App development is a risky venture. A new application can either become a fail or succeed massively. Currently, there are over 2.9 million applications on the Google Play store and over 2 million applications on the Apple App Store. Therefore, the market is extremely competitive. There is a high chance that your idea is already out there. However, the task is to make it more successful and effective. Prior market research for your new app idea has been shown to improve its chances of success significantly.
What is Market Research?
Market research refers to understanding your customers and their requirements for your idea. The results help in developing a more facilitating and useful application or program. It better suits the market demands and hence has a better chance of succeeding.
Further, market research helps you understand the phases of a customer’s decision journey. It allows you to make innovative and effective advertisement strategies. Key insights into the public can help deliver a better product.
Also read: Benefits of Test-driven development and Automated Testing
Strategies to Conduct Market Research
There are several strategies that can help you conduct effective market research for your app idea. The following five techniques can certainly come in handy while you are researching:
Defining your Audience
Firstly, the initial step is defining the target audience for your product. You do not need to reach out to everyone. Instead, select a particular group and see how they will perceive your app idea. Look for key demographics, lifestyle, preferences, habits, and psychographics in your target audience.
Make a list of focus questions to better understand your defined user. These should help you see if your idea has the potential to succeed. Ask about features your potential customers would like in the application, usability issues they face and how they think the problems should be solved, and their aspiration with the app. Answering the above questions can lead to a more user-friendly product.
Competitor Analysis
Secondly, competitor analysis is critical. It is similar to the quote, “keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.” It would be best if you were up to date with what your competitors are doing. Do they have a similar app as yours? How are they getting customers? What new features can you add to your application that they do not offer? These questions can help you make a product that stands out, attracting more customers.
SWOT Analysis
You can improve the quality of your application by conducting a SWOT analysis. It is a useful technique that can help analyze the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your app idea. Further, it helps in targeting the bottlenecks and developing a more efficient and high-quality product. SWOT analysis allows you to address your weaknesses and work on what you do well while also minimizing risks.
Defining Pitch
Your pitch is important for getting investors and gauging people’s interest. You should clearly define your application idea using engaging text and visual aids. Your pitch should be capable of instantly catching the reader’s eye and keeping them involved till the very end. You can either write everything down on one page or have a more concise version with a link to your landing page.
Business Plan
Lastly, it is no secret that having a well-devised business plan is key to your application’s success. A business plan is basically a roadmap, incorporating everything related to your idea. It caters to aspects like revenue, sales, profit, and market.
Further, it should also be reflective of your marketing strategies. Your business plan should be compact yet informative enough that stakeholders are not confused about anything. The clearer, firm, and direct your plan is, the greater are the chances of success.
Conclusion
Customers are a key part of every venture. Your success depends on having a loyal customer base. If you have an amazing product but no people to use it, there is no point in it. Therefore, it is crucial that your customers are happy.
Market research is an effective way of guaranteeing a happy customer base. The more you know about their needs and requirements, the better your app can be. It helps you understand the market dynamics. Consequently, allowing you to shape your strategies to maximize the chances of success.
The market research gives you insight into the market structure, potential customers, their expectations, and the need of your app. Therefore, it can significantly improve your chances of success by helping you use the information to your advantage.