When is an Idea Worth Pursuing an App?
The app market is a highly competitive industry. Separate from China, Apple and Google control over 95 percent of the app store market share through iOS and Android. As of November 2020, Apple’s App Store has 4.3 million apps and games, and Google Play Store has 2.9. million. In reality, the number of apps that will actually be popular and successful is much lower.
In the world of apps, it can be hard being one small fish in an enormous ocean; therefore, it is important that any new apps must be on par in terms of serving a need among users. You may believe that you have a great idea, but given the time and investment needed to create it, how can you be sure it really is a good idea? Before developing your great idea into an app, take a look at the following steps for your research.
- Establish the Need
If you ask founders of apps what makes an app successful, you will get different answers. However, determining the need is what initially tends to be the common theme. Ask yourself a couple of questions: “What makes you different enough that there is a need for what you offer?” If you are creating an app similar to another app, ask yourself if the market demand is big enough for more than one player. For instance, Garrett Camp, Co-Founder of Uber, made a point that founders should have a passion for the service they are going to build, which often comes from a need they have experienced themselves. For Camp, he helped co-found Uber because he was frustrated with how hard it was hard to get a cab.
There is no doubt that many other app founders have created an app because they did the research, figured out a need, and decided they could serve that need. Just because you don’t have a passion for it does not mean it won’t be successful. However, when you are passionate about your idea, you might be more willing to take the extra steps needed to make it a stand-out service.
Overall, make sure you do some comprehensive research before spending any development money. Figure out what already exists and where your idea will fit in.
- Identify Your Target Audience
The basis of a successful app is that it delivers to a specific target audience. It is important to know who you are wanting to reach early in the process so you can always remember them.
Your target audience needs to be a huge part of your research in determining the need. What is it that your audience is needing help with? Does your app actually solve those needs?
You also need to know the possible size of your target audience. If you are creating something that is functional and you want to make money off of it, then you will need to do some major number crunching to figure out whether or not you will make it with the audience you have. If your app is more of a steppingstone to get your audience onto something more worthwhile that you are selling, then you will need to assess how well that app will adapt for you.
- Conduct SWOT Analysis
SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. If is quite useful when you are taking a balanced look of your app idea. The whole idea is to conduct a complete exploration of inside and outside influences that can affect your app.
It is important to remember that a SWOT analysis is a way to build yourself a good overall picture; however, it does have its limits. For instance, SWOT is not a way to make a decision. Instead, you will need to choose a system that will prioritize your points and helps you decide the best path the take.
Here is a way to view the SWOT analysis:
Strengths: Determine the advantages your app has over others, different selling plan, and even things such as whether you already have an established audience.
Weaknesses: Are there any improvements you could add to the app? Has there been any feedback from testers or other identified weaknesses?
Opportunities: Look for new trends or technology you can use, ways to scale your user base, or weaknesses of your competition that you can improve upon.
Threats: Threats come from both your inside and outside environment. For instance, having the right amount of money to make sure your app gets completed or competitors who have well-established audiences.
- Decide on Essential Features
After doing a lot of research, you should have an idea as to the types of features that you will absolutely need for your app. Figure out what features will be your main attributes and talk with target users where you can.
When asking people whether they would buy your app, avoid talking to friends and family. They will most likely always give you positive feedback; whereas the true test is with a group of potential users who have no problem giving you their honest opinion.
Is Your App Worth Creating?
There are many duplicate apps out there along with ones that stand alone. No matter what, it is always a good idea to do some research before putting time and money into your app idea. Be sure to know your market, target audience, the problem you want to solve, and your competitors. If you are needing advice on how to go about deciding whether your app idea will be successful, contact the staff at Intergetik today. We would love to help you get started researching and bring different ideas to the table that could help your business succeed.