Do you realize that there are more than a million mobile apps in the Apple and Google app stores? How many fo them do you think end up being huge financial successes for their developers? That figure is less than one percent according to a recent study. Huge hits like Smapchat gets tons of buzz, and naturally that gets programmers and entrepreneurs excited, but the odds of success are much lower than many would expect.
All of this makes sense of course. There are many areas in the app universe that are very mature these days, like productivity apps and dating apps. Then you have tons of apps for successful online services, news feeds and games. The options are practically unlimited. If you want to play Online Bingo Games Get £40, Spend £10 | William Hill Bingo you now have app options along with web options. Consumers have so many options now to be enterained by apps. This crowded space makes things very difficult for app developers to break through.
In order to gain success, several thresholds need to be met, with creativity and originality being at the top of the list. But many apps actually meet that standard as every aspect of our lives are being analyzed to see if they can be made easier or more fun through an app. This of course is a very healthy process and leads to a ton of innovation.
But marketing is also critical. Sure, some apps just explode like wildfire as soon as they are released. And it helps to have connections to influential angels who can turbocharge a product just by sending out a tweet. But if you don’t have a Kevin Rose involved, then you need to think long and hard about your marketing plan. Some companies budget serious dollars for the tech development but then hardly have a budget for marketing. In many cases that is a recipe for failure.
So it’s great to dream about creating that killer app that will make you rich, but the game of being successful here may be much harder than you think.
