According to Business of Apps, more than 140 billion games and applications were downloaded by users in the year 2020. Approximately 4,500 applications were added daily to App Store and Google Play in 2021. What’s more interesting is that more than 30 thousand games and applications were added to the Google Play and App Store in December last year.
Now we you must be wondering why are we discussing this? Well, knowing everything that happens in the industry you belong to, is a part of market research. Especially, when it comes to mobile app market, we have an ocean of apps and the customer’s value in this ocean to find the best one. Given the abundance of apps, and the rising need, it is important to know how to stand out of the rest, which can only be done through mobile app market research.
So, if you are looking to conduct mobile app research to launch an application soon, it is essential to design a strategy before diving into it unprepared. You must ensure you do not make the same mistake as the British technology platform taxi app Hailo. They did not have strategies before launching the service in the United States of America, neither did they have a USP, which is why it turned out to be a disastrous mistake for them.
Moreover, they did not research the USA market’s specificities. So, if you want to sell or your app or want to make a difference, ensure that you do not repeat the mistake. It is a proven fact that when your app is created with consideration of utmost research, data, and statistics, your entrance to the Google Play and App Store is always gracious and works like a magnetic to attract more users.
What is Mobile App Market Research?
Mobile app research helps you determine the needs and desires of your potential customers and the gaps in the mobile app market. It tells you why some apps stand out while some crash badly.
Knowing all of these things help you establish how you could produce sustainable options for your business and fill in the need of your target audience. If your mobile app research answers all the following questions, it is certain that your business will be a long-term success:
- Who are you customers?
- What is your offering?
- What can customers anticipate from the mobile apps you develop?
- Who are your competitors?
- How is your app different from your competitors?
- What will be the estimated annual profit from the app?
- How will the mobile app improve the efficiency of the business or how will it earn you anything?
- How will it help you in the long run?
There are many more questions that come into play when you research while for mobile app data. However, we have tried to cover the basic ones.
The market for mobile app development services has evolved massively in the last five years. So, inspecting for any build-up and possible difficulties within the mobile app development sector is important for.
On the other hand, you should focus on undertaking business hitches and also handle functional issues to reinforce your application development business. Once you tackle the questions mentioned above and have the solutions to the problems your customers face, your mobile app will get hundreds and thousands of customers.
What Are The Strategies For Effective App Market Research?
Now that you know investing in mobile app market research is essential, you must know the research strategies for an effective market research for a successful mobile app. The only difference between a common and operational strategy is that a working strategy is implemented with tactics in mind. Let us look at the five best strategies for effective mobile app market research:
1. Collect Data from Different Sources
Collecting information from multiple sources is the first and most effective strategy for collecting the market research data insights – no matter what industry. Having quick facts and statistics help businesses transform on the move.
Moreover, as the data is constantly changing on a daily basis due to changing audience behavior. It is essential to consider all behavioral data in check and re-evaluate the strategy time and time again. The continuous modifications in the strategy always help app to stay ahead of the competition.
It is recommended to use third-party platforms to gather information and data, including Statista, Gartner, Gallup, Google Trends, etc. You can also use online tools to collect data easily, such as:
- BusinessofApps
- Knoema
- Data.ai
- Google Trends
- Terry Soot Field Data Collection
- Statista
- FastField
- Momentive.ai
You can use also the following to collect more relevant market research data:
Survey
A survey is one of the most preferred methods for research across the globe. It allows you to provide a series of questions to a designated audience to obtain valuable data sets and statistics. According to multiple studies, surveys are a vastly effective and the best way to probe your potential users’ minds and know the preferences.
However, if you do not provide them with concrete or encompassing questions, the results you may get might be less effective. So, it is best to provide open-ended and unrestricted questions to the audience and accurate answers to choose from. This will help you receive more accurate data sets.
You may narrow down the questions later to get more precise answers from the users, but you must ensure that they aren’t too narrow. Additionally, the questions with one-word answers, such as yes or no, maybe less useful as they do not provide conclusive answers.
Social Media Listening
With more than 4.70 billion people active on social media, it is easy to say that the audience you are looking to target lives on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and more. In fact, more than 65% of the global population uses at least one social media platform and spends at least two hours on social media every day.
While using these AI-enabled and data absorbing apps, these people provide valuable data with true feedback and information for your market research data without a second thought. This is because people trust social media more than any other thing and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts there; whether through posts or chats. So, if you are looking to benefit from it, you must consider social media listening as a part of your research.
You need to monitor each and every activity on different social media platforms and look for what people are talking about, reacting to brands, products, campaigns, promotions and what related to your brand.
As a result, your business can collect actionable insights into how the audience communicates with the brand that offers products like yours. Also, it will allow you to pick the customers’ pain points and market gaps, which you can use in your app and then in your marketing campaign.
If you are looking to develop a mobile gaming application, it would be best to lean your ear into instant messaging social platforms like Discord. Similarly, if you are looking to create a fitness app, you must look into Facebook and Instagram apps. Some of the social listening apps you must use include:
- HubSpot Social Media Management Software
- Digimind Social
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- Awario
- BuzzSumo
- Mention
- TweetReach
In fact, platforms like Google and Reddit will also help you get honest user opinions. However, you also need to provide your expertise and collect the information in a smart way. Giving expertise will help your brand build trustworthiness and credibility, so more people will trust and communicate with your business.
2. Identify your Target Market
From developing buyer personas to filling the gaps in the market, it is essential to identify the target market to understand your customers’ needs. This will help you assess the viability of your business’s products and services.
The market research provides you with gears that can foresee the ever-changing market trends. However, you must monitor the market and target audience closely. It would be best to ensure that audience you target is not too imprecise or restricted.
3. Get On With Social Media
With more than 190 million users joining social media each year, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., are becoming a great avenue to know the likes and dislikes of the potential audience. The target audience concurrently connects with others, especially brands, on social media. So, following your audience’s trends and creating new ones to engage them is always recommended.
Moreover, brands now use multiple social media features to interact with their potential customers efficiently in real time. According to a study, analyzing social media is the most effective part of mobile app market research.
As stated above, you must also utilize social media listening tools to monitor each activity on different platforms to look for what people are talking about and reacting to products and services.
4. Competitors Analysis
Even though you feel that you have an excellent idea for the mobile app or think that your app market research is the best, it is recommended to take a look at your competition in the industry and evaluate where you stand.
Moreover, you must conduct thorough research on what your competitors have been up to. As a result, you can look at what has worked for them and what strategies you can develop to stay ahead of them.
The findings of your competitive research will help you stay ahead in the industry and conquer the edge by planning and developing state-of-the-art features in your mobile application. In addition, you must get answers to the following questions while performing competitive analysis:
- Who are your competitors in the public and private sectors?
- What is the model of their business?
- What is their target audience and customers?
- What are the demographics of their users (which area do they live in, what is their preferred technology, what pain points are solved using their app, etc.)
- How does their mobile app solve the customer’s problems?
- What are the unique features of their app?
- How much is their annual turnover, and what revenue do they expect to earn in the upcoming years?
- What is their traditional and digital marketing strategy? What results do they get from their marketing strategies?
- What is their conversation rate?
- How does the audience react to their products and promotions?
- If their model or product has any flaw that you can take advantage from?
- What makes you better than them?
5. Must Perform SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is a must-do thing when looking to start a mobile app business. You must ensure to carry out the SWOT Analysis more than once during the research, designing, and development to form a decent market strategy. You must identify fundamental strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can lead to statistical analysis, new view point, and innovative ideas.
SWOT analysis will also help you compete with the industry leaders and ensure that your business does not fail. However, performing a SWOT analysis with indirect competitors is also recommended.
Once you are done following all the steps mentioned above, you need to execute your plan and proceed to the app designing and development phase. However, you must keep in mind that innovation is key. With the right innovation and a USP that matches the audience’s needs success can come your way.
Conclusion
To ensure the success of your app and sustainability in the industry, good research based on facts and statistics is the key. Following the steps mentioned above will help you dive deep into the research and solve the customers’ pain points. With thorough research you will be able to establish you are customer persona and the USPs that will set your app apart from the rest. However, you must ensure that the research doesn’t end here as it is an ongoing process. To transform your ideas into reality that can generate the best ROI, it to research frequently and keep adapting according to the trends, whether technological or behavioral.