What is a Successful App Like?

Picture yourself in New Year’s Eve, 2019. Do you remember what were you doing? How about what you were thinking 2020 was going to be like? Three months in, in March, the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic. By May, it was clear whatever we thought the new year was going to be like couldn’t be further from reality. Lockdowns meant we either had to adapt and acquire new behaviors, or accelerate the rate at which we were developing new behaviors. If the rules of the game are changing, how can you launch a successful app now? How do you make an app successful?

Start by Defining what Success Means To You

As a product manager, CEO, start-up founder or marketing department leader, identifying features your users will love is probably one of the key challenges you’re facing, according to App Annie. Especially since we now spend almost a quarter of the time we are awake using mobile apps (assuming we sleep 8 hours), mainly for messaging, social media, gaming, shopping and streaming video and music, as the Digital 2020 Global Digital Overview reports.

But how, exactly, do you know your users “are loving” your app? How do you know if your app is going viral? Your app can be “successful” in different ways to different people, but these are some key metrics you need to know:

• Downloads. This is your starting point. It refers to a simple and widely share action: how many people are currently getting your app. If downloads for your app accelerate after an update, you’ll know you’re delivering a feature users are loving.
• Engagement. The “holy grail” of digital marketing, because, in this case, it means how users are reacting to your app. Session duration (for how long does a person, on average, use your app); active users (how many people are using your app on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis); retention (the percentage of new users who return to use your app after they’ve downloaded it); open rate (the percentage of devices that opened your app during a specific time frame); and install penetration (the percentage of users that installed your app during a select time period) are some of the most important metrics to know if your app is being successful.
• Ratings and reviews. The feedback your users are giving you. You’ll know first hand if your app is up to their expectations.

A Successful App Has This Feature: Powerful Software

Once you already know what success means to you, it’s time to make sure your app can go viral from the start. What if your app could work offline? Think about it. How many times were you just about to do something with your phone, only to realize you didn’t have data? Or that the WiFi connection was not working? This could happen to anyone, really. And without an Internet connection, an app can’t work.

But yours could! Can you imagine the possibilities of engaging with your target market even when they’re offline? What about reaching the millions of people who still don’t have a reliable, steady connection around the world (about 40% of the global population)? This is why we’ve built the Bridgefy SDK (SDK stands for Software Development Kit). With just a few lines of code, you can launch an app that will have all the potential to be successful! Users will love being able to use it even if they’re offline, and you’ll be able to reach people in moments that no other company can. Sign up for free to learn how easy it is!

How does success look like to you? How would you know your app is successful?