Mobile applications are now part of our daily lives and are well integrated into the culture of mobile device users such as smartphones, tablets, and other phablets. As a result, app development companies or top software companies would tend to believe that the website, mobile site and mobile application is the essential package for optimizing the customer/user relationship. Developing a mobile application should not be done by obligation. It must be able to satisfy the real needs to be successful. Before embarking on the development of a mobile application, it is necessary to ask the right questions. For this, there is a simple process to follow, inspired by the methods of Lean Startup, which as of the 1st step will make it possible to know if this mobile application is viable, and thus avoid the loss of time and money: "Love, Money & Growth." First of all, you must win the support of your customers/users ("Love"), plan how to monetize its mobile application ("Money") and finally find the marketing tools to use to promote this application ("Growth")
"Love"
The first step is to make sure that users will "love" your application. It must solve a real problem. The survival of the mobile application depends on this condition. Indeed, installing an application requires effort from the user and app will only last if it is useful. A useful application is an application that is regularly used by the user. The crucial question to ask yourself before developing an application is: What problem the application solve for its users?
"Money"
It is necessary to determine how to monetize the mobile application and submit the proposals to the Beta Testers who will definitively validate the viability of the project. There are several ways to monetize a mobile app.
The paid application is no longer the beacon for generating income. This model disappears in favor of internal monetization, particularly via In-App Purchase.
Mobile app advertising is similar to the way web advertising works, with standard formats, ad networks, native advertising capability, and so on. Advertising revenue increases with the number of users and page views.
Sponsorship allows you to co-finance, or finance the development of a mobile application. For a given period, the brand occupies all the advertising space of the mobile application, in exchange, the brand offers the mobile application in question to its audience.
Internal monetization is divided into two categories:
Free to Play or In-App Purchase is selling options to allow the user to access more features in the mobile app.
Premium or Freemium is a mobile application that offers limited free features to generate paid subscriptions (examples: Deezer (photo), Spotify, Viadeo, The team, The Kiosk, etc.)
In-App Commerce makes it possible to purchase physical goods directly from an application, in context.
"Growth"
Once the monetization mode has been defined, you must focus its actions on marketing to promote the mobile application, in parallel with pure development.
The landing page
Even before launching the development of the application, it is imperative to create on its website a pre-launch page of the type "coming soon" on which future users can enter their email address to know when the application will be available and receive information in the preview. This "landing page" will also be an additional measurement tool to know the craze for the mobile application. Indeed, if no one is registered, it is better to give up launching the application or change axis. It is important that this page is "marketed" especially regarding SEO (natural referencing) and purchases of keywords. Above all, it is necessary that the link of this "landing page" is the definitive link because, during the actions of press relations, people who are going to talk about the mobile application must be able to relay the link of the landing page in their articles/blogs. It's a safe bet that the "buzz" will be created around the pre-launch with the "landing page" rather than when the mobile application will be available.
Design & development of the mobile application
Before starting to develop the mobile application, it is necessary to plan a design phase with ideally the creation of an interactive model, to make a false application. This prototype will then allow it to be tested by the Beta testers from the panel interviewed and to have feedback on the use. This approach is similar to the User Experience (UX). It is important to include app developers from top app development companies early in this design phase to ensure that the app development is technically feasible, beyond an attractive interface. They will be able to give their expertise to optimize the development of the mobile application.
The development of the mobile application can then be launched, in agile mode, with test phases every 15 days. You must set yourselves the goal that after 2 to 3 months, a Beta version will be available for testing by Beta testers who will then validate it for the final development phase. Beta testers create a "confidence in the product" that allows you to achieve serene at the time of launch.
Application Marketing
App Marketing starts with Beta Testers that will be the evangelizers of the mobile application. They will be able to talk about it on social networks and create the "buzz" around the launch. It will be possible to set up a sponsorship system so that Beta Testers can circulate the information.
Once the application on the market, the ASO (Application Store Optimization) will play a major role. The goal is to make the mobile app appear in the top apps downloaded in the "apps stores." To do this, you need to take particular importance on the name and definition of the application, the choice of keywords and the icon representing the application.
The screenshots that give an overview of the mobile application will also be important marketing support. Associated with the good messages, they will be able to be used like visual supports for the communication and in the presentation of the application of the "apps stores."
It is also possible to use the video to promote its mobile application. It is a very good tool because, on the one hand, it allows the demonstration of the mobile application and secondly, the media of this video are many: Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, landing page, etc.
Thanks to all the work done upstream, it is now possible to launch a marketing campaign via social networks with targeted advertising campaigns, distribution partnerships.
