If there is one thing many of us can’t live without today is our smartphone, but more specifically the apps on our smartphone. Venturing down the path of creating your own app might seem daunting, but have no fear, if you have an idea for an app and you believe it’s a must-have product, it is more likely to succeed! The best apps address urgent needs and figure out big problems that haven’t otherwise been solved or solved your way. In this guide we will help you understand how to transform your idea to app and outline 3 parameters before starting the development process.
3 Key Parameters to Transform Idea to App
Define and segment your audience.
Who are you targeting? Your app might be a must-have solution for one group of people and a nice-to-have for another. Even when you identify the audience that cannot live without your product, it might have to be further segmented. To find the right group, look for those who may have needs that have not yet been addressed by other companies. For example, if you are building an app that offers template websites, is there a need that has not yet been addressed? There are many template websites that exist today, but they might not work for everyone. Look at the segment of the population that requires urgent needs met but don’t have the solution.
List benefits and challenges.
After you segment your audience, understand what benefits your users will gain from using your app as opposed to another, as well as the challenges they might run in to.
Ask yourself the following benefits and challenges of your app:
Benefits
- what will my audience gain from using my app over another?
- Does it solve an urgent need?
- Does it solve this need better than all other apps out there? (I.e. higher revenue for your customer, saving them time, or cost effective)
Challenges
- What challenges could my audience run into? (I.e. training time, transferring data)
- Do I have competition that solves my audience’s need better?
Your benefits should outweigh your challenges by 10x. For example, your app should be able to save your segmented group 10x more money than any other app. The bigger your competition, the higher the number should be. If your benefits don’t outweigh your challenges by 10x, it will be hard to take your idea to app and convince your audience to make the switch.
Customized approach.
If you have an idea for an app, the last step is like the first in that you are defining what your custom solution is for your customer’s urgent need. Begin by listing all the features that your app needs in order to stand out and what your competition does not offer. You can take this a step further and send out surveys and interview your customers in other to have backed research on your users. This will also help you down the line when you are creating your marketing plan and your brand.
Conclusion
If you’ve been thinking about taking your idea to app or you have an idea to create an app, the best place to start is to write down your ideas. Take the first step and write down everything that comes to mind, then you can start segmenting your ideas, listing out the benefits and challenges and why your app stands out from the rest! Don’t let that amazing app idea stay in your head, share it with the world and make your mark.
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