Creating a mobile application is a difficult task in and of itself, but in order to be successful, the work cannot stop there. The best mobile apps are not only developed with even the finest of details in mind, but also have a solid plan in place even before launch to market it strategically to the relevant user base.

Below are 4 marketing mistakes that can make or break the success of your mobile app:

Thinking mobile is a smaller version of desktop

The best apps are those that utilize the features of a mobile phone. It is important to have at least a splash page as a website for your app, which could be another channel for marketing your app, but the user experience between the splash page and mobile app are much different.

Mobile users are much less likely to scroll through a bunch of information to find what they want. There is less space on a mobile screen and being on the go makes the user lose patience quicker. This is important for your app because exploiting the benefits of mobile will make you focus on what is truly valuable and important to the user.

Thinking publishing alone will create massive downloads

Your app is complete, the Apple App Store finally approved it, so let the thousands of downloads begin, right? Wrong.

There are many things an app should consider for significant downloads that would happen before, during, and after launch. Everything from utilizing your current web presence to promote your app to implementing a great ASO strategy to get your app to the top of the charts.

This topic is a complete blog itself, which you can find here.

Thinking your user base is happy when they are silent

As the saying goes, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” This is not always true when creating an excellent mobile app because many times you will never know if it is broken or not. Assuming that no complaints means a great product can get you in to trouble and you might not find out until it is too late.

Open the communication between yourself and the users. Make it readily known that any feedback whatsoever is helpful and will only create a better product for them. Clearly state this message when having a “Feedback” button noticeable enough that no user can miss it.

Thinking once downloaded the user is a user for life

Just because you might have high download numbers, does not mean your users are gaining value from your app on a consistent basis. Without constant users it is difficult to monetize through ads (if that is your focus), lowers the word of mouth referral element, and overall makes it more likely your users will delete your app or never use it again.

90% of users are gone within the first 6 months (KISSmetrics). This means that if the app is not evolving with the user and creating a memorable experience for them on a regular basis, they are bound to leave. Find out the core values you bring and exploit them to the fullest.