But as the market is thriving, you will have a lot of competition. There are 2.8 million apps on the Google Play store, 2.2 million on Apple app store and 669 thousand on Windows store. Don’t let the numbers scare you, but simply understand that an app is a business, so start treating it like one.

Today, it’s not about just having a great product, it’s about marketing it right. For an app to be successful, you will need a solid marketing plan to reach out to those billions.

We have launched over 100 apps, and through our stumbles, we have learned what to do, and what not to do. So now, we’ll layout 10 crucial steps to launch an app. App marketing has 2 main phases: pre-launch and post-launch. Both these stages are equally important, and without one, the other is ineffective and your app will crash.

PHASE : Pre Launch App Marketing Strategy 

1. An app is a business – market research and sales plan

“Before you build a better mousetrap, it helps to know if there are any mice out there.” Define your target audience. Research your competition to gain insights on app names, categories, critical keywords, descriptions, pricing, customer reviews, etc. Then research the channels through which your competitors are promoting and connecting with the target audience.

Once you have conducted good market research, you know what to estimate from your app. Be optimistic at all points, but set realistic goals, such as pricing, install rates, average rating score, etc. Then, finalize through which channels you want to market your app. Time is crucial, so maybe screaming out to all social media platforms isn’t the way to go. Select a few and converge your focus on them. Lastly, lay out a solid sales plan for 2 cases: app succeeds or app fails. Decide your pitch for your blog post, newsletter copy, press release, YouTube video and texts for social media. By the end of step 1, you should be mentally prepared for anything.

2. Create a catchy Landing Page

This step is crucial.  A landing page is a web page where details about your app are revealed. You have to make the content gripping. Focus on selecting correct keywords, laying out an attractive design and adding soothing colors. But most importantly, be clear and direct. Some recommend using ‘bait’, such as offering freebies and discounts, while others advise against it. Finally, it’s your call. Lastly, you could use the following websites to help you build it quickly and yet have a great page.

• Unbounce
• Instapage
• Leadpages
• Hubspot

3. Build a social media network

Now that your landing page is ready, you need traffic. Facebook and Twitter are must-haves, but apart from these, get accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, Snapchat and Reddit. Post your landing page, put it up on groups, send it personally to all your friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and followers, email it to all your connections – in short, go wild.

Additionally, good press coverage is always a helping hand. If you can, find a reporter who covers app launches and would be interested in yours. If not, just send cold emails with your pitch. You got nothing to lose.

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4. Pre-launch app on beta testing websites

To get some feedback, post your beta version on some beta testing websites. Try the following:

• BetaList
• Erlibird
• Reddit
• UserTesting
• HackerNews
• BetaBound

Make sure to get feedback on both UI and UX. Also, make sure you get feedback from people who are similar to your target audience. Pay specific attention to those reviews for obvious reasons.

5. Collect user feedback

It may hurt, it may be disheartening, but be tough and take it positively. Pivot and adapt. If required, modify your app. If things are really bad, consider pushing your launch date. Lastly, iterate. This process will not only help your app become better but will also help with your SEO. Some excellent source to get feedback are:

• UserVoice
• Zendesk
• Freshdesk
• HappyFox
• Get Satisfaction.

6. A quick sneak peek and final setup

Few days before your launch day, release a tiny sneak peek to your app – a trailer. A video would be a great option. Make it catchy and exciting. You need to get your target audience gripped and excited about your launch. Lastly, again, go wild on social media.

Meanwhile, make sure you have everything ready for the launch.

7. Launch!

For starters, launch your products on the following websites:

• Product Hunt: the Best time is 7 am PST.
• Hacker News
• StartupLister

Meanwhile, post on social media, email your contacts and try and get press coverage. If you can get TechCrunch, The Next Web, VentureBeat or The Verge to be interested in your app, nothing like it!

PHASE : Post Launch App Marketing Strategy

8. PR Resources and Listings

Now that you have launched your app, you need resources to promote your app. Try out:

• Promotehour
• StartupLister
• AdHipster

Additionally, here’s another great list of PR resources.

9. Paid Advertising

Apart from social media marketing, you can launch mobile install ads using Facebook. You could then proceed to Twitter and Instagram sponsored posts. If you have a bigger budget, you can find a good list of mobile app marketing resources here.

10. Fix bugs and Iterate

Constantly keep track of your reviews and feedback, and based on them, fix bugs and redesign to ease use. Simultaneously keep an eye out for the updates of your competitors, for you can gain insight into market trends and user preferences. Lastly, constantly innovate to bring greater user experience and continuously engage your users.

Creating and launching an app could be a challenging process, and yet, an exhilarating one. We hope that following the above steps will set you up on your quest for success.

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Book Flights for Travel

For some reason when people say Travel Round the world, it’s implied that Air is convenient and less time consuming and in many cases, cheaper. Somehow people associate Cruise with Luxury and unless our payroll every month indicates 4 digits or more Cruise still appears to be a luxury option. Nobody wants to plan their travel and arrive at the new place broke, do they?

Skyscanner is just another search engine that fetches all the flights around the world that filters from lowest to highest price range. This makes planning trips for travelers that easier. Besides acting as just a search engine, Skyscanner also points out the cheapest flights for different destinations from your nearest airport by using the location of your phone. Skyscanner app is available in both iOS and Android platforms. Now what makes this app better than other mobile apps that provide similar service is that Skyscanner searches results for Country to country instead of the city that you enter. In countries with multiple airports, this is a bigger advantage as this eliminates the user having to painstakingly search for cities separately and compare the costs.

Accommodation

So there’s an on-going (never stopping) comparison between CouchSurfing and Airbnb over the internet when it comes to backpackers picking their homes in a foreign land and they are both good options. So let’s just get this over with!

Both Airbnb and Couchsurfing are good options in Travel when it comes to booking your accommodation but it all depends on whether you prefer to stay with a crowd or private space. When you book via Couchsurfing you get to meet other backpackers all the time whereas if you book via Airbnb, you get to choose whether you prefer to stay in the crowd (includes host) or separately. They are both secure and in any case, if you would like to contact the support team, they are available online 24×7. Good advice would be to review the hosts as the cancellation rates tend to be higher with CouchSurfing especially when it comes to popular cities. Couchsurfing tends to get competitive while this is relatively not common with Airbnb hosts.

Free Wifi

Oh, and isn’t that a bit obvious that you need an internet connection to survive in a big city? or in many cases, an island?

So there’s this cool app called Wiffinity that allows users to find and connect to wi-fi networks around them. Users can also add the networks that may not be displayed in the results. It even works offline, when its map can discover where the next Wi-Fi hotspot is around you. Another cool feature is the way the app manages access to password-protected Wi-Fi hotspots, meaning users never have to share personal details again. Wiffinity is free and available for iOS and Android. The only drawback is how the battery drains faster than a Samsung phone. And you don’t need to share your personal details to access this service.

Sightseeing

So you have booked your flight ticket, managed to find yourself a nice cozy home with fine internet, what’s next?

If you have not already exchanged your money that is valid at a foreign land then you have a shoulder to lean on for the exact exchange information. This App called Currency is the simplest money converter out there and is available in 17 different languages which are free to download and to use and it provides exchange rate information for over 100 currencies and countries.   Convert your cash on your own and eliminate the risk of vendors sensing they have a tourist on their hands.

Again, if you had not already planned the places to visit in a new city, then you have a bone for spontaneity which is good because this App called Foursquare helps you with local Restaurants or cafe around you. Google Maps also displays results for local attraction but what makes Foursquare more reliable than Google Maps or Yelp is the intuitive search feature that displays results based on your preferences where you specify your favorite things and Foursquare makes better suggestions on what locations close to you would most likely meet your needs. With Foursquare, you can save the places you would like to visit. This way, you can always have a record on the places on your wishlist.

Oh and almost forgot the Language! Don’t worry if you’re in Japan and you feel that not many people can understand you (and most likely vice versa)! Use Google Translate and you will be grateful to Google for not just Android, the first open platform for mobile devices.

This is exactly how mobile apps are revolutionizing F&B industry right now. Digitalization and specifically – Mobile Apps have a certain amount of control over targets. If the Apps can take F&B Business to a whole new level, then it can certainly help aspiring Musicians and artists grow.

What are the problems aspiring Artists face?

Platform to showcase talent

So why are Reality shows like America’s Got Talent, American Idol, etc. popular? Some young talents find these shows as a platform to showcase their talents. It may be aired on television for the channel’s sake but Artists believe that the media dominance will help them attract potential sponsors or agents to help them find different projects and hop on the expressway to become famous! Now, what if some other medium can provide everything the reality show can provide? Like – Global Fan Base, the medium that potential clients actively engage in? Then the artists see no point in not availing such medium. Mobile Apps have become Indispensable.

Kickstarter is a global community and a creativity platform where several artists, musicians, designers, and filmmakers, etc. pitch their talent and help crowdfund for support and resources to get their project up and running. This App (Website Community) is a blessing in disguise for several artists around the world as this serves as a platform to showcase their talent.

Monetization

How can Mobile Apps make money for Artists? Well, Isn’t that a million-dollar question. While Indiegogo brags that they are Launchpad for the entrepreneurial idea, it is still a great place to start crowdfunding. If an already existing super-famous medium can reach about 10 million people of which, at least a 10 percent are super fan of an artist’s work; given a quarter of those 10 percent are willing to spend relatively less amount of the Conventional Album Release Buy-Out then wouldn’t that be a start for the so-called Monetization? This is exactly how Kickstarter and Indiegogo and several other mediums function.

One might be wondering how a virtual platform could possibly allow talents to get exposure and monetize, they do not know about Oculus. Palmer Luckey, now 23, started out building the prototype for the Oculus Rift in his parents’ garage. When Oculus turned to Kickstarter in 2012 to develop its product, it quickly blew past its $250,000 fundraising goal. The crowdfunding campaign was just the beginning for the nascent VR company: In March 2014, while Oculus was still in the prototype stage, Facebook agreed to acquire it for $2 billion in cash and stock. The deal showed the potential for virtual reality, and for the Oculus Rift, far beyond gaming.

Sustaining Audience

If one wants the crowd to stay loyal then it is only fair the artist stays loyal to the crowd. The Best Thing about a well-planned Campaign is the timing and content that reaches the audience. If your work is called Project A and then the Campaign set for A and the frequency at which your fan base is communicated strategically then that is the key to sustenance.
So what is the one way to ensure crowd stays engaged to the “brand?” To be able to provide content that catches their eye. But of course, even the best of content will escape one’s eye if they do not want to see.

So how do we know when people want to read about us or listen to our artists’ music? This can be done by Intelligent Delivery. It’s a message delivery feature that identifies when each targeted customer is most likely to engage with your outreach and ensures that the messages you send are delivered during that window.

Fame

If an artist can start on an unfamiliar medium, able to Monetize their talent and Sustains Audience that does not bring them fame. Mobile Apps can only take them so far. It is their raw energy and creativity that scores Fame. Musicians need to be recognizable within their specific genre, and each genre has slightly different approaches and methodology to success.

Although the Music Industry has fallen and risen up in the last century, Mobile Apps offer promising features for aspiring musicians and artists to help grow.

Let’s Compare Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves Mobile Apps for example.

• Placement of the Login Button is pretty straight forward in Coffee Bean App as it leaves the user with a choice to log in or not.
• Whereas, in Starbucks Home Button, the marketing strategy is to advertise the Rewards system and allow the user to log in to check their Rewards.
• The Menu Catalog for Coffee Bean App is plain and indicates the Name of the item and Cost on the go.
• Whereas in Starbucks App on the right, the Item is displayed which when clicked will provide more details such as cost, nutrition, etc.
• Say no more, as the picture says a lot than words. The photos in the Coffee Bean App would not even be visible given the placement.

In short, before questioning App Companies on why they charge higher than their counterparts, research on their counterparts and their works as they provide you with an insight into how services are provided. Coffee Bean Apps are no more for Download as it was a huge failure. Both Coffee Bean and Starbucks are reputable but strategies took Coffee Bean’s app down the drain. Business Owners can only state down the requirements but the end result of how an app is created lies solely on the App Developers‘ Shoulders as they require to pinpoint placing ‘what’ will lead ‘where’ and the ‘hows’ of every icon. Beyond every design requirements from business owners lies the need for creativity and intuition from App Creators. This is exactly the reason why two different vendors charge you differently for the same set of requirements.

The Brand Mantra

You may not want to pay extra just because the App Development company is so damn famous and probably under-delivers what they have promised. And you do not want to pay less to an average company just because they are not so popular. The brand needs to be disrupted. The reason why they need to be disrupted is, these Brands deliver until they reach the top-notch and never improvise once they reach the Goalpost. However, this mantra if broken will pave the way to several start-ups that provide creative solutions than big brands ever do!

Service Delivery of any Mobile App depends on the vendor. How a business owner can choose a vendor should depend on the following criteria.

App Creation Timeline

Are you as a business owner giving the vendor enough time to build your App? How many features does your App require, how critical is the function in each feature and how unique do you want those features to be? All of this depends on the Project Timeline and vendor competency.

Vendor Competency

To define Vendor competency is to define the quality of recruits and the number of recruits. Ultimately the competent vendors rely on sound design to reduce dependency on the recruits. This is because App Creation is more dependent on the talents and is labor-intensive. Competent Vendors allot dedicated resources for each project and keep track of clearing objectives and communicating the design to the clients.

Given you have more budget, decide what the best balance is and spend it on the right vendor. Your mobile app represents your brand, and you definitely do not want to end up like the Coffee Bean mobile app. If you called for a budget and a vendor came in with a price that is drastically lower than anyone else’s, get suspicious and ask questions. Sometimes drilling down the issue leads to Clarity.

Tags: android developer san diego, ios developer san diego, san diego developers, app development san diego, mobile app development san diego

More Articles From BitCot:

https://www.bitcot.com/reasons-on-why-should-a-business-choose-ios-app-development-platform/

https://www.bitcot.com/how-to-choose-between-a-native-web-or-hybrid-app/

https://www.bitcot.com/top-5-features-ios-12/

Mobile Pay is not restricted to certain brands

Sure Apple Pay can only be used from iPhones 6 and above versions (Including Apple Watch) and Samsung Pay works with the company’s Galaxy S6 and Note 5 linesz. But Google’s Android Pay is resourceful when it comes to payment for oneself – as in Online Shopping or Paying for other people – as in both nationally and internationally or Paying Merchants in a shop or even paying your own phone bills. Apps are becoming our everything these days, starting from tracking your Physical health to governing your meals and keeping tabs on your Medical history to watching your favorite series, etc. You name it. It’s about time that Payments are also done online. Google’s Android Pay launched earlier this year works with credit cards and store gift cards, and allows users to make purchases in-store or in an app. Most importantly, it’s not locked into certain brands, so just about every major vendor operating with Android can support this service.

Consumers don’t have to re-type Card Information

You visit a few websites to pay your bills or purchases and it does get exhausting to key in your card information in every single website for every single transaction. While you can use In-App Purchase methods like Apple Pay or Android Pay so as to avoid typing your card information repeatedly. And in-app purchases are credible too, as you can turn them off anytime you’re not using them. This feature significantly prevents infants or kids from mistakenly purchasing via the App. But unfortunately, Android Phones do not have that option.

Consumers don’t have to worry about getting their card information Hacked

Apple Pay encrypts information about Mobile Payment using tokenization by generating unique tokens for each transaction. So even if a hacker were to grab hold of the token, those tokens mean nothing to the hacker. In many of the mobile wallets on the market, biometrics plays a critical role in their security. Apple Pay, for instance, uses the user’s Touch ID to complete a purchase. The same holds true for other popular payment platforms. Biometrics adds an extra layer of security that technically does a better job of protecting user credit card information. One of the interesting things about mobile wallets is that they don’t necessarily send over a person’s credit card information. Instead, they send unique identifiers that verify a purchase. That unique identifier confirms that the person’s account has available credit, and it completes the purchase. A person’s actual credit card number is never exposed. That is arguably the most important security feature built into mobile wallets.

Mobile Payment makes Contactless Transactions possible

Yes, you read that right. Even if you are physically in a shop when you pay you to need no card to swipe or tap or anything. Just use your mobile phone to tap on the Service Terminal for it to detect Payment while this reduces the chances of your card ever being stolen or misused. The principle behind this is Near Field Communication, commonly referred to as NFC which allows any Android app to emulate a smart card, letting users initiate transactions with their device.

Wearable Technology as a mode of Payment

The Wearable technology like Samsung Gear, Microsoft Watch and Apple Watch take this one step forward as they do not even require Mobile to make Payment. In the case of Apple watch, it is electronically tethered to the iPhone which communicates via Bluetooth. Currently these devices are restricted to very few countries and more importantly they are distributed among very less people and Consumers’ comfort level with wearing these devices will increase steadily as apps evolve, prices drop and highly secure biometric authentication becomes the norm.

Smartphones and smartwatches may be the mobile wallets of choice today, but that will likely change soon. Mobile payments technology represents the future of online commerce because it meets a fundamental consumer need to transact simply, safely and quickly. And not only are today’s digital consumers seeking easier, more secure payment options on their mobile devices, they have proven that they are willing to seek out and favor brands that provide seamless payment experiences. But don’t throw your wallet yet, whatever wearables may come it is still a long way!

Apps can work offline

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Yes, sometimes we will have to deal with a slower net connection. But don’t you lose faith, because what websites sometimes fail to do, can be done with a simple app. Apps can operate at a relatively slower connection when compared with websites. All mobile apps can be accessed instantly by tapping on the relevant icon on a mobile device. This allows users to find the information they need quickly. That’s why corporate and banks were smarter to step onto it fast.

Many apps can be accessed offline too, with updates being stored locally on the device until it reconnects to the internet. Mobile websites, on the other hand, must be accessed via mobile browsers, and generally take longer to load, which can be irritating for users. Mobile sites do not work offline either and so that quality time is lost by users who are unable to get things done while offline.

Apps gain Visibility

Ten years ago every business was going through “I don’t need a Website” phase while it is now in “I don’t need an app” phase. Take e-commerce apps for example- You’re giving 20% off on today’s purchase and what are the odds that people ‘actually’ open and read the mail you had sent them about it? If only you had a mobile app, you can generate push notifications to let them know about appealing offers for that week and more! Maybe that deal will bring you customers you didn’t intend to target in the first place.

Forget emails, they have the highest bounce rate ever. Nobody even opens them anymore. What was once a reliable medium has now been overused and thrown out of a reliable channel list. Push Notifications, on the other hand, are smooth and simple as they convey the message shorter and swifter.

Nutone is an app

Apps improve Branding via Multiple Channel

Website, Blog, and App are the vital tools in every Marketer’s arsenal. If you want to improve the visibility of your business, you better check these tools off your list. Websites establish your brand’s existence. Blogs act as your company catalog while Apps are the fastest way to exhibit quality service to your customer base. Most of the Customers want to know everything about your enterprise before they buy your product. So how about you actually give that information to them?

The more information you provide about your company via Website, Blogs, and Apps the more dominant you appear. What sets you apart from competitors purely depends on your app designers and content managers. But Multi-Channel Marketing is a sure way to improve your brand.

Retain Customer Base

The only way to retain customers is to keep providing quality work. But you can showcase your amazing work to them via apps. The best thing about the mobile channel is that it gives companies the potential to engage with their customers in real-time, by location and complete with profile information. If done right, you can turn those engaged customers into revenue-generating ones.

Apps from BitCot

Now you have a good understanding of not just the pros of enterprises with Apps but what kind of Apps retain customers. So we have compiled a list of Apps we have developed here in BitCot that might capture your interests since we operate aligned with those core formula. Take Nutune for example, we developed the iOS app in such a way that it was capable of sending Push Notifications. This app recommends the song based on your interests that were pre-defined while a profile was created. This app sends intuitive push notifications when it recommends a song.

With MyvirtualFleet, we literally reduce workload for services. This App produces a solution to improve productivity in the Transportation Industry for Brokers, Carriers, Drivers and Independent Contractors. This app allows the company to track drivers once they have signed into and Eliminate double entry and typing errors by sending jobs directly to members using our system. To know more about our services, you can always reach out to us.

It does not matter what you’re selling. You could be selling floors, physiotherapy, coffee, lunch menus and lunch deals at restaurants. And if users have a way to get the same end result without having to pick up the phone and call you, then it’s going to improve your business.