The healthcare industry has finally caught up with the mobile app revolution that began decades ago. With the explosion of interest in telehealth and telemedicine, healthcare companies are scrambling to develop a solid mobile health (mHealth) app strategy. But what does it take to create a successful fitness app development plan?
In 1983, Steve Jobs predicted a "digital record store" where people would download discrete software applications over telephone lines. Fast forward to today, and we have over 8.9 million apps at our fingertips. The mobile app industry has surpassed $154 billion in value, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 11.5% through 2027.
Consumers spend an average of 4.2 hours a day on mobile apps, making it the perfect platform for healthcare organizations to connect with their audience. But what's driving this shift towards mHealth? The answer lies in telemedicine and telehealth, which involve delivering medical services remotely via telephone or digital devices.
Telemedicine was growing before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it wasn't until then that it reached mainstream popularity. In-person treatment plunged by 23% in March 2020 and 52% in April 2020, while telemedicine skyrocketed by over 1,000%. It's clear that consumers want app solutions to medical problems, just like they do with every other problem category.
Healthcare organizations that rush to meet this demand will enjoy a competitive advantage. Those that drag their feet will get left behind. So, how can you start building your mobile app strategy? Here are seven steps to get you started:
Step 1: Define Your Mobile Health App Business Goals
The first step in designing your healthcare mobile app strategy is defining the app's business goals. This involves understanding the role the app will play in the organization and determining the specific purpose it will serve. Will it recreate existing services as a digital experience, introduce new services to retain patients, disrupt the industry with a new mobile healthcare concept, or improve current operations?
Step 2: Understand Your Users and Competition
Developing a successful fitness app development plan requires more than technical skills and resources. You need to connect with your target user base. Healthcare organizations must ask themselves, "why invest time and money in developing a mobile app that no one wants?"
To ensure the app addresses the needs of the target user base, conduct surveys online or with current patients to identify their pain points and determine if the problem the app solves is worth solving. This information can create a "user persona," a dream user who cannot resist the app's value proposition.
The competitive landscape is another aspect to consider when developing a mobile app for the healthcare industry. Users not only have to accept an app as a solution but also choose it over other competitors in the market. Evaluate the competition and determine if a popular app already offers a similar solution.
By following these seven steps, you'll be well on your way to creating a successful fitness app development plan that will help you stay ahead of the curve in the healthcare industry.