We’re living and breathing in a mobile-first environment. It’s not even one of those fact that’s hidden from laymen anymore. Let me ask you a simple question: What’s the first thing you did after waking up? Let me answer that myself, you probably checked your phone. While we’re at it, let me ask you another question: What was the last thing you did before going to sleep? It was probably setting an alarm on your smartphone. I bet the answers to the questions portrayed what I wanted to tell you. Similar to how you’re dependent on your smartphone, so are your customers.
For a business, there’s nothing as important as their own customers. Well, if your targeted customers are all going mobile, so should you. Where some prefer moving to mobile web based applications, others prefer moving to web based applications or native applications. But hey, that’s merely your preference of platform. What we’ll be talking about today is one of the main factors that can make your application a success i.e. features.
Also Read: Over 1 billion people now use WhatsApp everyday
Importance of Unique Features
There’s been a lot of talk about unique features over the years. Specifically, why they can be the main ingredient to a delicious application that the crowd loves. However, sometimes app owners don’t realize how important a new unique feature could be to the overall application.
The Pioneer Advantage
Try opening the Google Play Store or maybe the Apple App Store. When searching for a specific application, you can find tons of similar applications. However, there will always be one application with the most downloads and/or the most usage. Regardless of the fact that it’s free of cost, paid or contains in-app purchases, people continue using that very same application. But why is that? Why would users prefer paying for one application when the other application seems to be doing the same thing? Well, solely because the app might be a pioneer of a specific feature.
From applications like WhatsApp to applications like UBER, both have had competitors in the past but there is reason they are still on top of their game. Why? Because they’re pioneers of their own features. The pioneer advantage has existed since the very start of time and it still exists to create results. So, with an app that introduces a new feature, you can easily gain the pioneer advantage to be the first preference for your targeted user.
First Mover’s Advantage
Yes, some might consider this a financial term while others might consider it a marketing term. It doesn’t change the fact that this theory can still be applied in the application industry as well. It’s still true that there’s a 50/50 chance if your unique features are going to be a hit or a flop. But hey, that’s one chance I’m willing to take if I were you.
You can additionally study the behavior of your customer and understand what they need from the application without you facing any issues. The better you understand your customer, the better your chances are in profiting from the first mover’s advantage. All in all, having unique features on your application allows you to create an immediate impact on your audience. Think we missed out on something? Well, leave us a comment below to help us understand better what we missed out on.
Imran Abdul Rauf is a Digital Marketing Strategist, employed at CMOLDS, and specializes in content marketing, email marketing campaigns, lead generation, and other aspects of digital marketing. A content enthusiast by the day, and hardcore gamer by night, Imran is also a regular guest contributor at some of the top tech and digital marketing platforms.
