A mobile app that crashes can crash the developer.

– Robert Kruger 5 May 2011

Mobile apps are the hottest thing going. We see it everywhere. What makes this more than a fad is that businesses are finding ways to monetize apps. It’s the perfect situation for developers - it’s cool to have an app AND it can actually make money. It’s an easy sell. I understand why so many developers are jumping on the bandwagon.

If you’re one of them, here’s a word of warning: your apps need to work.

I know that seems obvious. Surprisingly, I keep finding iPhone and iPad apps that don’t work. Some don’t work well - they run slowly or they don’t really do what the App Store description said they would do. Some don’t work at all - the only thing they do consistently is crash.

The issue for the developer of poorly functioning apps is not just how they intend to make things right. The issue is really how they plan to stay in business. If someone installs an app and it crashes their phone or tablet, the simplest thing for them to do is delete the app, give it a bad review, and then never download another app from the same developer.

The key here is that an extremely negative course of action (negative for the app developer’s business) is the simplest course. The entire medium of apps has been built around simplifying the process for a user to voice their opinion directly to the next potential buyer.

Compare that to how hard it is to impact other businesses that fail to perform satisfactorily. Imagine that you take your car to a dealership for an oil change. When you get back home, you look under the hood and notice that the oil filter looks grimy - evidence that it didn’t get changed. What do you do? You complain to the service manager (privately). Perhaps you tweet about it (to your friends around the country). If the dealership never makes good, you might file a report with the Better Business Bureau. The last time you got an oil change, did you first research Twitter for negative reviews? When was the last time you asked the BBB for their advice before you made a purchase?

That’s why app developers need to be careful what they release. If your product gets panned, that negative opinion is sitting right next to the “Buy Now” button.

We help developers stay on the right track. We have decades of experience in the role of interactive producer, plus Dialogs is a solid and stable platform for managing the flow of content to mobile apps. We understand how to feed your business.

Read what Tech Crunch has to say about apps that fail to deliver.