With billions of apps on the app stores it is beginning to be a rather competitive environment! By now it is clear that simply putting an app on the store isn’t enough. Here are the top 4 things to consider when releasing an app (whether it is free or paid!):
1) Marketing
The days are gone when you could just put an app on the store and that alone would be enough to make it flourish. In the early days being “first” was often enough to ensure success. There was nothing else like what you were offering, so you won the race by default. However, this is no longer the case. Even if you release an app that has no competition or direct comparison (difficult now) you are still competing for attention with millions and millions of other apps out there. When considering your strategy I would suggest you choose your position in the market in line with the strategies espoused by Al Ries in Positioning: The Battle for your mind a classic book in marketing. This was also covered in one of our earlier blog posts 5 Tips to Help your App Make More Money
2) Have a Long Term Strategy
It won’t often be the case that an app is an instant success the moment it is put on the store – this rarely is the case anymore. You often have to put it out there, market your app and then build on it and fix and amend the app as customers recommend. This will help build the app that the market desires. To do this of course you need to make sure you are willing to make not just a investment in your app but a long term investment with ongoing development and marketing.
3) Do a Pilot Prior to Launch
Related to the above feedback is one of the most important things to do when launching a mobile app: Developers and designers do their best to guess what users will want but only actual users will know. We suggest doing a pilot prior to launch with your target base. A pilot test will help to determine the thoughts of your real users.
4) Build a Quality App
All of the above relate to quality in different ways. Whether it is building the app that users want, or informing them about the app in the marketplace. These practices all lead to determining if an app is quality or not and having a quality app is very important. If two apps are in the market and one is quality and one isn’t, the quality app will inevitably win the battle. Before we commit to working with a client we want to ensure their visions of quality matches with ours.
If you want us to help you build a quality app, don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-800-298-7081 ext 720
