Introduction
With COVID-19, people are struggling to balance their personal and professional space. People are stuck working from home even while keeping up with homeschooling their kids and a constant struggle to keep elders in good care. In business, maintaining cash flow, cutting costs, providing excellent customer service, and planning is proving to be hard.
Prior downturns show resilience among people once the crisis starts subsiding.
The silver lining here is that post COVID-19, your business can help people in many ways. People are engaging in problem-solving by leaning on online information from the comfort of their homes. Video chat apps are on the rise, with Zoom recording a record 27 million downloads in March 2020 as compared to a figure of 2.1 million in January this year.
Focusing on mobile app ideas and development will be a preferred choice among many entrepreneurs this year. The reason is that not only is there a known high demand for it, but people are relying on apps to teach their kids, connect virtually with family and friends, and push the economy with online shopping.
Why is a Mobile App More Important in these post-COVID-19 times?
Communication is a vital form of interaction. It’s faster decision making, prompt action, and hence quicker results.
Unlike desktops, mobile apps have quickened the pace of this communication in the last 12 years. A single tap gives you control over your to-do-list, monitors your calorie intake, and lets you connect with your colleagues and friends even as you navigate your way on the road with the assistance of Google maps and GPS. Push notifications keep you updated, and your banking needs happen on the go on your mobile.
With COVID-19, this pace seems to have paused, but not altogether. We are still working with apps that engage in team meetings, facilitate video calls, and let us connect to anyone in the world in a fraction of time while integrating all this seamlessly without any friction.
Mobile phones are our companion, unlike laptops that are bulky and occupy space. Because mobile apps have a small learning curve, users adapt to them quickly.
Where should you Start with your App?
Starting or reinventing your business during these times can be daunting. You might want to pivot and push your business ahead. But before that, consider the stages in which your organization currently operates.
Three stages for an organization to recover during a crisis
Catalant suggests there are three stages for an organization to recover during a crisis – Reaction, Recovery, and Reinvention.
As a result of COVID-19, most organizations are making their way from reaction to recovery. They are adapting to the market needs to reinvent the business goals and strategies.
If you have an existing mobile app business, then reinventing to align with market demands makes sense. In this context, you could target your current users but with a slightly aligned offer.
For example, if you operate in the travel industry and have been majorly hit, you can align your app to be more useful in these times. Swap the app’s usual flight details and travel itinerary with information on refund policies, present tips for packing passenger bags with essentials once the lock down lifts, and provide a list of stores that stock hand sanitizers and masks.
This way, your users don’t forget or uninstall your app and are always in touch with you when things improve.
If you are thinking of venturing in the mobile app business, then subscription boxes for people at home will be the right choice. These could be entertainment, food, or online education. Look at tools and software that can make work from home comfortable.
Let’s look at the industries that have picked pace in the last few months and are not going to slow down anytime soon.
Industries That You must Consider for Your Mobile App Business
Anxiety and the fear of a shortage of supplies and other items are causing massive first-time downloads. According to TechCrunch, the first-time app downloads will see a 22% increase of 140.3 billion as compared to last year.
It also means new mobile apps that make one’s life simple and effortless thus, saving time and effort is going to be a game-changer.
Some industries that are a better choice than others are household cleaning, home delivery services, food delivery, and mobile apps that cater to elder care.
House Cleaning Apps: They are a welcome relief for many families. House cleaning apps like Our Home allows you to assign chores to family members, let them pick rewards, and tick them off once done. Similar cleaning apps can be a lifesaver for many families struggling to juggle many things in a day.
Home Delivery Services: social distancing has limited access to many things otherwise available like clothes, electronics, consumer durables that are equally important and need regular service. Catering to this segment via a home delivery service app can give you the much-needed advantage in the crowded market.
Food Delivery Services: there are a lot of sub-categories here. Pre-cooked meals, packaged meals, confectionery, or mobile apps delivering specific cuisines have a huge market now.
Elder Care Services: finding the right caregiver in these troubled times can be taxing. Creating a mobile app that lends all the possible support of listing caregiving services, self-help, or first aid can open up new opportunities. In turn, it can also open new streams of possible tie-ups with pharmacies or medical professionals as the app gains traction later.
Conclusion
The mobile app business has a surge in demand. By focusing on what people want at this time, you can position your mobile app as the preferred choice of giving your business the much-needed visibility, support, and profitability in post-COVID-19 times.
