Why is Mobile App Market Research Important and How to Conduct It for Your Business?

You have got a brilliant app idea and you cannot wait to turn it into reality. You are impatient to get your app developed, launch it with a bang, and witness a million downloads on the App Store.

Woah! Slow down a bit and take a deep breath.

If creating and launching an app were so simple, all apps would have a million downloads.

But that is far from reality.

Most apps on the Play Store and App Store do not see the light of the day. Most do not exceed even a hundred downloads.

This is why simply developing and launching your app is not going to cut it. You need to have in-depth planning even before you start the development process. This is known as mobile app market research.

Mobile app market research is an inseparable part of mobile app development. Without it, your app is most likely to fail, unless you are good at hitting the bullseye in the dark.

Mobile app market research is a comprehensive study of your app’s market position and customer behavior. It assists you in marketing your app the right way. Without it, marketing has no basis to build upon.

Let us zoom in a little bit and understand why it is important.

Mobile App Market Research allows you to get a crystal clear idea of how your app will fare in the highly competitive market and what steps you can take to ensure it is successful.

Without it, you are entering the arena without any clue who your competitors are.

Here are some reasons why mobile app market research is unavoidable.

Do you know the number of apps available on the App Store?

Over 2 million as of 2022.

Now, the Google Play Store?

Over 3.5 million, according to Statista.

Your app will be like a drop in an ocean. It is up to you to turn it into a pearl.

If you do not make your app stand out, people will not bother to download it.

Mobile app market research is essential for that.

Just try this, open the App Store or Play Store and search for any functionality like a marketplace, finance app, editing app, etc.

You will find multiple apps providing the exact same thing. Apart from some minor theme differences, most of them feel like clones.

If your idea is not unique, the only one in the world, it is highly likely that it will end up in this barrage of clones.

You do not have to discard your idea if it has been done before. Do not give up without even beginning.

Mobile app market research is the key here. It will tell you what you have to do to make your app better than your competitors. It will teach you how to market it the right way and zoom ahead of those clones.

You can develop the best app in the world, but without the right marketing, no one will download it.

With millions of apps out there and almost all of them spending on marketing strategies, you have to work on your marketing and ensure that it is better than theirs. At least it should be better than the apps in your niche.

Most mobile apps fail because they do not give marketing the respect it deserves.

If getting people to download your app is a challenge, keeping them engaged is another.

It is next to impossible for the user to have downloaded just your app on his smartphone. There are probably 40 other apps, waiting like wolves to grab his attention and bring him over.

It is no longer a download battle, it is a battle of attention. You must do everything possible to keep the user on your app. It is a battle fought by bombarding notifications, and the one that hits gets the bounty.

This is where research can help you to know the best marketing techniques for snatching the user’s attention from other wolves.

If this sounds too stressful for you, maybe you never considered any of this could happen. Mobile app market research is what can alleviate that stress for you and make the path clear for you to step on.

At WDI, our team of mobile app developers has laid out the steps you need to take to conduct mobile app market research.

This is the first question you need to answer whenever you come up with an app idea.

You do not have to answer it at once. Take your time with it.

Here are some ways to find out what people need and whether your app idea has the potential to fulfill those needs

There is nothing simpler than scrolling through social media.

Social media is the voice of the normal population. This is where they express their views, grievances, and most importantly, needs.

You will come across many people expressing the problems they face or desires they have on a daily basis by just scrolling through social media apps.

Is your app idea solving any of these needs?

If not, be more specific in your search and follow the forums, accounts, and groups related to your niche.

You will find exactly what your ideal customer base is asking for and what you can provide.

Creating online or offline forms is the best way to get answers to the exact questions related to your app.

Here, you can ask any question you want. Ask multiple questions related to the need you are trying to fulfill.

Circulate these forms through social media, maybe run an ad campaign, and try to get as many answers as possible.

See if people are actually craving to get that particular need fulfilled. If they are willing to download an app for it.

This is very old-school but still an effective method of research. You can directly talk to people one-on-one and get the exact answer you desire.

Although you are limited to the number of people you can talk to, do not let this slide.

At the very least, talk to your family members and friends. Ask them how they feel about your app idea and whether it will help them in some way.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. These are four crucial aspects that you should analyze for your app.

It is essential to understand what you need to promote and what you need to improve on to leave no stone unturned.

Here is how you can do a SWOT analysis.

List down the strong points of your app idea.

What is it that you are proud of about your app idea?

Why do you believe that people will download your app?

What is going to be your unique selling point?

Note down the answers to these questions. This is what you have to promote as much as possible while marketing your app.

What is it that you are not confident about your app idea?

Where do you think it could go wrong?

This is the most difficult question to answer, as you are quite overjoyed when an app idea strikes you. You only tend to think positively.

But it is necessary to calm down and think about what your app idea lacks.

These weaknesses will help you market your app in a better way.

Once you note down the weaknesses, figure out how you can improve upon them.

Now that you know your app idea’s strengths, find out the places where you can promote it.

Is there any trend in mobile apps that you can hop on?

Is there anything your competitors are lacking that you can fulfill?

Understand human behavior. Is there any marketing technique you could use to cash in on that?

Find as many opportunities as possible and figure out ways to use them to the fullest.

Note down the external problems you might face that can hinder the success of your app.

Maybe it could be a funding issue.

Maybe your competitors can do some shenanigans to sabotage your app, like bombarding it with fake negative reviews.

Make a list of similar threats and brainstorm ways to deal with them.

This will make you fully prepared to tackle anything fate throws your way. You will not be bewildered if some problem comes up.

A target group or target audience is the people who are most likely to use your app.

These are the ones who are going to be the focus of your marketing campaign.

It is advisable to have a clear 4K image of your ideal customer in your mind. But, if that is too much, at least research the following points.

You must know which gender is most likely to use your app.

It will help you to select specific marketing channels that your target demographic is likely to use.

For example, a makeup marketplace app is most likely to be used by women. So, you can target the websites and offline locations where females are most likely to visit.

Some apps are likely to be used by people belonging to a certain age range.

A cartoon app will be used by kids, but a cartoon creation app will be used by adults.

Both will require different marketing strategies.

You do not have to be specific, just find an age range that will most likely use your app.

Is your app restricted to your country, your continent, or the entire planet?

If you are targeting multiple countries, you need to provide language support for all of them.

When it comes to marketing, you will have to research their culture and lifestyle. Something that is considered to be a good omen in one place could be considered a curse in another.

The last thing you want is some country offended by your app’s advertisement.

Is your app something that could benefit people following a certain occupation?

If you are creating a video editing app, your target audience will be editors, filmmakers, content creators, etc.

If you are creating an app for luxury products, it is most likely to be used by people with a lot of disposable income.

Doing in-depth research about these factors will help you decide which channels to invest your money in for marketing.

Your competitors will do their best to bring you down. If you have no idea who they are, your app will end up failing.

This is why competitor analysis should be a part of your mobile app market research.

Here is what comes under competitor analysis.

You must already have a list of your competitors ready. You might admire them or curse them occasionally.

Find out who among them has a mobile app.

Analyze what features they are implementing in their app.

See how they are marketing their apps.

This will give you an idea of what you can do better than them to become successful.

But success is never permanent. Once you rise, your competitors will put in more effort to get ahead of you.

The grind never stops.

Competitors do not just have to be businesses. They could be other top apps in your niche.

A simple App Store and Play Store search can give you an idea of the top apps in the category you are trying to dominate.

Scrutinize them and check what their USPs are, what features they are offering, and where they are being advertised.

The more apps you analyze, the more you learn.

Once your research is done, jot it down and create a comprehensive business plan.

A business plan is going to be the cornerstone of your mobile app. It is where you present your strategy for generating revenue, profit generation, sales, and market share.

After doing all the research, this is where you share the outcomes.

A business plan should contain marketing strategies you have devised for promoting your app.

To make the process easier for you, we at WDI have devised the best marketing strategies for promoting a mobile app.

ASO is modifying your app description, images, and videos to make it rank in the relevant app stores.

Ensure that your description is search engine friendly and contains the keywords that your target audience is searching for. It should also be reader-friendly and compelling enough for the reader to download.

Include attractive screenshots that describe the functionality your app is going to provide to your users.

Digital marketing is a huge world. It includes many things like websites, blogs, social media, etc.

It provides a huge opportunity for you to promote your app across various channels.

The best part is that it is free to some extent. Creating posts on social media, writing blogs, and developing a microsite are all free and effective ways to promote your app.

Email is still an effective marketing tool. You must have a bunch of people registered with your business. Let them know about your new app through an email.

You can also try advertising through emails, but it will look spammy.

While developing an app, add a system that rewards people who share your app and those who download it through the shared link.

You can also allow users to create promo codes that give some rewards to the ones using it and the person creating the code.

Once your app is launched, ask people to review it. Start with your family. Tell them to download your app and rate it five stars on the App Store.

Remind your users to rate your app through pop-up notifications.

Mobile App Market Research is the key to make your app successful.

It will help you understand where your app stands in the market and what steps you need to take to make it stand out.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of this, from branding, mobile app development, to digital marketing, was done for you?

We at WDI are a team of skilled mobile app developers who have 21+ years of experience in software development.

With our expertise, we ensure fast app delivery, embedded with the latest features and developed with the most advanced technologies.

All you have to do is tell us about your app idea and we will take it from there.

Let us create something electrifying together!