Developing a new mobile app is a sound business decision. However, no matter how wonderful or groundbreaking your new mobile app is, if no one is using it, it remains great in the estimation of the developers only. To make your new mobile app relevant, you will have to market it aggressively. In fact, you need to have a marketing strategy for it before the development begins. Your mobile app marketing strategy should feature the following milestones.
1. Pre-Launch
This is the most crucial step in an app marketing strategy. This phase should concentrate on enhancing visibility and raising awareness of your brand.
2. Decide on the Release Date
After the pre-launch, you need to set a hard launch date. You should have adequate time between the pre-launch and the hard launch date to give reviewers enough time to analyze your mobile app. During this stage, bugs are fixed and design issued sorted. Once you are certain the product is good for release, go ahead and announce the release date. However, choose a date that does not have other events happening that could overshadow yours.
3. Research Your Customer Base
You will have to establish a potential customer base for your mobile app before you even start developing it. Your customer research should establish who the key players in your mobile app category are. It should also address a pain-point, a demonstrated need not yet addressed by competitors. It is important to establish who your potential clients are before moving into the development phase.
4. Conduct a Competitive Analysis
Before you embark on mobile app development, it is important to establish whether there are other similar apps in the same niche. There are literally millions of apps in the market. It’s important that you make sure that yours will stand out in the shark-bloodied waters of competition. Compile a list of five top competing apps, their pricing, monetization model, pros and cons, ranking, and the reviews. If possible, make a competitive matrix to establish how your app compares. Avoid making an app with features that have already attracted negative reviews.
5. Establish Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Once you have done your customer research and a competitive analysis for your proposed app, decide on what will make your app stand above the rest. Play up elements of your app that are unique and focus on these in your messaging.
A strong UVP makes user acquisition very easy since the potential clients already know what your app will do for them; and if they like it, they will spread the word across social networks (the new word of mouth).
6. Define Your Brand Positioning and Messaging
Once you are certain you have a compelling product, you need a compelling message, a brand voice, to position your mobile app in the market. Your product’s UVP need to cut across your message repeatedly. Find the strongest value proposition of your mobile app and then weave a compelling story around it. Nothing sells and positions a brand more than a compelling story that goes viral.
7. Map out Your Monetization Strategy
Chances are you want to make money with your app. Define your monetization strategy early on in the app development process. The user interface (UX) should have provisions for monetization. Decide whether your app will be ad-supported, feature in-app purchases, or if it will be subscription-based.
When drafting a marketing strategy for your mobile app, think multiple marketing channels. Incorporate the use of videos, images and text. While some people will connect with your brand through text, others will find you through video or images. Develop content that is easily available to reviewers in all the major formats. At the end of the day, you want your new mobile app to make an enduring statement in the market.