In this digital age, when almost 50% of the world population is using smartphones, taking advantage of mobile apps will bring to business many benefits. That being said, making an app requires time and financial ability. How much does it cost to build an app? How to define mobile app budget that fit your business? Therefore, before doing anything, it is essential to define an appropriate budget for mobile app development. In this article, we will give you the complete guide on how to identify mobile app development budget!!!
Step 1: Define Purpose
Setting up a mobile app budget is a complicated thing. Especially, it requires an overview and consideration of each and every aspect that involves money. Because the cost of IT services do not come cheap. Let’s look through some of the most common cases and see how to create a budgeting app!
Make your business more accessible
Whether your business appears physically or in the form of an e-commerce website, you still want to broaden your opportunities. As the number of mobile users is growing rapidly as well as the average bill they spend compared to desktops, building a mobile app will only increase your sales. You can take Walmart and Lush for instance.
Turn your idea into reality
You have million-worthy ideas but do not know how to realize it? Don’t worry if you know nothing about software development, there are many IT outsourcing companies are ready to help.
Make your business stand out
As mentioned, mobile apps are becoming more and more popular. You should utilize this great source to bring a better and more convenient experience to your customers. Especially in a competitive market, taking advantage of technology can help you surpass others. One success story is from Taco Bell.
Engage your customers
With a mobile-friendly experience, your customers will have more touchpoints with your brand. Also, building an app can serve not only your customers but also any potential users. They can start getting used to your presence and services for further purchases.
Select a platform
What platform you choose for your app will directly affect your mobile app budget. The more platforms you choose, the more expensive it will be, obviously. One note is that Android is usually more expensive than iOS, considering that it needs to support a variety of screen resolutions as well as different versions of OS.
If you create a free or low-cost budget mobile app or just want to focus on your target customers, do some research to see which devices your customers are using, or research on your competitors’ resolutions to have some ideas of what they are using most.
Choose your developers
When it comes to software development, you have 2 options: hire an in-house team or an outsourcing company. Hiring an in-house team is not an economical option, especially to startups. You need to do everything from scratch: recruit, supervise and pay compatible salary for your region, which can be unaffordable.
In contrast, with an outsourcing dedicated development team, you do not need to supervise them and the cost will be much cheaper depending on the company’s location. Lots of IT giants still choose outsourcing companies to lower expenses and also focus more on their core services.
Evaluate app’s features
Think about the features you want to develop for your app carefully as it will directly affect your mobile app expense. What can your app do for your customers? What are your purposes when creating it? Answer these questions and list down all the features you want to see in your app. It will also help you to get your ideas across to the developers more easily.
Define your revenue
Making an app has no difference from other businesses. A clear revenue will not only prevent you from exceeding your financial budget but also help you make appropriate decisions about your app in the long run. For instance, how much time do you need to pay off expenses? When should you invest more into the app (update, new features, etc)?
Related: 5+ Top Mobile App Development Trends 2020 To Watch Out!
Step 2: Market Your App
Despite how much money and effort you spend on developing an app, throwing it on the store without marketing will not bring you hundreds of thousands of downloads. With 2.2 million apps in the Apple App Store and 2.8 million in Google Play, you have to compete for a piece of the pie. Therefore, make sure you use these mobile app budget tips to promote your app as well!
Define the number of installs
To calculate the budget for your marketing, first, you need to define the number of users you want or you can afford to attract. According to Smart Insights, to be in the top 10 in the music category, your app should have over 100,000 users more each day. You can also take a look at daily installs of the top-rated apps in your category to define the goals for your app.
Define your app’s cost per install
Cost per install (CPI) is a key metric in mobile marketing representing the price required to develop a single installation. It can be referred to as any marketing effort that you make to attract and get more downloads as a result. The average price is usually between $1,2 and $1,6. However, everything depends on the efficiency of ad platforms.
Get your downloads
There are many ways for you to generate your CPI. One way is to hire marketing analysts to take charge of testing the efficiency of your ads on different social channels. A report of numbers of users from each platform, duration of app usage and how fast they delete your app will help you know which platforms work best and how you should utilize it to attract more users.
A more convenient way is to use an automated service for mobile app marketing. These services will help you gather and analyze data on users’ behaviors and list down platforms that work best.
Step 3: Let’s Get Started!
Planning a suitable mobile app budget is never easy. We hope this article can help you understand what to take into consideration. Firstly, define your goals: why are you developing this app? After that, select the platforms, your developers, features and the revenue goals for your app. Last but not least, plan a budget for your marketing as well.
By providing multiple needs and services, AgileTech is here to ensure your mobile app development as a successful element of your omnichannel strategy. We have expert Project Managers along with excellent teams who have delivered the best products to customers in more than 10 countries, namely the U.S, U.K, Germany, France, and Singapore.
As a leading mobile development company in Vietnam, we have a huge experience in many fields including e-commerce, car-sharing platform, health care, Livestream and many more. Our dedicated software development team is ready for your custom requirements. You can contact us at contact@agiletech.vn or via (+84) 936 281 059 for more information.