Developing an app is an achievement. With so much time and effort involved in the entire development, testing, and release process, coming up with an effective marketing strategy would be the last thing on a developer’s mind.
In the application market there is the ‘abundance problem’. With a surge of mobile apps hitting various app stores, success isn’t guaranteed even if your newly developed app has ‘everything’. This is further compounded by the high failure rate of various well-developed apps on the app stores. The truth is, no matter how great your app is, a solid marketing strategy is what ultimately sells it. ‘Promised value’ marketing can act as a key differential.
It is critical to create a marketing plan prior to launch for promotion and brand awareness. After all, no one is going to download an app that doesn’t hold much interest.
What is the strategy to create the marketing buzz?
1. Promotion before launch: Even before the launch of the application, various promotional content must be finalized: content development, reviews from various influencers, opinion makers and bloggers and design of banners for advertising, press releases, etc. The right medium (portals and publications) can ensure that the promotion is directed at the right audience. This is facilitated by making an online presence through social media. Demonstration tests with a target group spread awareness to the right audience.
2. Application Optimization: It is important to optimize your app for the search engine by providing the correct keywords in your title and description so that users can easily locate your app. Optimizing the app during the development process should be an essential step for visibility in the search query in the app store. (1)
3. Early release of unique features: In order to grow the user base, it is essential to launch early, which attracts the attention of investors. The release of core features would help early adoption, setting the stage for a growing user base in the future. Enabling a social sharing feature can further lead to improving the user base. Adoption is usually fast if a unique feature is introduced at an early stage. For example, a messaging app that has the ability to address 50 or more people at a time would attract interest. (2)
4. get discovered – With a plethora of applications in the same market segment you are operating in, the highest frequency is essential to make your presence felt. The audience wants to know how easy your app is and is ready to download. Create a landing page and email subscription option for the app. The focus should be on building awareness to drive traffic to the page. A multi-channel marketing strategy, such as email marketing, banner advertising, and viral marketing, can help promote apps across multiple channels. To gain maximum visibility, the marketing process must be continuous.
5. Turn users into your sellers: Reaching the top position on the chart is difficult, but once achieved, users can act as marketers for their ‘great app’. Users can use the shareable features of the app to spread brand awareness among friends. They can use the app to share content and social media to build buzz around the app. Relationships can be forged through the shareable aspect of the app. Social media can be used to create profiles of targeted users who can engage and re-engage through content, value description, offers, and feature capabilities. Once convinced, your real marketers do the viral marketing for the app. (4)
6. revenue model: It is essential to develop clarity about the revenue generation model. The most appropriate revenue model should be chosen. The app can be a paid app or initially free and charged later. The various sources of app monetization that can be explored include purchase options, advertisements, subscriptions, and product/service sales.
7. Retention and user participation: Retaining customers can be just as difficult as acquiring them. Push notifications serve as a source of user engagement. A strong user experience is essential to attract and retain customers. Feedback on the user experience through ratings and reviews on the app page/app store are ultimate ways to increase credibility, retain existing customers, and acquire more. Allowing people to communicate directly from the app via email or social media can help build engagement. Any negative review about a bug, issue, crash, or additional feature requirement should be resolved immediately. Successful handling of the user request leaves a satisfied customer and generates positive reviews. (5)
Positive reviews increase the credibility of the app as people download apps with higher positive recommendations.
Well-planned pre-launch promotion, precise optimization, early release of unique features, enhanced visibility, viral marketing, and positive review through high credibility are some of the decisive strategies to fight the competition and top the rankings. listings in the app market.
References
(3) Dholakiya, Prateek. “3 Strategies for Winning in the Hyper-Competitive App Market”. February 6, 2015. Entrepreneur.com. February 19, 2015
(1,2) Kimbrell, Gideon. “Five Killer Marketing and Distribution Strategies for Your App”. July 18, 2014. Forbes website. February 19, 2015
(5) “Marketing your new mobile app.” October 10, 2014. SmartInsights.com. February 19, 2015
(4) “The iOS App Marketing Strategy Guide.” Apptamin.com. February 19, 2015
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