So your company has learned the benefits of app creation and wants to begin developing and launching their own. It’s vital to understand that reaching app success is about so much more than app creation. As Jordan Stopler, CEO of StoryDesk, explains, “The greatest misconception of app development is that once the software is built, the development ends. In fact, the opposite is true. Like it or not, mobile software is an ongoing service, rather than a once-and-done product” (quoted in Chief Marketer).
You need to be educated about what an app entails during every step of the process as well as wise about the market before you dive in. Luckily, there are B2B tools designed to help you during the process. These B2B tools will help you research, promote, and convert to bring your company app to success.
Step 1: Research the market
The problem: In order to be successful, you need to understand data about the current market campaigns in order to effectively identify a niche for your app. Your app should not only fill a vital market need but also be able to confidently pinpoint how others are succeeding or failing with apps in their field.
The tool to help: AdClarity helps you gain up-to-date analytics about the current market, including data about how your competition generates traffic and valuable information about your competition’s past campaign media strategies. Their information isn’t just effective for apps – it can be used with a wide variety of marketing efforts. Try a free trial to see the benefits before you commit.
Step 2: Promote your app
The problem: With so many apps on the market today (as of last month, there were 1.3 million apps in the Apple iStore), how do you get your app into the right hands? No matter how awesome the app you’ve created is, it means nothing if it isn’t effectively marketed to reach your target audience. Also, understanding the app market with statistics about your competition is one thing, but how can you use this data if you have no clue where to begin when it comes to the app market?
The tool to help: There are plenty of PR and marketing experts who specialize in promoting apps. AppShout is one of them. They do the heavy marketing lifting for you by building buzz to boost your brand awareness and are set apart from the competition with their portfolio of contacts and experience working in the field. Also, AppShout increases your app’s potential for downloads with flexible budgets for campaigns that include outreach to print and online media sources.
Step 3: Convert more effectively by understanding downloads
The problem: Once your app launches, you need to understand how users are finding your app, whose downloading, and why. Understanding where your conversions come from is a necessary metric for any marketing effort so you can focus your campaigns most effectively to reach your target audience.
The tool to help: Our favorite tool for tracking app downloads is Appsflyer, the official Facebook and Twitter media measurement partner for apps, who boasts clients including GlassDoor and Domino’s. Their strong reputation comes from the value they bring to apps: real information about where conversions are generated so you can see which marketing mediums are bringing results and which aren’t.
Used individually or together, these tools can help guide you along every step of the process to app success. Let us know if you’ve got any insight to other tools that have helped you develop a successful company app – we are always looking for new ways to get a leg up on the competition.
Robert Nachum is a growth and marketing manager at Ranky. He is an internet freak, managing Robertsuggestions – a special music blog.