On-Demand services apps have taken the world by storm. Who thought the customers can simply tap their smartphones to avail plethora of services, without even going out of their homes?
From booking a technician to calling a hairdresser home, from asking a plumber to fix your taps to getting cleaning experts, on-demand service apps have an answer to every modern challenge.
With the growing usage of home appliances like microwave ovens, air conditioners, refrigerators, laptops, etc, one needs experienced service experts to maintain and upkeep them. This has created a massive demand for on-demand service apps in the market.
Apps like TaskRabbit and UrbanCompany (Urban Clap) have made their niche space in the on-demand app market, because of the unprecedented ease and convenience they offer to the customers. These apps offer a platform where users can place a request for services, and then they get the experts at their doorstep.
On-demand services apps offer a high-income business model, which is influencing the entrepreneurs to join this space and build their on-demand service apps. If you are planning to create a platform, where you want to offer services like real estate experts, home cooks, plumbers, technicians, architects, and even bartenders, then this is the right time to grab this opportunity.
In this blog, we will give our best shot to make you understand the functions of on-demand service apps, and the process, cost, and technical aspects involved in app development for your business. We are pretty much sure that this will address your concerns around the on-demand service app development.
It is quite inspiring to see how UrbanClap started in 2014 and in FY2019 their revenue reached all the way up to USD $17 million. To give you a contrast, their revenue was USD $1.6 million in 2017.
If this is not enough, UrbanClap has raised total funding of USD $110 million in eight rounds. In addition, according to UrbanClap, they are expecting to increase their revenue by 3 times in the very next financial year.
Now, the on-demand home services market size is expected to grow by USD 4.75 billion from 2022 to 2026 at a CAGR of 60.77% as per the latest market report by Technavio.
Looking at the facts and figures, the on-demand service market is worth investing. And developing a service marketplace app is the portal to entering this market.
In this blog, we will capture all the essential steps of building an on-demand service market mobile app while keeping UrbanClap in the focus.
In addition, we will also take some excursions to the feature list and revenue model and end this journey by evaluating the overall cost of service provider app development.
Think about the problem. If you want to go to a salon, first you manage your schedule and take some time off for it. Then you take an hour-long ride, fighting irritating traffic. Finally, you reach the salon and get all the things done and you repeat the same tedious process.
Now think about a solution. You want to go to a salon. But now you don’t take your car out of your home, you simply take your phone out of your pocket and open an on-demand service app and you call salon specialists at your home. So now YOU don’t go to the salon but the salon itself comes to YOUR place. Did you like the way tables turned?
But wait, for a growing and sustainable business, mere providing a solution to the problem is not enough. After consuming the solution service, eventually, people are going to seek what more your business can offer.
To quench this market thirst, an on-demand service mobile app like UrbanClap offers all types of services from the electrician to plumbers, from yoga instructors to AC repair services, and even dieticians. As an app user, you will find everything to cover from your home care and décor to your personal care.
Hence, the app has a smart solution to a common and ubiquitous problem and with tons of added benefits that will never run out to serve you in any way.
Besides the revenue of USD $17 million, UrbanClap offers 60 types of services in 15+ cities in India. They also provide their services in Dubai as well. In addition, they have 100,000+ service professionals and counting every day. In April 2019, UrbanClap served more than 620,000 service orders.
Evidently, the growth of this company is not just impressive – it’s mind-boggling! This flaming popularity of UrbanClap has spilled the bean about the on-demand service mobile application market. It IS huge and it is targeting the daily needs of its customers.
Imagine a business that is providing services ranging from beautician to electrician at your home. It saves people from traffic, waiting for an appointment, saves some time, and offers all professional services right at your doorstep without lifting a finger – well, you DO need to lift a finger for ordering service for you.
If you are building an app that will go head to head with the market leader then it is wise to their all challenges. UrbanClap is no exception that can remain immune to these challenges.
However, by incorporating their strengths and resolving challenges you can build an on-demand service application that can win the marketplace just in a snap (because ‘clap’ would be derivative). What are these challenges? Let’s point them out.
UrbanClap works on a simple revenue model that every other marketplace utilizes these days. If you want, then you can talk to your mobile app developers and find out some other revenue models to get some extra bucks in the banks. So basically, we are going to talk about the two revenue models that are being leveraged by UrbanClap.
This revenue model covers services like electrician, plumber, and AC repair. UrbanClap earns revenue by deducting the fixed amount of commission from the earnings of professionals. The payment is received via the app and after deducting the commission the amount is transferred to the service provider’s account.
The services that require listing and sponsorship in order to get more leads. Hence, photographers, yoga instructors, lawyers, and interior designers may utilize this paid sponsorship that helps their profiles to show on the top search results.
A simple one or possibly two-step registration saves time for the users and lets them use the application right away.
It is a feature that allows customers to log in with their social media IDs. It is absolutely a time-saver and saves users from remembering new passwords.
Since the application asks for several personal details from the customers, like their age, addresses, phone number, sex, etc. Hence, this feature gives the right the customers of selecting the information they are comfortable sharing with the service providers.
This feature enhances the overall user experience for the users. With this feature, users can search for services they need with the help of smart sorting options that help them to search for services within their budget, nearby their area, and many other useful options.
People have different favorite modes of payment. Therefore, accepting payments from multiple payment modes serves all types of users.
Each user gets their own profile which has a complete record of services taken and complete payment records and much other information.
This feature keeps a track record of all services taken by the customer.
It is a great feature that helps customers to chat with the service providers about their services and charges.
If the customer prefers talking over a phone call, then this feature helps them to talk to the service provider via phone call.
When customers want to browser service of their need that fits in their budget then this feature makes it easy by providing search results of services that come within their budget.
Sending feedback to the service provider after taking their service gives customers the freedom to express how much they liked or disliked the service. It is a great tool that brings transparency to the service provider app.
Every customer is allowed to check the profile and feedback of the service provider before taking service. This is how the customer can get the best service from the on-demand service mobile app.
Service providers also benefit from easy login and registration into the application.
Service providers can chat with customers from within the application and share their service details and give quotations for their work.
Every service provider can set their service charges for their services. They can either set fixed charges or set an hourly charge for a type of service. In addition, if discussed over the chat then the service provider can offer a quote for described service.
A service provider may not be available all the time. Therefore, they can choose their availability time for offering their services.
In the user prefers to talk over a phone call, in-app call feature allows service providers to talk over the phone from within the app.
Service providers have their own profiles on their applications. Just like a customer’s profile service provider’s profile has all the relevant information about their application activity.
This is an essential feature for a service provider. It helps service providers to keep track of their incoming and outgoing payments and app commission details as well.
GPS navigation helps service providers reach the customers without any hassle.
A dedicated dashboard simply means for each type of analytic or information there is a separate dashboard that promotes clear and visible essential information at a glance. This is why it is an essential feature for an admin.
A content management system or CMS is a must-have feature for any type of application. With the help of an intelligent CMS integration, an admin can manage the entire content available on the application effortlessly.
Whether it is managing a huge load of customer data or utilizing an effective marketing strategy or enhancing existing services, a CRM always turns out to be an ally for the admins.
For clients and partners of on-demand service mobile applications a record management system is quite necessary. This provides an efficient way of creating, deletion, and maintenance of all essential data of the application.
No doubt the admin has control over every aspect of the service marketplace application. Therefore, having control over the profiles of customers and service providers is an obvious option. It allows admins to suspend or ban any profile for their fraudulent activities as well.
Keeping entire app data is a crucial thing to do for admins. Therefore, this dedicated backup and restore data option help admins to take backup and restore data anything they want.
Having dedicated finance and tax management features helps admins manage the business accounts properly and with ease.
Ad and promotion management allows admins to manage their promotional campaigns on the app and outside the application easily.
For entire analytics with smart sorting options, this feature is a time-saving and efficient option for the admins of a service marketplace application.
So far we have covered the business and revenue model of UrbanClap with its weaknesses which you can fix in your business and offer a must robust business model to the people. In addition, we have always covered the part of features of an on-demand service provider application.
Now let’s shed some light on the part where we talk about who will help you to build or develop an on-demand service provider app that proves to be a profitable business for you.
Investing both your time and money into the on-demand service marketplace is a big deal. Therefore, you have to make sure that this flight that you take reaches the height that you expected and better, beyond.
Every small plan starts with some people who can comprehend the trajectory of your vision and work for it hard enough while efficiently utilizing the available resources.
Hence, the task of finding yourself the best mobile app developer requires more time and thorough inspection than you expected. An experienced team of developers in a reputed mobile app development company can walk side by side with you with your ideas and vision. They can develop the application that you need for your business success.
A team of developers for on-demand service app development has at least these members.
I wish I could give you an exact number. But that is not possible. The application market is global and as a result, the cost of app development is affected by various global reasons. The first reason is the geography of app development.
For example, hiring a developer in the USA costs USD $150 – $250 per hour, and in Eastern European countries, $120 – $180 per hour. But here is a significant contrast, in Asian countries like India hiring a developer costs around USD $40 – $80 per hour.
The second reason is the number of features. The more advanced feature you choose to include in the app, the bigger hole it will make in your pocket.
The third major reason is the number of platforms you are getting the app developed for. If you are developing an on-demand service marketplace app for both Android and iOS, then it will cost more than just one platform.
So just to tell you an estimated cost of development, we can create our own situation. Let’s assume that the app is being developed in India and is a minimum viable product (MVP).
In this situation, the price may vary from USD $15,000 – $20,000 for one platform. However, adding more features and making it available on more platforms can significantly increase the price.
We are living in a modern era where smartphones and internet service have transformed the way we used to avail of various services.
On-demand service is an innovative concept that has made it possible for customers to avail of numerous services at their homes.
Applications such as Urban Company and Task Rabbit have captured the imagination of users, who have got the opportunity to get instant services at their location.
If you are planning to launch an on-demand service, then this is the right time to venture into this business. If you have a unique business idea, then we can certainly transform that into an on-demand service app like Urban Clap or Task Rabbit.
Arka Software is a prominent mobile app development company offering the development of on-demand services apps. We have a team of seasoned developers and professionals who can leverage their technical expertise to build a full-fledged on-demand service application for both android and iOS platforms.
Moreover, we incorporate incredible features and develop cost-effective solutions for your business.
Jeeto11
The app quickly earned over 1,000 downloads within two months of launch, and users have responded positively. ARKA Softwares boasted experienced resources who were happy to share their knowledge with the internal team.
Archithrones
While the development is ongoing, the client is pleased with the work thus far, which has met expectations. ARKA Softwares puts the needs of the client first, remaining open to feedback on their work. Their team is adaptable, responsive, and hard-working.
Service Provider
I started my project with Arka Softwares because it is a reputed company. And when I started working with them for my project, I found out that they have everything essential for my work. The app is still under development and but quite confident and it will turn out to be the best.
