If you've ever had an online business or product fail, you know it's a frustrating experience. It can be a long, drawn out process that may never be fully rationalized or explained by a simple answer. Emotionally it can be draining.
Instead of feeling defeated, use it as a way to find new opportunities. Let's look at some common reasons apps fail, and what you can do about it.
1. Is the market too saturated? It's not enough to create a "me too" product, you need to have a clear differentiation over your competitors. At ZURB, we use our
design strategy framework to make sure we have a solid direction. Try to identify yours quickly and build on areas of your app that customers want, yet are different from the competition.
2. Is your team inefficient? Depending on the type of application we're putting together, we often find that a smaller team fits our goals. However, the right specialist might be also necessary to jump start a stagnant area of the business. Shifting roles or investing in new ones can create new opportunities- like a full-time marketer to help create longer-term relationships.
3. Are your features too costly? The cost of a badly designed feature can take months to overcome, not just from endless bugfixes, but also on catching up with all the customer service problems. Morale suffers when the public perception focuses on features that either don't work, or attempt to do too much with poor execution. The solution? Simplify and solve core problems for users. Bet on features that actually matter to your customers.
4. Is your app poorly executed? If your momentum is headed in the wrong direction, it's a sign that execution on key functionality is probably suffering as well. Be honest. Expose areas in your app that are so-so and find details that you can make really great. Create small wins and turn those into rally points to get the team to own the problem, not just push out coded bits.
Creating awesome opportunities is not about knowing the right answers— it's knowing what made failures occur in your product. Your competitors' failures are equally as important in helping you navigate competitive markets. Whether it's a feature or an entire application, look for patterns that will expose new opportunities.