understanding the app growth mechanism in the "next billion markets"
DESCRIPTION
One of the typical mistakes developers make is thinking that because they’ve had success in one corner of the globe, they should be able to employ the same strategy to drive adoption elsewhere. The truth of the matter is apps that are wildly successful in the U.S., Europe and Japan often fail to gain substantial traction in areas like India, South America and the Middle East; and these problems go well beyond simple translation issues and lack of cultural understanding.TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Understanding the App Growth Mechanism in the "Next Billion Markets"](https://reader031.vdocuments.site/reader031/viewer/2022020311/577cc7731a28aba711a0faed/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Understanding the App Growth Mechanism in the “Next Billion Markets”
Alan Mamedi, CEO & Co-‐Founder of Truecaller July 2014
One of the typical mistakes developers make is thinking that because they’ve had success in one corner of the globe, they should be able to employ the same strategy to drive adoption elsewhere. The truth of the matter is apps that are wildly successful in the U.S., Europe and Japan often fail to gain substantial traction in areas like India, Africa, South America and the Middle East; and these problems go well beyond simple translation issues and lack of cultural understanding. Something we faced when speaking with our early investors, was they sometimes became too obsessed with the western world and looked past the high growth markets – often referred as the “next billion markets”. That was a challenge for us, as our growth and data were pointing to the developing markets, and the VCs were pointing to the developed markets. It was a difficult choice for us to make, but we followed where the data pointed. Today it has shown that it was the right path for us to take in order to grow fast. If your business if facing similar questions and app success relies on international expansion, here’s a few things to keep in mind if you want to compete and win over the next billion consumers: Stop Building Just for “Ferrari Phones” Mobile app developers usually have a top-‐of-‐the-‐line phone or tablet, like an iPhone 5S or a Galaxy S5. This is the device they use their app on day-‐to-‐day, but it is not representative of how most of their users are experiencing their product or service. Lower-‐end phones are much more commonplace in fast-‐growth markets than they are in the U.S. or Europe. For example, smartphone penetration in India is only 13 percent, compared to 56 percent in the U.S., according to Google’s Our Mobile Planet study. The takeaway here is that you should not create an app that just works well for a small percentage of potential customers. This is the equivalent of automotive designers only focusing on their company’s top-‐of-‐the-‐line cars, rather than what most of their customers are driving. It’s important to pay close attention to the types of devices that reside in the hands of a majority of our users. Truecaller’s app, for instance, often runs smoother on low-‐end Android phones in developing countries than the operating system itself. Simply maintaining a quality experience– rather than one that chugs along and takes forever to start on most phones – can do wonders for audience retention and repeat usage.
![Page 2: Understanding the App Growth Mechanism in the "Next Billion Markets"](https://reader031.vdocuments.site/reader031/viewer/2022020311/577cc7731a28aba711a0faed/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Think Small When it Comes to Design Bigger does not always mean better. It is true that phone screens are getting larger in the U.S. and Europe, though in many countries, smaller screens still have a powerful hold. According to Google, 85 percent of U.S. smartphone owners have a phone with a large display (iPhone size or larger) – compare that to Brazil, where just 61 percent of smartphones have a large screen, or Indonesia, where only half of smartphones do. Although it may be tempting for designers to utilize all the extra screen real estate, this should not be done at the cost of the user experience. Designers can be too eager to cram their UI with fancy bells and whistles, leading to an ugly, awkward layout for those looking at it through smaller screens. Much like programming for low-‐spec phones, accounting for a small screen size is key to improving the overall customer experience. Don’t Take Data for Granted Americans and Europeans love to complain about their cellular data caps of a few gigabytes a month, but the situation is far worse for those living in countries where prepaid plans dominate. Prepaid customers have to be extra conscious of their mobile data when every extra megabyte means a higher phone bill. In developing countries, as an example, users often turn off cellular data on their phone to prevent apps from using it in the background. This is very much in contrast to the average western developers who typically build their apps with the assumption that their users will have a constant Internet connection, even if the core functionality of the app does not require one. This is a recipe for poor adoption. In fact, Google’s data shows that only 43 percent of Indian smartphone owners use a Wi-‐Fi connection for their smartphone at home, while nearly three quarters of Americans do. Seek out Carrier and Device Partnerships Only a few years ago, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) paid license fee to app developers to develop for their smart phone devices. But today, partnering with carriers and OEMs in foreign markets can be a major boon to all involved. For app developers that do not have a great deal of brand recognition outside of their home country, joining up with a well-‐known local brand can be an inroad to reaching millions of new customers. In this regard, the app placement has become real estate for developers to fight for. With a robust partnership, carriers and OEMs can differentiate their increasingly commoditized phones and cellular services and your app gets exposure to users you otherwise might miss out on. One important lesson we learned when dealing with OEMs and operators, is that you really need to be present in the market to make the deal – whether you have a local
![Page 3: Understanding the App Growth Mechanism in the "Next Billion Markets"](https://reader031.vdocuments.site/reader031/viewer/2022020311/577cc7731a28aba711a0faed/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
business developer or you are there yourself, you need to spend face time with the people you do business with. Striking a deal with an OEM is only the first step of a very long process; the next step is starting to customize your app for various device manufacturers. Some OEMs require a lot of customization, and some requires less, such as more logo placement or deeper customized user interface, etc. It only becomes more complex as you strike more deals. Sometimes you might need to communicate with a product team that is based in China while the business team is based in India; so the road to a partnership may involve some degrees of confusion and misunderstandings before it becomes successful. A point worth noting is that it can be very difficult to estimate the actual usage of your app in the pre-‐installed phones. A pre-‐installed app does not necessarily mean an active user for your service. This is a decision process you need to take internally, and you’ll need to determine if it is worth spending resources in developing unique builds for individual device manufacturers, what support you want to give them, and if you will you constantly maintain the updates. To fast track your app for success, do not simply pay attention to making it the most sophisticated app in the category. Rethink your app’s design for approachability and maximum reach. Most importantly, make sure you have conducted extensive user testing to identify and work around major consumer annoyances that can inhibit your app's growth, virality, and reach. -‐-‐ Thanks, Alan [email protected] About Truecaller: Truecaller is the world’s largest verified mobile phone community, dedicated to helping users make the right call. Truecaller’s dynamic community of more than 70 million users is always evolving and is committed to maintaining the integrity of the community by crowdsourcing information to help identify spam callers and verify users. Headquartered in Stockholm, Truecaller was founded in 2009 by Nami Zarringhalam and Alan Mamedi. Truecaller is available on all internet-‐enabled devices and on the web. For more information visit www.truecaller.com