Got a Great Idea for a Mobile App? Here’s What to Do With It

Steps to Take if You Have an Idea for a Great Mobile App

Many of us have had at least fleeting ideas for mobile apps could enrich our lives or make our lives easier. But just because you have a great idea for an app doesn’t mean you’ll be able to create one or make it profitable. If you have a great idea for a mobile app, what should you do about it? How should you handle it?

The Roadmap

At the highest level, the road map looks something like this:

·         Ideation. You’ll start by perfecting your idea for the mobile app. You are probably onto a great idea, but you’ll need to run it through a refining process if you want it to be the best possible version.

·         Research. Next, you’ll need to do thorough research on the matter. In addition to seeing if there are any current mobile apps like this on the market, you’ll need to determine who your target audience is and what the best ways to reach them are. Once you’ve done your research, it’s a good idea to write a business plan.

·         Development. Once you’re happy with your business plan, you can move to the next stage: development. Unless you plan on doing the work yourself, you’ll likely hire a mobile app development partner. Fortunately, you’ll have a wide variety of experts to choose from.

·         Launch. Development is going to take a while, especially if your app is complex. Once the work is finished, you’ll be ready to launch.

·         Management. After launch, you’ll need to keep supporting the app with updates, marketing, and more.

Perfecting Your Idea

One of the most important stages of this process is perfecting your idea, since a good idea will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you down the road. Don’t rush to develop an app just because you have an interesting idea for one; instead, take your time, analyze all the strengths and weaknesses of that idea, and keep polishing it to make it as perfect as it can be. The more you think about it and the more you spend time with it, the more you’ll uncover – and the more potential improvements you’ll be able to make.

Writing the Business Plan

Next, you’ll need to do your research and write up a business plan. There are many things you’ll need to consider here, and a business plan is one of the best ways to stay organized throughout this process.

Pay especially close attention to your market research. This is going to help you define and better understand your target audience, so you can improve your mobile app idea and development to appeal to them. It’s also an opportunity to start brainstorming about your marketing and advertising approach.

Competitive research is also important. You’ll need to figure out which other mobile apps might compete with yours and determine how you’re going to differentiate your app in this environment. What’s going to make you stand out?

If you want your mobile app to be profitable, you’ll also need to consider monetization strategies. There are dozens of ways you can make money with a mobile app, and you can obviously use several strategies simultaneously. But it’s critically important to choose the right monetization strategies – in other words, ones that work for your unique app and your target demographics.

Finding the Right Partner

Your mobile app will be developed faster and be made with much higher quality if you choose the right mobile development partner. There are seemingly unlimited choices for mobile app developers, so it’s important to narrow down your list to only highly qualified, experienced developers. Start the conversation early and outline the scope of your mobile app so you have a clearer picture on how much it’s going to cost you and what your working relationship might be like. Take your time during this phase, as it’s going to have a massive impact on your ultimate success.

Setting the Stage

If you want your mobile app to succeed, you’ll need to continue supporting it well after launch. That means issuing new updates, providing patches for bugs and security issues, marketing and advertising the app, and rewarding your most loyal users. The initial launch is going to be exciting, but you need to have a long term vision if you want to continue making a profit.

Coming up with an idea for a mobile app is hard. Developing that mobile app and making it successful is even harder. But if you can apply these strategies and strategically consider your approaches, you’ll be in a much better position to turn your idea into a profitable one – even if it takes several months to initially launch.