Mobile App Success Story: Khan Academy App

Monday is the perfect day to learn something new! We want to motivate you to start your week off right but we also have a story that will inspire you to see things from a different perspective. Today, we will talk about Khan Academy and more precisely we will understand why millions of users decided to use Khan Academy app.

Brilliant Idea

First things first! Sal Khan who completed his Harvard Business School MBA in 2003 is the creator of Khan Academy, a not – profit platform built for teaching people science and mathematics. There is a certain formula when we discuss successful products and Khan Academy follows the same pattern. Everything started in the family, in 2004 when he had to help his cousin, Nadia with her math problems. Since he was tutoring her remotely he recorded those lessons and posted on YouTube for other students who needed them. After a few years, in 2007 Sal created Khan Academy, an educational organization which offers free videos for all people who want to learn new things or to help their kids with their homework. Without a real business model, the platform is based on donations and investors. In 2009, Sal quit his job in finance for taking care of his academy. In 2012, he and his team launched an iOS app but without all the features offered by the website. In 2015, they redesigned the app and created also a version for Android devices. Now, both apps meet their users’ requirements and allow them to sync their progress across all devices. Long story, short: Khan Academy app offers users the chance to improve their knowledge anytime and anywhere.

How Khan Academy App Did It

It is time to focus on the techniques applied by Sal’s team for convincing users about the benefits of using Khan Academy app, one of the most successful education apps.

Mobile app owners:

Know more about the most efficient methods for promoting education apps.

Free

Let’s start with the most advantageous element of the app. Users don’t need to pay for downloading or for using it. Actually, the fact that people can learn “almost anything for free” is the fundamental concept behind Khan Academy platform. The main goal for launching an app was to grow the community and to make learning more accessible for those who don’t have a computer while the democratization of education was possible by combining web with the mobile app.

Offline Learning

It is important to highlight that people of all ages are excited to learn new things or to make sure that they are prepared for tests. So, being online all the time is very difficult. Another advantage offered by a mobile app, especially in this case is that students can use it offline. The only condition is to bookmark what they want to learn at the moment they are at school or in a place with an internet connection and they can assimilate the information when they have more free time and at their own pace.

It Is All About Progress

We all know that even if we have all the necessary resources to acquire new skills it is very hard to find the motivation for that. We all make plans and promise that we will invest more time in learning something new and we end up recognizing that we didn’t achieve the wanted results. We blame the lack of focus, social networks and other distractions for our failure. It is great that someone decided to help us with our problems but how to make sure that we continue with our plan? We take advantage of mobile tools. It is more difficult to reach the computer, open the browser and to keep watching those videos. With Khan Academy app you can improve your knowledge even during your coffee break or whenever you have some free time with just a few taps. And with all those badges and energy points it is a lot easier. Speaking of the learning process, just watch Sal’s opinion about motivation at TED Conference.

Khan Academy And Duck Duck Moose

For an efficient learning, it is necessary a strong background in mathematics. And why not starting from early ages? For this reason, the partnership between Khan Academy and children app developer Duck Duck Moose was created for offering smart apps for small kids for free. In 2016, all developers from Duck Duck Moose joined Khan Academy for making their paid apps available for all preschool kids and for collaborating on other projects. As TechCrunch highlighted back then, everything was possible due to the support offered by Omidyar Network, a philanthropic foundation. At the same time, Bill Gates also appreciate Khan Academy because he used these courses for helping his children.

Bonus Tip: Respond To Customer Feature Requests!

As we already mentioned at the beginning of this article, Khan Academy app wasn’t a success from the beginning. Better saying, users preferred to use the online platform instead of downloading the app. But from the moment Sal and his team understood the importance of mobile environment they focused on offering users all the features provided by the website. And they continue to do that. They pay attention to all users’ demands and try to improve the apps as much as possible. If you check the reviews you will see that every review with less than 5 stars has an answer from Khan Academy, letting them know that they appreciate students’ opinions and they consider their suggestions. As an app owner, no matter the business model, it is essential to make users understand that you want to help them with your app and you continue to maintain it. Offering support for your product is an essential stage for reaching success!

Final Thoughts

What Sal Khan created with his organization represents an inspiration for everyone. In the same time, Khan Academy app is a great example that a mobile app can be the perfect tool for completing the experience provided by the website. Keep in mind that mobile apps are mandatory when you want to gather more members of the community built around your product!