How to create the right go-to-market strategy for your new mobile app

Developing a brilliant mobile app and uploading it to an app store is not an easy step towards success. Simply creating a feature-rich application is not enough. To get a large number of downloads, users need to know more about your app, and they usually only download apps that are on the top lists. To do this, you need to focus your attention on the new mobile app and make sure it gets the attention it deserves. And this is where most developers and business owners get stuck or even fail.

There are many mobile apps that remain in the app stores and are not used or listened to. Even if discovered and downloaded, 77% of users never use the app again after installing it. If your mobile app cannot keep users engaged, then there is a good chance that the time spent on it will be low and last less than a minute.

But does this mean that every app owner who has a modest promotion budget can never win? While there is no 100% guarantee of success in the mobile app business, optimizing your go-to-market strategy can increase your chances of success.

Let’s look at the few factors you should consider in mobile app marketing before and after launch.

Invest in market research:

Researching the key players in the category your mobile app will be operating in will surely give you a great idea of ​​what your visitors are looking for in an app. How are applications named? Are they easy to remember? What are the keywords that the app ranks for? All of these analytics can be very helpful in promoting the app and getting it in front of the right audience. To get started, create an excel sheet that has the list of key features to determine where your application stands against the competition in the market. Obviously, this will help you get an idea of ​​whether there are any special features that your competitors have used that you have missed.

When preparing a marketing strategy, marketers often overlook the power of customer reviews. So make sure to list all the good and bad comments as this will help you get a clear picture of what your customers really want from the mobile app.

Have a feedback loop:

When developing an app, the goal is to introduce great features that we believe will make the app run successfully in the market. But while you are doing this, it is important to submit the app for beta testing where you will get first choice to get some unbiased reviews or feedback from your target audience. This will help you target your potential customers and the channels they use to reach your app. You can hire beta testers as they will help you identify any issues with your mobile app development pre-launch.

Market your app early enough:

Completing the mobile app development task and launching it may seem like your first priority, but make sure people discover the app after it’s released. Planning the marketing activities for the app are the most neglected areas and this is the mistake most of the marketing team makes. They get involved too late and this becomes dangerous as they are the people who plan the marketing strategies.

Checklist of activities that should be included in your marketing plan:

• App Store Optimization

• Find out the USP of your app or what makes it unique

• Select the app name that is easy to remember and even search for

• Choose keywords for higher ranking

• Write a description that clearly conveys the key message of the app.

Plan the release date of the application in advance:

Curiosity to release your app to market as soon as the latest coding is complete is understandable, but planning a release date ahead of time will ensure you get the right press coverage and can report the release on other social media channels. Marketers often have to deal with delays and project completion deadlines and often end up with an unplanned release date. Be sure to keep track of the release date so that it doesn’t coincide with any other app’s release dates, as it’s important that your app gets enough attention during those days.

Focus more on user engagement and retention:

Although you may have enough money to invest in your app, acquiring paid users should not be your key marketing strategy. The initial injection of some money to get your app downloads is fine, but in the long run it’s vital to focus on user engagement and retention. Otherwise, people will withdraw soon. So, find out the paid channels that work best for you and use them in your mix marketing strategies.

Pay more attention to customer support:

Your app can become very popular and have millions of users too, but if you don’t provide them with proper customer support, they are likely to abandon the app and look for something else. Therefore, each user must be treated with the utmost care, as word of mouth is also a powerful marketing tool, which can be detrimental if users are not given due attention. For any issues, marketers can respond directly to customers on Google Play. It’s important to quickly respond to customer inquiries the same day and also offer email support to resolve any issues privately.

App monetization plan:

Not all mobile apps are built to monetize. There are many internal applications that are developed for the internal sales team of a large company, but many, such as games and e-commerce mobile applications, are used to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their goals and this helps to product owners improve monetization. Business owners should partner with reputable mobile app development companies that can offer end-to-end mobile solutions: design, strategy, and engineering to create great products that bring satisfaction to users.