How to: Market Research New Mobile Apps

Launching a new app is just as challenging as it is exciting. Many people have come up with great app ideas that can solve our daily problems, but few actually go ahead with launching projects. Research shows that 72% of new mobile app products fail to sufficiently perform due to inadequate research.

 

So it’s not surprising that our team often gets asked about what kind of research one needs to do and how to market research new mobile apps for a successful launch. We suggest breaking down your research into three steps that help to understand your market, target audience, and competitive keywords.

 

1. Assess the Market

 

First thing’s first – is there potential in the market you’re going after?

 

You must be very clear on the supply and demand situation in the area that your app will be competing in. The only way to do that is to know your competition. For someone who’s interested in the app field, this search is straightforward. Just search the theme or keywords for your app using Google Play or the App Store and see which apps come up. 

 

In Google Play you can actually see how many downloads different apps have. Take a close look at the information objectively (or as objectively as possible). When you’re so attached to a product (your app), it can be difficult to admit that you may not know it all when it comes to your product’s genre. Really analyze, assess, and understand the reality of what you’re getting into.

 

If you’re equally amazed and disheartened by how many downloads there are for your topic, dig deeper. Are competing apps doing the BEST job in this area? Maybe yours can do it better. But the research is what sparks the ideas and gets your strategy positioned in the right way to rank above the rest.

 

 

2. Understand your Target Audience

 

Just like when you’re assessing the market and your competition, you must take a humble approach when identifying your target market. Many app ideas are sparked by personal experience – an app that we would find useful and think is the perfect solution. But, our own experiences don’t represent various psychological and behavioral aspects of our target audience.

 

That’s why creating a  buyer persona – ideally 2 to 3 – is essential. After you’ve thoroughly researched your target market, you want to segment them into different reality-based fictional characters that define your ideal customer. Each one should have a representative age, occupation, hobbies, pain points, etc. 

 

This app product target segmentation comes into play with the actual UX of your app. What in-app features can you provide to maximize their experience or address their need? You can only do this after you understand what those needs and expectations are.

 

And, of course, buyer personas are crucial when it comes to marketing your app. Which social media channels do they use? Which apps are they currently using and what role do they play in their daily lives? The best way to reach your target and tell them about how amazing your product is, is to know where to find them.

 

3. Include thorough ASO keyword research

 

ASO gives valuable insights into what’s going to go on with your app and into the market you really want to understand, learn, and eventually conquer. 

 

The main way ASO research does this is by showing you keywords. What are people actually searching for? This is where you can start to analyze the searches and identify areas of opportunity.

 

Again, a humble attitude is important in this market research step too. We tend to believe we know it all and that we know what our target users want. But sometimes the keywords that we believe are ideal aren’t necessarily so. 

 

Another thing we can see is the types of keywords traffic is coming from – longtail keywords or basic keywords? The appearance of many longtail keywords can be a strong sign that customers in the market really know what they want. 

 

For example, “travel” as a keyword is so broad. Maybe top searches include “travel with kids” or “travel for single women” – this will start giving you an idea of how you need to identify and position your product to tap into the market.

 

The basic idea here is that you want to know the demand that’s already out there. Organic traffic already exists. In other words, if you have an app with an absolutely novel idea, you don’t want to create demand for your app. What you want to do is drop your product in a pool that is hungry for what your app offers – like dropping a raw steak in a tiger cage!

 

Market Research New Apps (in a nutshell)

 

You must do proper adequate market research for a new app if you hope to perform to your expectations. To be successful here’s what to do:

• Follow 3 steps: assess the market, understand your target audience, and perform thorough ASO keyword research
• Stay objective and humble
• Discover valuable insights to make your app shine

Put your analytical hat on, keep your head up, and you’ll be well on your way. For any market research, pre-launch or post-launch support, we’re here to help!