How To Formulate An Efficient App Strategy
Despite its complex nature, a solid app strategy can be the driving force behind a high download rate and long-term user engagement. Getting these key elements right will make the entire development process more straightforward.
Identify Your Target User
The first stage of your strategy formulation should be identifying your target user. With an understanding of who your app will be aimed at, you can not only get more downloads, but you can also communicate your vision more clearly to stakeholders and investors. There are several questions that you can ask to determine your ideal target user:
- Who are they?
Consider the age, gender, hobbies and interests of your ideal user, and try to build a general profile of their characteristics.
- What are their spending habits?
Identifying the spending habits of your target user will help you navigate the creation and marketing of your app. Are they younger users who might need parental permissions to make in-app purchases, or are they of an older demographic with a higher level of disposable income?
- What do they need from an app?
Put yourself in their shoes – what do they need from an app right now that they can’t get elsewhere? How can you provide them with this through your own creation?
Complete Competitive Analysis
Once you’ve established your target user, you can start to complete competitive analysis to discover the apps you’ll be going up against in the market.
First, use similar search terms and categories to your own in the app store, to identify which apps are suggested. Then, check to see how similar they are in terms of what they offer.
Next, assess their analytics – are they successful? Understanding what users are looking for can shape your app strategy formulation.
Finally, identify the keywords they use to see which ones they rank highly with. You can then implement these keywords into your own app to optimize it across the Apple and Google Play app stores.
Visualize Your App
As part of your strategy, you’ll need to visualize your app, so that both internal and external stakeholders can understand what makes it unique, and how it will succeed. This can include the creation of an app user flow, which will be a rough sketch of the journey your user will take as they navigate your app.
Your app visualization process may also include the development of wireframes - sketches designed to determine what functionality your app will need, and what each screen layout will look like. You can use a range of wireframes, starting with Lo-Fi (low fidelity) models that will be used by your designers to turn your vision into a reality.
Plan Your Data Management
It’s easy to get overexcited when formulating your app strategy and miss some of the key elements of this complex process. However, one of the most important aspects to prioritize throughout is how you will manage your data. Some things to consider include:
- Managing Data Analytics
Data tracking allows you to learn about how users interact with your app, and make appropriate changes. As part of your strategy formulation, you need to confirm how you’ll be using customer data, to explain this clearly to users who download your app.
- Information Security
Similarly, keeping user data safe is a key priority for any app creator, and deciding how you want to secure it is a vital part of any app strategy.
Getting your data management strategy right the first time is very important – not only does it show your users that their data will be secure, but it also builds confidence in your investors that your app will go the distance.
Assemble Your Marketing Team
An often overlooked element of app strategy formulation is marketing. Many app creators see marketing as one of the final stages of the overall rollout, thanks to the regular confusion of a marketing strategy with strict promotion, or the direct advertisement of a product.
Marketing is in fact a range of strategies that can be implemented into your overall app strategy formulation for the best download rates and returning user results.
Some of the best marketing tactics to use at the early stages of app strategy formulation are:
- Relationship Marketing
This effective marketing style focuses on building positive long-term customer relationships based on the overall brand identity. Building a strong brand image at the early stages of app development can increase customer interest and drive engagement.
- Inbound Marketing
Inbound Marketing works by encouraging customers to initiate their first contact with businesses. Brands do this by creating unique, informative content that provides value, perhaps by answering a customer's question or giving a solution to a problem. The product or service they provide is then an extension of the existing value. When planning your app strategy, consider how your app could provide value that customers directly seek out, to foster value-based user relationships.
- Outbound Marketing
A more traditional marketing approach that still has the potential to be worked into your app strategy is outbound marketing, which uses advertising methods dedicated to promoting a product or service. During your strategy formulation, consult with your marketing team to decide whether outbound marketing will be the best approach, to determine whether there are elements of your app that can be adjusted to prepare for this.
