What is your on-demand application missing? (It's big)
A perfect mixture of every feature makes a perfect On-Demand App
“Intelligence is based on how efficient a species became at doing the things they need to survive.”
― Charles Darwin
The man who came up with the Theory of Evolution was spot on when describing survival. By the looks of it, Human Race is indeed becoming more intelligent day by day. With the introduction of technologies that makes human survival simpler, the necessity to adapt these technologies brought in is essential. Computers, the Internet, Feature Phones and now Smartphones have been defining how we go about our day to day life. But little did man know that a few set of codes were going to change how the world perceived life.
Apps – Every app installed in your mobile arguably is the main reason for why you own a Smartphone. Let it be a simple map, taxi booking app or a food app, these definitely have replaced how we traditionally do tasks. Human survival though not impossible, is definitely gruesome when an App adapted person is restricted from using his Smartphone for a day or two. Such Apps are what combined constitutes On-Demand Apps.
Very few mobile applications achieve this stardom, but once recognized the potential it displays in capturing the market is absolutely roof shattering. Like mentioned above, mobile apps such as Taxi booking, e-commerce, food deliveries and many such that fulfill our daily needs are on the rise and quite frankly have become a part of our daily routine.
Apart from the fact that these On-Demand Applications are serving us by replacing our life pattern, many other similarities within, are the key in them becoming a significant part of our lives.
1) Dual Way Interaction (DWI)
One such common element is the Dual Way Interaction (DWI). Applications that induce a human action in return have been the key in making of an On-Demand App, for example:
Uber – This application revolutionized the way people traveled. Hailing a cab was never as easier as now, ever. The Dual Way Interaction (DWI) here is how the ‘Cab Hailer’ receives an actionable response from the ‘Cab Driver’.
Amazon – Any name hasn’t been bigger than Amazon in the online shopping sector and their quick transition to mobile too captured what the audience required at the right hour. Similar to Uber- Amazon and every other e-commerce portal work as per the DWI functionality; One being the seller and another one being the buyer.
Similar to the above examples are the other On-Demand Apps such as the Grocery and Food deliverers. Ever such app has a Human action that that responds to the user. Hence ‘Human to Human’ app functionality is a common feature among almost every On-Demand Applications.
2) Wallet Friendly
An often misjudged principle when business owners try topping the On-Demand sector is that, ‘When service given is easier, the price should be high’. But the On-Demand toppers follow a strategy which provides solutions to its customers that are cost efficient. Hence the crowd overflow tends to deviate towards the provider that delivers cost efficient products/services.
Ola – An Indian based cab booking service provider cracked into the population where over a billion reside. Despite being a service that was similar to Uber, this cabbie rocked the entire travel market with prices that replaced conservational traveling routine. Despite the global giant ‘Uber’ later on set foot in India, Ola did have an upper-hand and cruised through seamlessly. In the year 2016, Ola clocked a four-fold increase in the taxi booking numbers.
3) Integral Human Play
Needless to say, a mobile application thrives the best when users are an integral part of the entire process. Be it a process that simplifies services that have been stagnant for years altogether or services that have been faring well in the current technological ecosystem, human impact is always the most vital of all. The below two scenarios are the reason for why getting in touch with the base needs of humans play a huge role in the success of an App.
Scenario 1 (Stagnant Services) – blow Ltd
A simple yet perfect haircut could make a dull day a thousand times better. But for years, though the advancements in the field of beauty and visual hygiene have been drastically upped, the traditional way of visiting a salon or making a prior appointment have been the only way to pamper oneself. But what Blow Ltd brought into the market has changed how women get these services (Sadly restricted to London Alone).
By setting an appointment through the app, one can have the services provided at the salon at the ease of their house. By setting up a preferred time slot, professionals visit homes with the entire kit. This particular system has garnered great attention and has encouraged folks to change their traditional grooming methodology.
Scenario 2 (Faring Well) – GrubHub
Food deliverers have been the talk of the town every time there is a significant technological advancement. Phone orders, online restaurant bookings, home and office deliveries via app orders and much more have been the advancements witnessed in the food delivery sector. It has in fact been mentioned that the Food Industry is one among very few early adapters of technology since the market is huge ad competitive.
GrubHub is also an early adopter and hence emerged victorious in the field of food delivery in US and UK. Initially started in the year 2004, this company has been improvising at every cut and corner growing alongside the technological advancements. Hence a deeper root connection with the users has been established, which eventually became the reason for why it recorded revenue of $493 million for the year 2016.
4) Real Time
An often overseen factor by the Application/Business owners is that people still do lack a functionality that should be among the core factors that constitute an on demand app. In fact, the future of On-Demand Applications is based on this feature – ‘Live Tracking’. The above three pointers have been significantly on the rise and the expectations of people have been increasing on what a business could do better in their field of work.
Now that if one notices, every On-Demand application requires the need to travel; and that is among the most significant parts of their functionality. But not all provide users the answer to ‘where is it?’ and that frustrates the user. In this age of technology, not being savvy enough to answer that simple question is considered a failure. In the coming days, Live Tracking is deemed to be essential in order for an App to be listed under the ‘On-Demand’ segment. Users have been craving for this functionality and very few have been providing an answer to that.
Uber: (A Perfect App)
What makes Uber a definitive success isn’t just the factor that one could book a taxi from the comfort of his Smartphone but because of various other options and features included. Most of all is the feature that incorporates a live map, positioning and path of the taxi before and while traveling. This is what makes it special and a truly On-Demand Application.
The same scheme could be a great boost to many mobile applications that incorporate this functionality. When thoroughly analyzed, users waiting for a product/service reaching them would definitely prefer an application that answers their anticipation.
Potential Businesses:
Food Delivery
Grocery Delivery
Couriers and Parcels
Logistics
Travels
Employee tracking
& Almost every business that even remotely incorporates travel
