A Comprehensive Guide to Developing an On-Demand App

ValueAppz
7 min readJun 7, 2021

The new generation, as it is developing, is transforming into a sucker for comfort and convenience. They like everything being served at home and, honestly speaking, they are ready to pay more for it too. On-demand apps are yet another invention of keeping this so-called inherent desire of customers to experience the comforting convenience of getting everything at their fingertips alive.

Haven’t we been hearing these terms — home delivery, at-home services, delivery at your place, 30-minute delivery — for quite a while now?

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The desire to experience getting everything at home has led to the expansion of on-demand apps lately. And, COVID-19 pandemic acted like a funding mechanism for the on-demand app industry.

With such massive expansion of the ‘on-demand app’ industry, it comes tagged with some prominent challenges: the ability to survive and sustain in this market. And, that’s possible only when your on-demand app stands out amongst your competitors.

This post will guide you through the correct process to seamlessly help you build a super magnetic on-demand app that attracts customers in this crowded market of on-demand apps.

Why are People Craving for On-Demand Apps?

People are die-hard fans of comfort and convenience; that’s why they support on-demand app culture. The reason why companies are behind it is that their customers love it. Since both the prominent parties involved in the business are getting something valuable out of these on-demand apps, they are bound to stick around it.

However, here are some other reasons why everyone is running after an on-demand app:

  1. Convenience, Of Course

The whole concept of on-demand apps was to deliver convenience to the customers, which it did eventually. People no longer make an effort in going out to purchase what’s needed. Instead, they just extend their hand, grab their phone, order through an on-demand app, and get everything that they need right there in no time.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

Companies are spending nice-time in strategizing discounts and giveaways now and then. After all, understand how to keep the customers hooked and happy. Why would any customer even leave the comfort and go for traditional shopping when they get it at better prices at home?

3. Huge Time Savior

People are extremely busy nowadays, and nothing satisfies them more than services or products that can save their valuable time. Yes, even more than their money! Time is precious for everyone, and wasting it to purchase goods doesn’t seem to be a good deal for them. Hence, they prefer on-demand apps that are pretty smart in saving customer’s time.

There seem to be a lot of great reasons why customers rely on it. The on-demand app is the best solution for them to save time, money, and effort. But the businesses definitely need to be more innovative while developing one.

Let’s see what it takes to build an incredible on-demand app that genuinely works for the customers!

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But, How Should Businesses Develop It to Satisfy their Customers Effectively?

So, businesses know what their customers want. But you probably won’t know how to develop an innovative and intelligent on-demand app that hooks your customers and shooks your competitors (both at the same time).

DEVELOPING AN ON-DEMAND APP- THE PROCESS

  • Based on Your Business Type, Identify the Targeted Audience
  • Research Problems Your Customers are Currently Facing (Without the on-demand app)
  • Define On-Demand Actors/Features
  • Hire Your Development Team
  • Test and Launch
  • Keep Improving

Based on Your Business Type, Identify the Targeted Audience

So, you are well aware of what business you are into, right? It could be beauty, healthcare, grocery, or food business — whatever it is, you can always create an on-demand app for your business. Now, once we know what we are doing and how it works, we need to see who will be the best targeted audience for the industry — wondering how you do that?

Well, follow these steps to figure out your target audience:

  1. First, begin with what’s in hand right now — your existing customers.
  2. Think about how you can benefit them rather than selling in the beginning.
  3. Collect demographic data of your target audience.
  4. Look what’s trending through online customer feedback.
  5. Understand your niche
  6. Keep an eye on your competitors.
  7. Don’t overcomplicate things. Keep it simple.

Once you are clear about whom you will target, it would be simpler to proceed and follow towards the next step.

Research Problems Your Customers are Currently Facing (Without the on-demand app)

Understand your target audience- they might be facing a particular problem and looking for a better alternative. For example, your audience still might have to go miles away to purchase goods or the products that you deal in. So isn’t that a good idea to build an on-demand app for customers to save their efforts and time to go miles away to buy something?

Another instance could be people who can go to the shops or stores; however, they don’t get those rare products. Wouldn’t they prefer your on-demand app to purchase it? Of course, they would. All you need to do is focus on finding their problem and solve it using your on-demand app.

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Define On-Demand Actors/Features

Who will be the actors involved in the on-demand app? Who will be making your on-demand business happen? For instance, the admin, the service provider, and the customers. It is essential to define the actors involved in the industry to maintain a smooth business flow.

Generally, an on-demand app is built keeping in mind all the parties involved, which means different versions of the app for everyone.

  1. Customer App — That is made specifically for the customers to access hundreds of products listed on the app online. It includes some innovative features to make online shopping exclusive for the customers.

Some features of a customer app are:

  • Real-time tracking of orders
  • Easy payment system
  • Support
  • Reviews and Ratings
  • Access to hundreds of products online
  • Track delivery agent time and route

2. Service Provider App — With this app, all service providers can easily manage all their orders, payments and track everything in one place. The features of a good service provider app are as follows:

  • Accept/reject orders
  • Push notifications
  • Order Tracking
  • Availability Status
  • Payment Tracking

3. Admin Panel — An easy-to-access dashboard for the admins to manage both the customers and the service providers. Admins can easily track:

  • All orders
  • Payments
  • Analytics
  • Reports
  • Commissions
  • Discounts

Besides, you can always discuss with the developers if any modifications are required or if you want to add customisations to your on-demand app.

Hire Your On-Demand App Development Team

Now comes the technical part — the actual development of your on-demand app. First, of course, you will have to rely on a competent team who easily understands your perspective. You must enjoy working with the hired development team and not just giving instructions to some professionals who lack creativity and innovativeness.

You may or may not understand the technicalities involved in developing an on-demand app. So, rely on a team who can build a highly reliable app based on your mere idea and understanding of the target market.

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Specific handy tips for hiring the best development team for yourself:

  1. Are they friendly and pleasant to communicate with? If yes, you can proceed.
  2. How genuinely do they discuss their experience, skills, and performance?
  3. Are they up for any challenge or test job?
  4. Be open about how many samples or references you want to see before hiring them.
  5. Share with them your idea and see how creatively they take it from there.
  6. Are they updated with the latest technology and tools in your niche market?
  7. Do they take the initiative to communicate with you?
  8. What is the cost they charge for designing an innovative and intelligent on-demand app?
  9. Don’t forget to ask about the post-development support!

Test and Launch

We assume that you have managed to finally hire a dedicated and trustworthy based on your interviews and conversations. Once they have developed the app according to your taste and preferences, it is time to test it. After the app has successfully gone through performance testing, security testing, recovery, and beta testing, it is ready to get a green signal. You can now (after thorough testing, modifying, and checking) of the on-demand app launch it in the market.

Keep Improving

Developing an on-demand app is a long-term and ongoing process that might require you to make timely changes with the change in the market. Therefore, we advise you to keep improving your on-demand app with market fluctuations and customer’s demands. It is a perfect way to keep your customers satisfied and content for a long time.

On-Demand App Market is Hot — Dive In Now for Fully Leveraging the Benefits

An on-demand market is expected to generate more than $335 billion in revenue by the end of 2025. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that has made the on-demand app market even more lucrative. Well, even if you are a beginner, you have an excellent chance to survive if your business leverages the power of an on-demand app.

So, it is the best time to grow your business dramatically by supporting it with an on-demand app built innovatively to satisfy the ultimate desire of customers for comfort and convenience while shopping.

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ValueAppz

Amplify Your Business — Create a powerful mobile app for your business to engage with customers when and where its counts. https://www.valueappz.com