The mobile app market is full to the brim—and then some—with mobile apps of all shapes and sizes. From addictive games to productivity apps, the app stores boats a diverse mix of what is perhaps the most accessible yet innovative form of modern software. But despite the thriving diversity out there, the fundamental bottom line for every mobile app is if it can manage to win over enough users.
In the world of mobile app development, competition is fierce, and room for error is slim to none. According to Statista, day one average retention for mobile apps across all categories is a mere 25% (This is an average across all categories; industry-specific figures may widely vary.)
The point here is that 75% of all apps downloaded are lost within day one of install! That’s bad news for app development companies and businesses alike. But the question is, why does this happen? Why users are so quick to hit that uninstall button?
The simple but bitter truth is that most apps simply aren’t relevant enough to the average user. The industry as a whole is undergoing a ‘research epidemic.’ The majority of apps these days lack effective and relevant market research, putting them out of touch with customer needs and market expectations.
But if market research is so essential, why do companies skip it? Well, they don’t. The problem isn’t that most companies don’t conduct research at all; rather, they make some common market research mistakes that come with a high cost. Therefore, if you are a business aspiring to build a mobile app, make sure to avoid these common market research mistakes at all costs.
How do you conduct market research for an app?
1. Inadequate and Ineffective Research
There are a million ways to go about conducting early market research for your app. One standard and reliable method for doing so, is conducting a SWOT analysis of your app idea. SWOT helps you evaluate and prepare for the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats your app idea is likely to face. However, conducting SWOT isn’t the end-all, be-all of market research. In fact, your research is only effective when you manage to derive and apply meaningful insights based on your idea’s analysis.
The problem with most app companies going the SWOT route these days is that the insights from their analysis do not necessarily translate to actionable and practical improvements for the app. Brands need to spend a considerable amount of time implementing their findings, re-structuring their plans, and strategizing based on the insights research provides, which, understandably enough, most companies do not do.
2. Short-Sighted Competitor Analysis
Another major issue brands face with market research is ineffective competitor analysis. While most companies are well aware of who their competitors are, they often lack the insight to understand the market gaps which their competition has left open. Knowing what works (and what doesn’t) for those already in your space is critical because it can help you steer clear from major challenges and pitfalls within your market while allowing you to capitalize on major opportunities.
App developers need to be very exhaustive and proficient in their approach when conducting competitor analysis. The problem lies in companies being one-dimensional and short-sighted with their analysis. Generating tentative product reviews and feature lists for competitor apps is great but insufficient. Companies need to know as much as they can about their competitors, not just on the level of product details but even their business model, their market penetration, revenue figures, growth projections, etc. Beyond that, brands need to be consistent with such a thorough analysis, constantly iterating and improvising based on new developments within their industry.
3. Biased Customer Interaction
In the world of product design, nothing beats directly talking to your consumers when trying to build something they would really love to use. Tentative user personas are great, but they aren’t nearly as accurate as direct consumer interaction when it comes to informing your app design choices.
Although app developers these days are getting the hang of r
eaching out to their customers to better understand what they really want, the approach and methodology most companies adopt to do so are seriously flawed. For instance, consider the problem of selection bias that plagues most consumer surveys these days. Selection bias occurs when bias slips in a given sample set during the very selection process. This usually happens via a process akin to ‘river sampling’ in market research surveys.
Any survey to be substantial needs to be backed by a sufficiently large sample set. And in order to achieve this, market researchers try to draw in as many survey respondents from as many sources as possible. The result is a large enough survey set of users that barely match the target demographic. In short, the common problem that plagues most businesses researching the market via consumer interactions is that most of the conversations they have with consumers either aren’t relevant to their product or aren’t fruitful enough to be directly applicable.
To avoid this, companies conducting market research need to be cautious of who they interact with and if their research, surveys, and interviews are fruitful at all. Flawed and biased market research cannot just be a giant waste of resources but also lead to the development of an app that no one wants to use.
4. Not Accounting for Investor Expectations
This is rather an unexpected market research blunder but nonetheless a dangerous one. This may not be a major issue for established businesses looking to expand their operations via a mobile app. But for emerging tech start-ups where the app is the business, ignoring investor expectations can be a death sentence.
Since building a mobile app has become a considerably expensive affair these days, most app-based businesses are likely to seek out investors to back their growth in the long run. However, companies need to be conscious of their elevator pitch during their market research itself in order to ensure they build a product that investors can feel confident about.
Brands need to devote as much time and resources to investor research as they do to consumer research since both are equally vital to building a thriving mobile app business. You could build the best mobile application possible within your niche, but without sufficient funding to back its growth, even moving beyond the slow initial downloads can be a challenge.
Having an investor-conscious market research strategy is thus critical. You need to know what will make your app appealing to potential investors early on in the product development process so you can steer your project towards it later. Failing to account for investor expectations is a major risk most app developers incur on account of poor market research.
5. Not Finding Ways to Market Your App
Building a great mobile app is only half the battle; the other half is making sure it gets the downloads it deserves. One good way to ensure that is to market and promote your app the right way.
This is another place where research can play a role. Market research primarily focuses on understanding what your consumers want, but it can also be instrumental in understanding how to sell your app to them. Market research for your app idea involves building customer personas, understanding customer needs, and breaking down what sells the best in the market.
Not utilizing your market research insights to gain a competitive advantage in marketing your app is a lost opportunity at best and a critical mistake at worst.
Conclusion
Solid, reliable market research is the bedrock of a successful mobile app, and being lousy with it simply won’t cut it. It is a vital aspect of the app development process that often gets overlooked. While most companies do invest in conducting great market research, many often fall victim to some of the common research mistakes mentioned above.
Author Bio: Darren is a writer passionate about Technology, Business, and the evolving relationship between the two. He often tries to bring intriguing perspectives to otherwise familiar ideas, striving to help his audience reimagine the ever-changing tech landscape. He works as a blogger and content marketer at GoodFirms – a leading review and rating platform built to help brands pick the right service providers for them.
