Best Ways to Validate Your Mobile App Idea
- Mobile
- April 3, 2020
To make your mobile app development succeed, you should find the right idea before even building it. Nevertheless, this is not the only principle in the mobile industry. Alongside an app idea, you should do many more things for developing a software product successfully.
Once you get the right app idea, you need to validate it. Validating your app idea is highly important. You should go through this process. Otherwise, you can end up investing your money in something without getting any ROI.
Since we depend on many applications for daily life, whenever we discuss today’s marketplace, several apps are already available and the number of apps is continuously increasing.
Thereby, how can you make a different app idea that will succeed in this highly competitive era? How will your app idea help people fix their issues and give a return on investment? What is the best way to validate your app idea? Let’s discuss this in detail!
What Precisely is App Idea Validation? Do You Really Need It?
App idea validation is a function that proves that something is valid, appropriate, be it effort, money, or time.
You certainly know that you have a valid app idea. Since you have produced it, it is important to you. For you, it’s a great idea. Then, do you really need to validate your app idea again? Why would you need to do this?
We have a simple answer to these questions: Although you skip app idea validation, undergoing it includes some insurance level that does not go to waste.
App idea validation is one of the most important parts of app development process because it makes sure that the idea will promisingly bring profit.
Read also: 13 Things You Should Know Before You Invest in Your Next Mobile App Idea!
Three Stages to Validate Your App Idea
App idea validation to make sure that it matches your future object is something that can’t be attended in a few pointers. 3 different stages are associated with it.
Here are the 3 stages to validate your app idea:
Stage 1: Getting an App Idea
If you have no app idea, validating it will be out of the question. But how will you find an idea? Where will you get inspiration from?
Read also: 6 Interesting App Ideas You Should Invest in 2020 and Beyond
Although it’s true that some greatly functioning apps are inspired by real-life challenges, you can assume also that the same thing would occur with you and you can also get a solution to your real-life issue. But if you don’t, here are the ways to get inspired for your mobility business:
- Check the App Stores in detail.
- Go beyond the App Stores to app listing and review sites.
- Attend conferences and meet-ups.
- Find who is getting funds.
Stage 2: Studying the Viability
After having a basic concept of what app type and category you would be choosing to start with the mobility domain, the next phase comes – checking whether the idea is viable in itself.
All from the future of your business to the explanation of how much your app’s expense was relies on the amount of study you conducted for checking the validity of your app in the market.
Stage 3: Assess the Market Fit
After you know the ways to validate your app idea, the final step before entering the app development procedure cycle would be to assess what the market would look for from your app.
This phase would basically handle 2 things – the feature set and business model of your app. Check the features of your competitors and know what you can integrate and use in your one app.
Now that you know the phases of app idea validation, let’s discuss the strategies to validate an app idea.
What are the Strategies to Validate Your App Idea?
Time optimization is one of the most profitable features when it comes to technology. Considering the sector’s tough competition, if you apply your app ideas sooner, it will be better for you.
To help people who want to invest in this field, several strategies are already available. Reducing waste at the time of making products and services is one of them.
This can grow your client contacts to validate the business activities ASAP. Nevertheless, a few other strategies should be considered for validating your app ideas.
These strategies will be useful in figuring out whether an app idea is valuable for investment and whether you can expect a financial return from it.
1. Make a Detailed Study
Generally, when we have app ideas, we think we can earn profits from them. Nevertheless, we forget the major strategy when it comes to validating our app idea, i.e. conducting thorough research.
Thereby, you have to control your excitement and fund out more info regarding a specific app. After having some information, you can monitor your preferable investment market, possible risks, and the best marketing tactic for the sector.
Due to the already present app ideas, some investors give up on moving forward fast. Nevertheless, you should remember that competition is a part of your venture and you might experience healthy competition also.
When you assess this point, you should think about whether the app idea has a new aspect that is still unexplored by the competitors. If yes, then your idea will possibly be highly recognized with success.
An entrepreneur is aware of the market he is dealing with. This standard strategy can produce good rewards. When the research is being conducted, the market might be growing, but you should always incorporate prospects for the upcoming years.
A well-designed app might have a maximized lifespan with an update, improved user experience, and functions. As long as it features amazing benefits and functionalities, it will sustain.
2. Discover the Main Issues of Your Audience
You will have to read your audience’s minds to make an app that they will use daily. And it’s possible when you follow a perfect app development procedure. Discover what confuses them the most regarding the problem they are experiencing.
What solutions are they seeking to fix the issue? Is there an associated problem that should be solved? How do your audiences explain their issues? What type of solution do they seek? By posing more questions, you can understand better and more about their requirements and fulfill them excellently.
To get this necessitous info, read the comments in social media groups. Take interviews with some people from your target audience to know them better and get precious insights.
3. Conduct Keyword Research
This step helps you know what people are discussing about your category. Also, you will understand if they have an interest in your app. It’s a phrase that explains your app idea and lets you know where you should start.
First, you need to enlist 15 to 20 phrases or words that you think people will seek to visit your app and services. After preparing the list, put the keywords in tools like Moz keyword explorer, Ubersuggest, and Google AdWords to see the grip the words are having. The search volume clarifies whether people are seeking a similar app idea or not.
The info you get clearly signifies how alluring your app idea is in the market currently. Moreover, the keywords list that you can make now will come primarily in several other steps also. This step will also help you find our app developers who are specialized in your preferred domain.
4. Create a Landing Page and Drive Traffic to It
This is an easy strategy, but you need to invest in it. Make a landing page explaining and declaring your app idea. Include some mock-up screenshots of your app. A designer can provide them.
Include a lead general form where all users can leave their email addresses to get notified about the future launch date of your app. Launch an ad campaign using search engine marketing platforms like Google Ads to make a paid search campaign; otherwise, you can go for social platforms like Facebook Ads. After the completion of the campaign, assess the percentage of users that registered.
Simultaneously, you don’t need to create the product – you can work with all sales leads later when the app is released. Finally, estimate your startup costs and expected earnings, incorporating advertising and marketing expenses.
5. Create an MVP
Build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) to reduce the costs of a product development that is not completely defined. The idea is to build a minimum set of resources fast, only to implant and examine the product with a specific group and assess the interactions between the developed product and the clients.
Hence, you could examine your app ideas, assess which ones are viable and which enhancements are required so your product can be launched in the competitive market.
In case your test is proved effective, you can study the organizations that could build your application. You must be careful, and choosing properly will save your effort, money and time fixing issues further.
6. Analyze your potential competitors’ apps
This is the simplest and most important steps that app developers overlook. Look for apps in the same categories as your future product. Use keywords your potential users would seek and study the recommended section.
In case you have an interest in a particular platform like iOS, you don’t have to overlook the Android platform. Invest some time in studying Play Store also; maybe you will find something helpful there also, or even some exclusive new app ideas.
Make a competitive analysis of other apps in the App Store. Pay attention to feedback and ratings, because this info will help you know what people prefer, require, and want.
Finally, check all the advantages and disadvantages users said in their comments; this will help you refrain from doing app development mistakes.
7. Upload your app’s rough version on review sites
Several websites are there where you can submit your app idea, such as AngelList, ProductHunt, etc. Hence, enter your app idea and find how other entrepreneurs or new business persons are responding. You don’t significantly require a mock-up or a prototype for using this approach.
These websites help you open pages to provide your app’s overview and a possible list of features that you have predicted for them. Hence, use these sites to display and promote your app idea to the world.
8. Promote your application
You can promote your app either before or after you develop an MVP. If you require some additional confirmation about the market that seeks your app before developing it, make hype about it – create landing pages, use social platforms, run a coming-soon campaign. Do everything you need to excite people about your product.
Your marketing campaign must be simple and tell clearly about your app’s USPs in only one or two lines. As an advantage, when you launch your app, you will get some ready-to-go prospects already, providing you launch on marketing your app.
9. Build your brand recognition
After developing and assessing your MVP successfully, you should develop your brand. Having all-new data daily, a current validated app idea could be null tomorrow – we don’t need to mention that those who are not remembered, are not seen – hence you should act fast and grow your brand recognition.
Most importantly, your brand, image, and associated things should carry the essence you wish to bring to your application. Planning about better visual design and identity could assure your approval publicly, aside from helping people grasp the value and functionalities of your app idea easily.
Closing Thoughts
While idea validation is important for mobile app development, it’s a constant procedure pondering the changes and updates needed during the different phases. Nevertheless, an app’s idea validation can save your pocket in the long run.
FAQs About Mobile App Idea Validation
App idea validation means a function that proves that something is valid, appropriate, be it effort, money, or time.
You need to follow some strategies like make a detailed study, discover the main issues of your audience, conduct keyword research, create a landing page, create an MVP, analyze your competitor’s app, promote your app, and build your brand recognition.
You can protect your app ideas by some ways like getting a non-disclosure agreement, registering a trademark for your app’s name and logo, sharing information selectively, document everything, etc.
