty of global supply chains continue to impede successful product marketing and distribution. Mobile apps are bridging this gap by offering online shopping options. So, when launching a new product (or service), your mobile app can be utilized as a distribution frontier.

The digitization of supply chain downstream activities has made it easier for brands to connect with customers. Digitizing distribution, sourcing, and supply continue to close gaps between production and consumption, making production and manufacturing seamless and surprisingly rewarding.

5. Brand image

Mobile apps improve brand image by offering interactive and intuitive interfaces to display products. In addition, mobile apps encompass diverse audiences and outreach, enabling emerging brands to reach a diverse audience. Product launches that use mobile apps experience better brand images because of accessibility, outreach, and product scope.

6. Customer visibility

Mobile apps are critical tools for obtaining insightful and actionable feedback, including customer behavioral patterns. Evaluating customer feedback and use patterns is a primary part of launching a new product. However, few brands and enterprises can successfully collect, collate, and report customer behavior to improve product launches and adoption levels.

Mobile apps allow you to collect insightful metrics: customer use patterns, pricing options, user behavior, market adoption, and competition levels. With mobile apps, you can gather and record customer responses, and obtain nifty product usage metrics, including product defects, failures, and inefficiencies.

7. Employee loyalty

There’s no doubt that workplaces are evolving with new technologies – blockchain, virtualization, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics. The desire for employees to learn, adapt and evolve with time is propelled by new technologies that help organizations automate their workplaces.

Unfortunately, not all organizations are undertaking improvements in technology adoption. Published research shows that employees exposed to new, exciting technologies are more loyal and committed. In addition, the study shows that workplaces that adopt modern equipment, technology, and processes enjoy better employee loyalty.

8. Omnichannel shopping approach

Brands and enterprises are using the omnichannel shopping approach to give customers a seamless shopping experience across all their devices – smartphones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and smart TVs.

Omnichannel access lets customers shop remotely. This is because customers can access products on-the-go through smartphone devices. With omnichannel access, customers can shop for products online using their mobile phones. Mobile apps reinforce omnichannel shopping, helping customers access products without visiting stores.

9. Customer relationship management

The customer relationship management domain is forever changing. The emergence of technical support software and remote helpdesk support has changed the face of traditional CRM.

However, the most disruptive technology in the customer relationship management domain is the mobile app. The mobile app connects people, places, and platforms. Its interoperability with other channels, including digital social channels, volatility, and versatility make mobile apps critical for connecting customers with technical support teams.

So, when launching a new product, you must view an app as a strategic tool for managing your customer relationships. Brands and organizations are leveraging mobile apps to foster their approach to customer relations. Mobile apps help CRM personnel handle inquiries, process complaints, report issues, and provide timely resolutions.

10. Employee training

Human resources face the challenge of providing upgraded training and learning materials to employees, especially when introducing them to new products, technology, or markets.

However, you can eliminate these challenges by using e-learning apps that allow employees to learn about new products, new work models, and methodologies.

E-learning mobile apps like Huddle, Udemy, Skill Pill, and BoostHQ ensure that employees have access to similar learning materials, regardless of where they’re. So, when launching a new product, a mobile app can streamline the process of educating your workforce on the ins and outs of the product.

11. Fostering employee commitment

The Technology Acceptance Model TAM terms usefulness and ease of use as the two most important factors for successful tech adoption. Your employees or customers will uptake your new product if it’s easy to use and functional or practical to them.

When launching a new product, foster your workforce’s commitment with a mobile app. By deploying a mobile app, you show your employees that you care about modernizing your workplace.

Improving your employee commitment will go a long way in accelerating the adoption and use of a new product. As a result, it’s advisable not to decouple employee engagement from the product initiation and adoption processes.

NS804 – Transforming Enterprises with Mobile Apps

NS804 provides custom-built mobile apps. NS804 designs and deploys functional, easy-to-use mobile apps that answer the trickiest question your business has to ask.

So, if you’re looking to create your first mobile app, don’t hesitate.

Contact NS804 for quotations and inquiries about your next project.

Could Your Teams Really Be More Productive with an App?

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The mobile app revolution has taken the world by storm. Organizations, institutions, governments, and businesses have been forced to adapt to this shift to meet ever-changing productivity needs.

Internet penetration rates coupled with an accelerated uptake of smartphone technologies are some of the forces that have propelled the accelerated adoption of mobile apps. Organizations are shifting their focus to target online consumers.

Brands and business leaders view mobile apps as a new frontier of customer engagement and brand loyalty. However, a key highlight of mobile apps has been their ability to improve customer engagement, leading to improved employee productivity.

Today, more than ever, teams are viewing mobile apps as productivity machines.

Here are some of the ways mobile apps are helping employees and teams work more productively:

1. Mobile apps improve employee engagement

Employees are likely to be engaged when they’re immersed in evolving workplaces that use modern tools to simplify and automate processes. New software, new systems, and hardware upgrades help employees be more engaged with the brand and the workplace, boosting performance and productivity.

Similarly, mobile apps help employees be more engaged by providing new communication avenues. When employees communicate via mobile channels, they feel connected and lively. This ignites them and motivates them to contribute the best and grow with the company.

Mobile app adoption is a clear sign that an organization is growing; this is surely an incentive for employee motivation and engagement.

2. Mobile apps improve efficiency

There’s no doubt that mobile apps improve efficiency by eliminating recurring, mundane tasks. Traditional systems took hours to process documents. Machines took hours to process workloads and handle workflows.

However, today, with mobile apps, manufacturing shop floors are improving their efficiency. Programmed instructions are controlled by mobile apps, helping shop floors become more efficient in handling and processing workloads.

Improved efficiency leads to employee motivation and engagement. Eliminating repetitive and mundane tasks helps employees to focus on other value-adding activities. So, the infusion of mobile apps improves operational efficiency, strengthening bonds between employees and their workplaces.

3. Remote accessibility

Mobile apps enable employees to collaborate on shared tasks and projects, regardless of where they’re. Cloud computing enables easy storage and sharing of files and documents remotely, helping teams to be more agile and efficient. The accessibility achieved by cloud technology enables teams to be more progressive, especially when working on field projects.

So, in industries like research, anthropology, metrology, medicine, and even health sciences, remote data collection and data analysis are made possible and more efficient by the cloud.

The presence of cloud storage and computing technologies streamlines the end-to-end process of collecting and processing field data. These and many other capabilities define new productivity trends in contemporary industries.

4. Connected data

Previously, organizations, institutions, and governments banked on different software solutions to store and manage data on many business functions: payroll, customer transactions, security, inventory, supply chain, and accounting.

However, today, the emergence of custom apps enables organizations to integrate their varied data into a single-source platform. Employees can access different information and data from a single interface, improving their productivity and performance on multiple fronts.

So, the easy accessibility of information and data has eliminated siloed departments. The interoperability of information systems afforded by mobile apps continues to free departments and workforces from siloed systems. This form of liberation has helped teams be more productive and efficient in their routine undertakings.

5. Processing complex workflows

The emergence of mobile apps has helped organizations handle complex workflows. For instance, Huddle mobile app enables your workforce to manage and be in control of all the workflows.

Huddle helps employees understand what tasks are in demand, which projects need to be delegated, which tasks need to be reviewed, and what workflows need to be managed. Mobile apps like Huddle enable business leaders to remain in control of complex workflows without going to their office desks.

6. Work-life balance

Social life plays an important role in keeping people connected. Most importantly, your social life detaches you from everyday work or routine. For employees, working from Monday to Friday can be a pain in the rear, especially when the job involves doing routine tasks.

Mobile apps help employees reignite touches with reality. It helps employees detach from that monotonous cycle of work and connect with the social world. This momentary detachment can prove worthwhile when handling complex projects.

So, mobile apps like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest can enhance workplace productivity by enhancing employees’ moods and feelings.

7. Education and training

Designing, deploying, monitoring, and measuring the performance of an employee training program is time-consuming and costly. Human resources spend countless hours strategizing on employee training and education programs.

Luckily, employees can tap into mobile apps as potential learning avenues. Mobile apps such as Skill Pill, Udemy, Boost HQ, and Design Jot are all classic e-learning apps your employees can use.

Honing your workforce’s skills through readily available tools gives you competitive positioning in a dynamically changing environment. In addition, using mobile apps for knowledge acquisition and skill development may prove advantageous for gaining a strategic competitive advantage.

8. Reduce errors and improve product quality

It’s time to consider upgrading to an automated processing system if your organization still relies on a manual paper-filing system. Organizations are adopting mobile apps to gain visibility into performance metrics, eliminate errors, and improve product quality.

Mobile apps provide transparency helping to identify problems before they occur. In what is known as predictive maintenance, the existence of smart tools that detect inefficiencies, lags, and inaccuracies in machine parts, has helped production workflows be more accurate. So, mobile apps are the new frontier for eliminating errors and improving product quality.

9. Metrics monitoring

There’s a popular saying that states you cannot improve or manage what you cannot measure. This saying is true for most things, business performance, growth, and productivity included.

Business leaders cannot evaluate the progress of their returns, turnovers, and performance without clear and actionable data. In addition, organizations cannot know where to improve without actionable metrics.

Mobile apps collect, collate, process, and report consumer and market data. Some of the datasets that mobile apps can collect and process include but are not limited to: consumer behavior, adoption rates, pricing options, market strategies, and customer and product categorization.

10. Decision-making

Big data has brought intelligence to business decision-making. Organizations are using data to make informed decisions that drive critical business processes.

Case in point, customer behavioral patterns can be used to improve product design processes, especially in clothing, merchandise, and consumer electronics. In addition, procurement patterns drive supply chain decisions, especially on supplier selection and contract management processes.

Mobile apps provide insightful feedback on business processes, helping employees make informed business decisions. Middle-level employees like managers can use mobile app data to obtain meaningful insight into the performance of lower-level employees. So, mobile apps are instrumental in management decision-making.

11. Productivity gains

In a study to analyze the strength of productivity apps, the results showed that mobile apps help improve productivity by helping employees know where they spend their time.

The study notes that recently, productivity apps have become the norm. And while some may feel that these apps work from the placebo effect, productivity apps have three impacts on employees: accountability, improvement, and assessment.

The study found that mobile apps reduced stress and anxiety. In addition, reported evidence has shown that app-based remediation and mindfulness help foster better performance and productivity improvements in employees. This study is evidence that mobile apps provide newer and fresh solutions to performance and productivity in workforces.

You can contact NS804 for mobile app design and development solutions.

Transitioning to Apps? Tips for Training Employees

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The Technology Adoption Model TAM answers perhaps the trickiest question about tech adoption: why are employees reluctant to adopt technology or unwilling to partake in new technologies?

Based on documented research and empirical evidence, two factors propel people to adopt new technology: perceived usefulness and ease of use. People adopt technologies if they perceive them as handy and easy to use. Your employees are likely to adopt mobile apps if they perceive them as useful or easy-to-use.

So, when deploying a new technology that’s complex or sophisticated, you’ll find that your employees are somewhat reluctant to adapt or learn. While the ever-evolving and improving access to new technology, including mobile apps, is critical for businesses, it’s frustrating for employees.

The key is knowing how to train and equip your employees with the right skills. So, if you’re transitioning to mobile apps, here are some tips for training your employees.

Tips for training employees:

1. Trainers need to know the mobile apps themselves

A vital part of successful change management training is equipping trainers with the relevant skills, knowledge, and proficiency. Your employees cannot excel in mobile app training if the trainers are not competent in handling this transition.

So, in conducting an organizational-wide overhaul of mobile app training, ensure that your trainers are competent professionals proficient in high-end software and best-in-class hardware.

2. Make training a priority

A majority of organizations assume that by asking their employees to reserve time off and learn new software, the employees will automatically alter their schedule in favor of education or learning.

The truth is that employees will forgo learning in favor of their daily work. To succeed in a solid change management training plan, you must allocate the resources and time required for employees to learn.

Make learning a priority by ensuring that the training program is carefully packaged, well-designed and comprehensive in its reach and scope. In addition, offer incentives for the training by conducting tests and rewarding the winners. Incentives will encourage active learning and training.

3. Set realistic deadlines and roll-outs

It’s crucial to set clear and realistic deadlines on project deliverables. Ensure that your employees understand the training aims and goals and meet the underlying course objectives.

For instance, if you’re training them on mobile app security, ensure they can spell out mobile security measures and implement security practices around mobile app use.

Engaging your employees to gauge their understanding of mobile apps is crucial in evaluating the impact of the training. In addition, when rolling out a new mobile app, ask your employees to download it and interact with it days before launching it.

4. Improve learner engagement

Last but not least, improve your learner engagement. That will help your employees appreciate your mobile app transition. Your employees don’t want to be stuck for hours learning how to download, deploy, or manage mobile apps.

Instead, they’re interested in what the mobile app can do in real-time. So, request your employees under training to order product(s) from the app directly and schedule deliveries. You can use these deliveries as incentives to reinforce the learning and training. You can introduce creative and exciting ways to learn, including active demonstrations.

NS804 – Transforming Your Mobile App Experience

NS804 offers custom-built mobile apps for businesses of all sizes and sophistication. Inquire from NS804 the solutions and offers they provide if you’re embarking on your next mobile app design project.

NS804 guides clients, organizations, institutions, governments, and businesses on mobile app design and development. We help clients curate the best-of-breed apps for their establishments, regardless of purpose, sector, or size.

And if you’re transitioning to mobile apps, we advise that you equip your workforce with the relevant mobile app training and education. The forever-changing mobile landscape demands that employees remain proactive to new solutions.

Contact NS804 for inquiries and solutions on mobile app design and development.

Minimum Viable Products: How to Find Ideas & Innovate with Your MVP

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Minimum viable products, when done right, can help companies validate products and new ideas with limited financial risk. Often referred to as MVPs, these products offer users bare-minimum functionality. Moreover, they’re implemented by startups to attract early adopters and to test their most feasible ideas.

But as an appreneur or enterprise, should you develop minimum viable products? The short answer is a clear yes! And that’s because you’re never sure if your next app idea will resonate with users. So, you don’t want to invest money and time into a fully-fledged app that has the potential to fail. Instead, you want to ascertain whether or not your app will succeed, and that’s only possible with an MVP.

Now, if you decide to forge ahead with an MVP — how do you find ideas and create an app that will stand out? That’s the challenging part, but we provide a few handy tips below to help you get started!

1. Minimum Viable Products Solve Real-World Issues

What are some of the most famous brands in the tech space that began as MVPs? They are Airbnb, Facebook, and Twitter, which have become multi-billion dollar enterprises. And all of these started from humble beginnings intending to solve a problem.

The founders of Airbnb experienced problems with renting apartments but eventually discovered that short-term accommodations were the way forward. Thus, they created the Airbnb platform to facilitate the convenient and relatively frictionless process of renting accommodations via their website or app.

Facebook allowed college students to communicate with each other and post messages on their boards. And while Facebook wasn’t the only network that did this, it was user-friendly enough to attract a wider audience and grow exponentially. Today, it’s the largest social media platform with 2.9 billion monthly active users globally.

And in Twitter’s case, it began as an internal micro-blogging platform for Odeo, a startup operating in the podcast space. The platform improved employee collaboration to such an extent that its developers decided to treat it as a stand-alone product.

A common trait of Airbnb, Facebook, and Twitter was that they all solved a unique real-world issue, and they solved it well. And what we can all learn from this is that the best MVP app ideas come as a response to pain points we experience frequently.

2. Never Assume, Always Test Your Ideas

You may have lucked out on a great and unique idea that would make your closest competitors green with envy. So you assume that if you forge ahead with development, you’ll end up with a killer app. Unfortunately, that’s likely wishful thinking, especially if you haven’t released an MVP and received feedback from users.

Even the most rudimentary features and updates should undergo testing. Don’t forget to implement analytics in your app while concurrently collecting user feedback. The more data you have about your app and users, the better informed you’ll be about whether your ideas work and if you need to make any other changes.

3. Follow The MVP Improvement Cycle

In order to innovate, you must move quickly and adopt the MVP improvement cycle model. And that’s especially true if you want to create apps that will sustain interest long term. Thus, it’s wise to commence with rapid development, conduct user testing, then continuously improve your app.

Along the way, especially during the user testing phase, you may encounter harsh criticism from your audience. Don’t be alarmed or discouraged, as this feedback may pinpoint serious issues with your app that you need to look into further. If you’ve become accustomed to the MVP improvement cycle, you’ll implement these changes quickly and possibly innovate on your base idea.

In Conclusion

Minimum viable products truly do help appreneurs and enterprises validate their ideas without having to invest heavily. And if an idea does resonate with users, then the door is wide open to take the MVP to the next level. Meaning, that it can become a popular and profitable app that engages users worldwide. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you transform your best ideas into phenomenal apps!

Engagement and Apps: 5 Reasons Why You Need One

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The mobile app creation journey is a challenging but exciting exercise. Creating a successful mobile app needs talent: it needs you to examine and solve a market need. Successful mobile apps satisfy a specific need; they also have simplicity and customization. Social integration, superior performance, and security are other high-ranking features of a successful mobile app.

It’s important to ask ourselves what makes an app successful. What features, attributes or functions substantiate an app as successful? Well, to answer this question, we must first ask ourselves why apps are designed and why organizations invest thousands (if not millions) in app design, deployments, marketing, and maintenance.

The purpose of any app is customer engagement. All apps aim to connect the target audience to a specific brand, be it the app itself, an organization, a product, or a service – all apps aim at creating reputation and hype around a brand. So, the primary purpose of a mobile app is customer engagement.

So, if you’re one of those people who’re running a start-up, you know just how vital engagement can be, especially when starting. Having a customized mobile for your business helps you reignite touches with clients. A custom-built mobile app lets you access remote markets digitally, connect with customers on social platforms, and build trust with stakeholders.

Here are five reasons you need engagement and apps:

1. Customer visibility

You cannot access customers without mobile apps. That is why top boy retail outlets like Amazon, Costco, Walmart, and Target are utilizing mobile apps to keep up with new customer demands. With mobile apps, your business can access online customers, reignite touches with social media users, and ultimately strengthen its brand through new outreach.

2. Remote accessibility

Mobile apps can be accessed remotely with the help of an internet connection. Easy accessibility to your business merchandise, products, or services via an app is what makes mobile apps a prime highlight of the modern-age business landscape.

Imagine having a catalog of products or services that can be accessed remotely via a mobile phone or a tablet? Your customers, suppliers, employees, and partners can order or receive anything regardless of where they’re.

3. Innovation culture

Engagement apps can positively impact your company’s culture. Employees see it as modernizing the workplace and they will be readily willing to undertake new technologies in the future. The technology acceptance model TAM states that two factors drive people to adapt to new technology: ease of use and perceived usefulness.

So, by introducing engagement apps, you’re essentially setting your employees up for success as far as future technology adoption is concerned. You’re building a culture of innovation and adaptability.

4. Remote metric measurement

Today, most decisions are data-driven. Organizations are relying on readily available data to make marketing, procurement, and hiring decisions. Data runs strategic business functions: marketing, sales, research, operations, and human resources.

An engagement app allows you to collect, collate, analyze, and report critical metrics, including user patterns, product adoption trends, price changes, and customer feedback. Apps provide you access to actionable metrics that you can use to bolster business performance and productivity.

5. Streamlining communication

Mobile apps are robust platforms to support both internal and external communications. Mobile apps can offload the work done by internal email support, including giving feedback, sending guidelines, sharing projects, and clarifying issues.

Mobile apps provide an additional communication channel to organizations struggling with few communication layers. Start-ups especially can use mobile apps to bolster their communication with customers.

Mobile apps are evolving as robust and efficient customer relationship solutions, strengthening bonds between brands and their most valued customers.

NS804 – Leading Mobile App Solution Providers

NS804 is a leading provider of custom-built mobile apps. With years of experience designing, curating, and reviewing mobile apps for individuals and businesses, NS804 is a renowned and reputable service provider.

Contact NS804 to know how to get started with engagement and apps.

Mobile App Upgrade: 5 Signs That Your App Needs Improvements

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A mobile app upgrade may either excite or scare you. It may excite you if you’re eager to introduce new features and enhancements. And scare you if you’re anticipating many issues and roadblocks when upgrading your app.

Now, unless you’re not planning on sunsetting your app, it’s best to forego the fear and forge ahead with the upgrade process. And that’s because you want to keep your app relevant to retain existing users and attract new users.

1. A New Design Requires A Mobile App Upgrade

If you haven’t updated your mobile app in a while, it probably has an outdated user interface (UI). And that’s no good, as users may equate an outdated UI with a low-quality app. Furthermore, users accustomed to modern design conventions may have difficulty navigating your app in its current state. 

So you must have a proficient designer on your team or work with an established studio such as NS804 to refresh your app’s design. And then create an easy-to-navigate and modern UI that even non-tech savvy users can comprehend at a glance.

2. Performance Issues 

Most users won’t put up with a poor-performing app and will eventually uninstall it from their devices if performance issues persist. But how do you determine if your app’s performing poorly?

Firstly, you should be asking users for feedback and collecting and diagnosing your app’s crash logs. And secondly, you should be looking out for the following issues: app runs slower than intended, audio and screen glitches, device overheats when the app runs, memory leaks, ongoing crashes, and storage errors, to name a few.

3. The Codebase Is Outdated And Difficult To Maintain

You should move ahead with a mobile app upgrade if you have an outdated codebase. And the reason for this is that it’s a maintenance nightmare to keep code that’s old. Moreover, you may have difficulty scaling your app and introducing new features with an older codebase.

And then, you should also consider migrating to more modern programming languages. For example, an Android app programmed in Java can become more readable and quicker to type if rewritten in Kotlin, a modern counterpart of Java. The same applies to an iOS app if you plan to migrate from Objective-C to Swift.

4. Support For Additional Platforms And Devices

Perhaps your mobile app only supports Android smartphones and tablets. But recently, some users have requested that you target Android TVs and even the latest generation of flip phones. Furthermore, iOS users have heard of your app and have requested a port for their platform. Under such circumstances, it’s a good idea to move ahead with a mobile app upgrade that properly utilizes this wide range of form factors and screen sizes. 

5. Introduce New Features And Tighten Up Security

Every OS update of Android and iOS presents yet another opportunity to move ahead with a mobile app upgrade. And that’s because newer versions of Android and iOS boast new features and enhanced security. So, users will often upgrade to these versions, especially when they purchase newer devices.

Furthermore, users will expect your app to take advantage of the latest OS features and enhancements. And you’d definitely want to do that, especially if you have a premium or paid app and a user base that quickly migrates to the latest OS.

In Conclusion

It may be time to forge ahead with that all-important mobile app upgrade if you’ve noticed any of the five signs mentioned earlier. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you handle this challenging but incredibly rewarding part of a mobile app’s lifecycle.

4 Reasons Why Retailers Should Be Using Mobile Apps

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Retailers don’t have it easy, as they need to navigate a competitive and uncertain business environment. And considering how much Covid-19 has impacted the retail space, the old ways of doing business no longer apply.

So what should business leaders do to sail the rough seas and come out ahead on the other side?

Firstly, all business leaders should learn about and embrace the latest mobile technologies. Secondly, they should assess how these technologies will fit their business needs and fulfill goals. And thirdly, they should work with an experienced developer, such as NS804, to create the right solutions for their needs.

For retailers, mobile apps can radically transform their businesses for the better. These apps can automate and enhance specific business processes, excite and expand the customer base, and introduce several m-commerce opportunities.

But it’s not only brick and mortar businesses that can benefit from mobile apps but also online retailers. And by online retailers, we don’t only mean those that sell and ship physical goods but also those that sell digital products. The versatility of mobile apps makes them ideal for a variety of businesses.

Now, we understand that it’s not always easy to pinpoint how mobile apps can serve your business. So we’ve compiled this handy list to help you identify the pain points your business and customers may experience and how mobile apps can mitigate or solve these issues.

1. Build An Ecosystem That Serves Your Business Entirely

Have you noticed how big tech companies have built walled gardens to herd their customers? Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others have gained tremendous leverage by locking users into their platforms. And even smaller players such as Funimation, Netflix, and Spotify have monopolized specific segments of the media streaming market.

Sure, all these platforms offer numerous opportunities for savvy businesses. But consider for a minute that you’re running an indie record label that has signed up several promising artists. You decide to make available recordings of these artists on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube Music. And this isn’t necessarily a bad move, as all these platforms have huge audiences you can reach.

However, you’re also driving business to these platforms, diminishing your brand, and limiting your potential revenue. And that’s because your customers can only get hold of your music on these platforms and not directly from you. Furthermore, the branding of each platform holder will always overshadow your brand. And with streaming services such as Spotify, you’ll receive a pittance every time a user streams songs from one of your artists.

The good news is that you can avoid all these issues by building a mobile app that your customers can download. Within the app, you may allow your customers to download or stream music and even purchase physical copies (on CD, tape, and vinyl) of albums. And any time you release a new album, you can notify your customers via in-app and pop-up notifications.

Ultimately, you’ll establish an ecosystem that serves your business and yours alone, which means that your customers remain yours. And a third party doesn’t get to determine how much you can earn, how you market your music, and how you reach fans.

2. Increase Your Cross-Selling Capabilities

Let’s stick to the indie record label example for now. And let’s consider how a mobile app can increase cross-selling of your products.

But you may ask, “How does cross-selling benefit a record label?”

It’s likely that fans will want to purchase merchandise such as caps, t-shirts, and posters of their favorite artists. It’s even possible to upsell, such as enticing a fan that has added a digital album to the cart to purchase the limited-edition vinyl release at a reduced price.

And how you go about cross-selling merchandise can take several forms with a mobile app.

You may notify fans with in-app and pop-up notifications whenever you have new merchandise available. And if these fans have opted in to receive emails, you can cross-sell merchandise via this additional avenue. When done right, an email marketing strategy can effectively drive customers down the sales funnel.

But since your mobile app will also have a database on the backend, you’ll have an accurate record of all your customers’ purchases. For customers that have bought one or more albums of a particular artist, you can target these customers specifically with merchandise. Thus, you don’t have to waste your marketing efforts on customers that prefer other artists or don’t bother purchasing merchandise.

Another way this data may aid you is by identifying the locations of your most loyal customers. And if you have the necessary funds available, you may decide to have artists perform gigs at these locations and set up a merchandising table at all live venues.

You may also set up a pop-up shop at a fair or mall for short-term selling and cross-selling purposes. In all cases, your app will serve as the hub to inform fans and merge your digital and physical endeavors.

3. AR & VR Benefits Clothing Retailers

Now let’s shift gears and focus on a more traditional business, such as a clothing retailer. If you’re running such a business, it’s likely that you’re operating out of a physical location such as a store in a mall or shopping street. And most, if not all of your customers, need to visit your store to try on and purchase your clothes and accessories.

While this is a common way clothing retailers do business, it’s not very efficient or forward-looking. But what will it take to change course and deliver a more convenient shopping experience to your customers? Thanks to the advent of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), it’s now possible to serve customers that live far away from your store.

You can craft a mobile app with AR or VR functionality that contains accurate 3D models of all the clothes and accessories you have in stock. And if the app has AR functionality, it will utilize the accelerometer and cameras of the phone to detect the customer’s physical form, angle, and view orientation.

Then, the customer will pick a clothing item displayed on the app, which will then show the item superimposed on top of the customer on the phone’s screen. The customer will also have the ability to adjust the fit, size, and color (if available) of the item on the fly. Once the customer is happy with how the item looks on them, they can add it to their cart or initiate a one-click purchase.

Now, you can ship the order and conduct an in-app survey soon after the customer receives the item to ascertain their satisfaction or lack thereof. Having this information will help you make changes to the products you offer and service levels if necessary.

4. Mobile Apps Power Up Fast-Food Restaurants

Finally, let’s focus on fast-food retailers of all shapes and sizes. Mobile apps have already proven their worth in this particular market segment. And with the many excellent food delivery apps available, customers have a growing appetite for quick and convenient food purchases.

A well-conceived fast-food mobile app allows customers to view an outlet’s menu and place orders with as few clicks as possible. Furthermore, all food items, descriptions, prices, images, and UI elements must be clear and crisp so that elderly customers and those with vision impairments can easily discern these and place orders.

But this mobile app isn’t only for placing orders, it’s also a powerful promotional tool. Instead of printing thousands of expensive full-color glossy flyers, you can promote your latest gourmet burger directly inside your app. Moreover, you can utilize animations, motion graphics, sounds, and a step-by-step video of how you make your gourmet burgers.

Not only is this more impactful than using printed materials, but customers can also tap on this visual promo, which will take them directly to the checkout page to complete their order. And that’s powerful because fast-food restaurants rely heavily on impulse sales.

In Conclusion

Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses through to online retailers can all benefit from having their own custom mobile app. The examples we’ve described above present a few of the possibilities that help enhance businesses. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create a mobile app that can transform your retail business for the better!

11 Things to Look for in an App Development Partner

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There are two outlooks in mobile app development: hiring an in-house team and outsourcing experts. The latter involves working with an established mobile app development partner; the partner takes you through the end-to-end process of mobile app development, deployment, maintenance, and promotion.

When it comes to start-ups or businesses that cannot take their eyes off the bottom line, you should work with an outsourced expert. Outsourcing experts means working with an established team on a project basis. While both approaches have disadvantages and benefits, we recommend working with an established mobile app developer.

But, what do you look out for in a mobile app development partner?

1. Industry experience and expertise

Experience is a critically underpinning factor when looking forward to outsourcing a software development partner. Previous work experience working on multiple mobile apps is an added advantage. The practical experience of designing and handling another app can make a difference. So, strive to identify experienced and seasoned software developers. You can establish experience by looking keenly at customer testimonials and collecting feedback and responses from potential digital market sources.

2. Development costs

It’s important to inquire about the cost of a mobile app development project. The mobile app development cost is the prime factor determining the selection of a mobile app development partner.

However, cheapest isn’t always the best, quality matters too. One way to reconcile cost and quality is to collect a few proposals. Then, examine the work breakdowns alongside the project deadlines and time estimates.

The emergence of a mobile app calculator has proven important in estimating app development costs. So, when working with professional mobile app development experts, you can obtain accurate project estimates using a calculator. Alternatively, you can only pay for the minimum viable product MVP to get a feel of how your project will be.

3. On-point communication

App development is a strenuous and time-consuming task. This project demands active collaboration and communication between the client and the app developers. Transparent and clear communication is the only way to build rapport with your project players. That’s because building an app is not a one-time project. It demands the input of programmers, UX/UI developers, data scientists, graphic designers, and project managers.

So, before you invest your money, ensure you understand your partner’s communication frequencies. The app development process entails different phrases. Therefore, strive to hire an app development partner who meets before the commencement of any phase. This selection will enable you to make inquiries, suggest changes, and build trust with project players through continued engagements.

4. Standard development process

The mobile app development process is strategic and systematic. App development follows specific technical specifications and meets minimum app requirements, including the requirements of safety and protection of user information.

Most professional mobile app developers follow a straightforward process, making it easy for clients and app users. So, inquire about their app development process before investing your money in a developer. This way, you can rest assured of all the deadlines and when the project will be completed.

Essentially, a standard development process will include the following steps:

  • The meeting, interaction, and association with the clients and project players (designers, programmers, data architects, graphic designers, UX/UI programmers).
  • Examine and carefully look at the client’s requirements to establish a wireframe.
  • Obtain the client’s approval and start creating a minimum viable product.
  • Thoroughly test the mobile app to ensure it conforms to the client’s requirements.
  • Approach app development and further maintenance
  • Test the app and promote it to the relevant audiences

Selecting partners who don’t follow established processes and procedures would cause problems later on.

5. Vision and clarity

You cannot develop a superior mobile application without a clear vision of what you want. It’s by first defining a need that you can establish a clear-cut solution. The same principle applies to mobile app development. It’s advisable to go for a developer who keenly listens to your requirements if you want to build an app that resonates with your vision. While some developers keep their opinions above their clients’, as experts, we carefully guide our clients but do not demoralize them.

6. On-going maintenance

It’s advisable to inquire about the possibility of maintenance after the app launch. That’s because after an app launch, most apps still experience hiccups. Professional app development wouldn’t be reluctant to offer maintenance. Therefore, when hiring a mobile app developer, it’s advisable to hire the one that offers maintenance. And in most projects, the free maintenance timeline would range from 6-to 12 months.

7. Market and competitor analysis

According to documented statistics by Statista, 81,300 Android and 26,000 iOS apps are released so far in 2022. It’s evident that with each passing day, a new mobile app is released, but only a few survive the turbulent market competition. The reason is because only a few mobile apps have detailed market and competitor research behind them.

Therefore, if you want to succeed in your mobile app development project, you should invest exhaustively in market and competitor research. Try to search for a mobile app development company that helps you zero down on your goals and target market. In addition, look for an app development partner that assists you to obtain the latest market trends in your niche.

8. Diversity of app development services

A professional and competent mobile app development partner must offer a diverse suite of development services. Creating a custom mobile app is more than programming or coding. Instead, app development is an end-to-end process that demands you validate the ideas, clarify needs, priorities, and concerns, and convert needs into useful designs.

Therefore, always opt for a mobile app development partner who offers a complete app services package. You should only hire an app development partner who offers extensive services tailored to your business needs. For instance, NS804 offers multiple mobile app development services: iOS app development, Android app development, UI/UX app design, app store optimization, and minimum viable product.

9. Commitment to meeting deadlines

Meeting project deliverables in a timely manner is a critical variable in any project. Failure to meet the project deliverables may lead to costly failures or breaches. So, if you hire a partner with many experienced developers, you’re unlikely to miss critical project deadlines.

10. Security measures

App development captures critical business information and sensitive data. So, it’s crucial to verify the app security measures the developer follows. It’s advisable to contract or hire an app development partner who signs non-disclosure agreements and adheres to security guidelines and protocols.

In addition, it’s crucial to ask whether the business policy covers any cyber liabilities. Clarifying whether the business policy covers cyber liabilities is critical in ensuring the development partner follows all the relevant security protocols in case of breaches, compromise, or data theft.

11. Design aspects

Intuitive design is the cornerstone of any successful app development project. Robust mobile apps meet evolving needs through their intuitive, easy-to-use designs. So, user design should be an underpinning factor when developing an app.

The design takes a prime spot in achieving a superior mobile app project. Indeed, most development partners offer a design mock-up to act as a sample of the project during the proposal stage. So, it’s advisable to examine and evaluate different design elements when selecting a mobile app development partner.

You can contact NS804 for custom mobile app development solutions.

What’s Keeping You from Developing a Mobile App?

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Mobile apps have become quite mainstream following the explosion of m-commerce and the dwindling reputation of e-commerce. Nowadays, organizations are already coming to terms with the fact that mobile is a game-changer, following the rising popularity and uptake of mobile apps.

Unfortunately, despite the rising significance and popularity of apps, few organizations are considering this frontier. Already, mobile apps contribute billions of revenues and turnovers to leading retail brands like Amazon and Walmart. But despite this potential, not all businesses and brands are ready to upscale their mobile app adoption efforts.

So, what’s keeping you from developing a mobile app?

1. Brand awareness

Today, more than ever, organizations are tapping into strategic digital marketing. An important part of this effort is to endorse rigorous, cross-platform marketing and outreach approaches, including mobile apps. A clear benefit of mobile apps is building a strong brand awareness alongside your other marketing initiatives.

Evidence has shown that while traditional advertising and outreach approaches struggle to keep your brand at the top of the mind of consumers, digital outreach puts your business at the fore and the center of mobile screens. The growing phone ownership alongside higher internet infiltration rates has led to the rapid uptake of mobile apps.

2. Customer engagement

There are ways to increase brand awareness and brand engagement with a business. For instance, email marketing is a tested-and-proven approach, and so is social media. But none of these is as personal as push notifications. So, a mobile app ensures that you can ping your customers with a push notification that brings products to their attention. Mobile apps represent ways of directly connecting with customers at a personal level.

3. Cost-savings

Increased brand awareness and more sales are what most brands are after. Regardless of whatever sector you’re in, increasing the sales of products and services is what will ultimately lead to business success. Luckily, mobile apps can help enterprises seeking increased sales, revenues, and higher turnovers. Studies have shown a strong correlation between mobile app adoption and sales. Users who use mobile apps are strongly inclined to purchase from m-commerce stores. Thus, enterprises and brands endorsing mobile apps experience higher sales and revenues.

4. Better customer service

Customer relationship management is the lifeblood of customer retention. Organizations that invest in better customer relationship management systems, including cloud-based data management systems, automated response systems, and call centers achieve efficiency and scalability. Most importantly, these organizations can connect and interact better with their clientele, increasing the chances of repeat business.

So, if you’re looking for a revamp of your customer relationship management, a mobile app would pivot you for success. Alternatively, you can design a mobile app that integrates seamlessly with your enterprise resource planning systems, streamlining operational workflow and meeting productivity targets.

5. Competitive positioning

Running a small business is never easy. You need every advantage to compete with big boy brands by ensuring brand awareness and customer satisfaction. Designing and deploying a mobile app lets you offer the same advantages as popular brands. You get to compete at the same level. Creating a mobile app offers you similar benefits that reputable brands enjoy with mobile app development.

Contact NS804 to kick-start your journey towards mobile app adoption.