How to validate and launch a mobile app idea

Are you wondering if your idea for an app is worth developing?

You are not alone!

Most businesses may have great ideas which they want to turn into reality. But are unsure if the mobile app idea can be profitable, as it takes a lot of time and effort to build an app.

As an experienced mobile app development company, here is our advice. Validating an app idea is the first thing you do as a business, whether it provides any added value to the target audience or is worthy of being developed as an app before investing too much time and money into your app idea. We’ve done the research for you, and this blog will walk you through the steps you need to take to validate your app idea and achieve the desired results.

Mobile App Validation Process

The following steps form a part of the app idea validation process.

1. Identify the Target Audience

The first thing you must do is find out who will use the app. You aren’t building the app for everyone but for a specific audience. Therefore, you must narrow the target audience to a specific group or set.

Your idea must solve the target audience’s problem; if you can do that, you are on the right track to validating the concept. On the other hand, if you do not have a concrete answer, it is time to go back to the ideation stage to make app idea validation easier.

2. Conduct Market Research

Market research allows businesses to learn about current market trends, target audience needs, wants, pain points, and competitors. So how your app can solve problems and what differentiates it from your competitors needs to be addressed. A point to note here is customers compare similar apps in the market before using them. So ensure your app has exciting features from your competitor’s app.

3. Work on App Idea Feedback

After doing market research, you now know whether or not your idea is worthy of implementation. But it’s more on a theoretical level and needs to be practical. So be open to criticism and constructively work on them, which can lessen the odds you face later on in further stages.

4. Define Your App and Pick a Platform

Now that you’ve picked up the audience, done market research, and received feedback, it is time to define your app. The purpose of this stage is to give a general direction, purpose, and goal. For example, if you own an e-commerce business and wish to lure new customers and retain old ones through your app, you must have a solid goal to gain more brand exposure.

Next, pick up the platform where you want to host the app. For example, while research shows that there are more Android users than Apple Devices, the latter makes more money. And you also need to determine who your target audience is. For example, if your target audience is any other country than the US, building an iOS app first would be a mistake as Android dominates about 70% of the market share.

Also, the monetization strategy can impact your business; for example, if you want to charge users to download the app, it is better to build an iOS app first. Android apps make money primarily through ads and in-app purchases. If you want to target both platforms and have the budget, you can opt for two teams to build a native app targeting each platform. An alternative option is to have a more cost-efficient app; you can create a hybrid app that costs less and works on both devices on a single codebase.

5. Finalize the UX/UI

Branding is essential as it is crucial for your company’s success. It is the first impression users can get about your business and should appeal to your target audience.

Choose a good app icon, color scheme, look, feel, and tone for the app you wish to build. Next, clearly understand the branding before you move on, as you will begin promoting the app once it releases. Finally, plan well for the future of the app and your business. Ensure to build a sustainable brand that can last in the long run and that people can trust.

6. Build a Team and Estimate Costs

Finalizing the team is the most challenging part, and this is where you need to do proper research before planning the project. Choose a good mobile app development company that can work on your app from start to finish, manage the team and stay on top of everything necessary for your app and business. You can also maximize the efficiency of the budget and save a lot of time and issues that may crop up.

App development costs may vary depending on your requirements, location, tech stack, app complexity, and developer’s location. Having a clear budget before getting started is important, and plan for unexpected hiccups or issues you may face. Look out for investors if you do not have the appropriate funding to help share the costs. While this can help you with a financial burden, it can come with reduced earnings.

7. Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with basic features can help you test your app idea quickly. You can also create an MVP with minimal resources to cost-effectively determine the feasibility of the app idea.

We suggest building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for enterprises and start-ups to test the product’s viability. We develop an MVP with minimum features and test the product with a group of people. We learn about the product idea and see how to improvise. Specific features can be discussed and included/excluded in the main product.

Once the viability of the MVP is determined, the business can upgrade it by gathering inputs from the target audience, the team, and others.

8. Analyze Feedback and Build the Final App

After you build your MVP, you receive feedback from the relevant user group so you can gauge your app idea’s value and viability. Also, you can learn which features work and which do not about the product so you can improvise them. You can then build your app using the chosen technology stack and follow a proper mobile app development process to launch a better outcome in the competitive market.

9. Track App Performance

You have successfully launched your mobile app. It is now time to measure the performance of the app. This is the stage where you track the profitability and measure the success of your app by reviewing various key performance indicators (KPIs), which include app type, target audience, location, revenue model, etc.

Star ratings on your app also indicate the satisfactory levels of users. For example, a five-star rating can mean an excellent product or service.

Here are a few KPIs that businesses use to judge app performance

• User growth rate
• Retention rate
• Star ratings
• Number of active users daily/monthly
• Session length, interval & depth.
• Conversion rate

The above are the stages of the app idea validation process that must be followed to build an ideal solution and ensure business success.

Dedicating enough time to understand each stage enables the business to challenge its ideas and assumptions, helping them communicate, solve problems, innovate, and create new products. You can contact us if you need help with how to proceed with an app idea validation process and get a free quote for your project from us.