The winning ticket
With the threshold of entry to the mobile app getting lower all the time, almost anyone with the right idea and some funding can develop their dream app. But take note: most apps require a sizeable team of programmers and designers, and hundreds if not thousands of hours of development hours. Often, the app itself will play a minor role in the success of a new venture. 
The key to a successful product? Listen to your customer and address their needs. Let me back up a little and explain.
I recently expanded beyond my formal role as CTO to focus on product development and market analytics. I had spent a number of years as an app developer and was confident that I knew most there was to know in the space. Nevertheless, I decided to dive in head-first and spent the first few days in the thick of customer service issues – reading feedback, answering queries, formulating responses. And then it hit me. With all the knowledge and experience I had in development, it was the first time I had really listened to the consumer. And I understood that the real challenge in our industry isn’t writing clever code — we’re not short of smart developers – but rather creating happy users.
Since then I’ve been learning a lot about how good companies lead, not solely through tech smarts and product nous, but by truly getting to know their users and putting them at the center of product development. Great companies have the courage to go one step further, by revisiting previous assumptions and changing everything if necessary.
A great example is ooVoo. At launch, the app was positioned as a video communications tool for businesses, with features that supported web conferences, web presentations, online training and remote support. But ooVoo, which closely analysed usage patterns from launch, quickly realised that the app was gaining strong traction… but with teens, not suits.
The company moved quickly, repositioning the product, rewriting marketing strategies and tweaked the app to better suit its actual market. Today ooVoo boasts tens of millions of active, predominantly teenage users.
I believe that ooVoo’s ability to adapt rapidly to the marketplace is an important lesson all aspiring app developers need to internalise. As a founder-developer it can be challenging to balance a resolute belief in your product with the flexibility required to meet changing user needs. But you will find that a good dose of humility is as important to the success of your app in the market as clever code and beautiful design.
About the author
Jonathan Caras is Chief Technology Officer for Glide Talk LTD.
His knowledge of technology, user experience and management allows him to successfully lead the development team, incorporating the needs of Product, Marketing and Business Development.
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