This article was originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of ICON/REFINED.

Whether you’re a coding newbie bursting with a groundbreaking idea or a seasoned entrepreneur ready to level up your online presence, diving into app development can be an overwhelming, but advantageous, process. Building out a digital platform that gives users direct access to your product or service with one touch of a button is the ultimate in brand loyalty—after all, if your clients can reach you without the barriers of navigating a website or calling in, sticking with your brand couldn’t be more convenient. 

But from conceptualizing your app, to actually creating and attracting users to it, the process is more involved than simply launching a product on the app store. Rather, developing an app should be as carefully considered as launching a business itself. From idea to market, here’s how to invest properly in this important digital extension of your brand. 

Find a Pain Point and Solve It

The first step in starting any new business is to understand your “future” customer’s/user’s current pain points, and then think of an innovative solution that alleviates their frustrations. This is no different when it comes to an app. Your app should solve issues and revolutionize a process/system.

Research Solutions on the Market

It is highly unlikely that you will be the first person to have thought of the “new” solution and the subsequent app idea. This is why it’s imperative to conduct in-depth research and look for any and all businesses that are remotely similar to your idea. When found, dig into them extensively with a critical eye. What are they doing well? Where are they missing the mark? What are the things you wish it did better, and how can you apply that to your own idea?

Build a Founding Team

You cannot do it all yourself, hard stop—end of story. Besides, going it solo is a very lonely road that is not conducive to success or one’s mental health. Additionally, regardless of whether you acknowledge it or not, there are areas where you lack experience and expertise. It is crucial for your success to seek reliable individuals who can assist in filling these gaps. A rock-solid founding team is often the difference between a good company and a great one, so don’t be afraid to do what’s needed to bring the right people on board. 

You must also begin mapping out any of the systems and technologies you will need, as well as vetting and hiring any consultants or service personnel that will be required to build your app. Once you have identified all necessities, you can begin to determine the actual costs to create your M.V.P (minimum viable product) and develop your initial budget.

Identify Your Target Audience

In order to succeed, you need to identify your market and then home in on your precise, target audience. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t have much success trying to sell cat litter to “dog people,” as is the case with all businesses and especially apps. This process is a marathon, not a sprint; you need to create surveys, get out there and talk to communities, access insights from people who are within what you consider to be your target audience, all in order to find and validate your actual target audience.

Create a Prototype and Build Anticipation

Once you think you have found your target audience, begin to create your app prototype. If you’re not tech savvy, this is where reliance on outsourced teams or companies comes in to develop your app’s user interface and experience, framework, programming language, coding, and more. Additional factors to consider during the tech building phase include security measures to protect users’ data, scalability, and future plans. 

You must also begin to build excitement and anticipation for your app, collecting the emails of interested individuals and adding them to a “waitlist” so you can directly inform them when you have launched. 

Soft Launch and Test 

Once your app prototype is at the stage where the core functionalities are working, it is time to launch on the Apple App and Google Play Stores—but as “unlisted”/”invite-only.” Doing so allows you to select a group of people to become your initial app testers, allowing you to further validate your app and resolve any issues that might still be lingering. This is also when you integrate search engine optimization (SEO) for your website as well as your app store listing pages, making it so that people can easily find you, whether searching for apps or browsing the internet.

Hard Launch with a Bang

A hard launch is all about making a big splash and getting your app noticed. You can do this by generating excitement around your app with teaser campaigns that highlight the app’s unique features and benefits. Get influencers on board that exist in your specific industry to help promote your app. Influencers can help you reach a wider audience and generate more authentic interest. Offer incentives such as discounts, free trials, or other rewards while also running contests with prizes that appeal to your target audience.

Promote

One of the biggest misconceptions founders have is that since they believe their app is so revolutionary, they expect people to come flocking to it. Unfortunately, this is just not the way it works. You must do everything in your power to get the word out. Join and post in every Facebook and LinkedIn group that is related to your app while also posting regularly to your own social media accounts. Running a paid marketing campaign is a necessity; however, you must first look into what platforms your target audience is actually on. Once you have established this, you can then begin to slowly ramp up a paid marketing campaign, making sure to focus on only one or two platforms to start.

Never Stop Growing

Remember that the launch of your app is just the beginning of your journey. There will always be room for improvement and growth, and you should regularly encourage your users to share their thoughts and feedback on your app. This can help you identify features and areas where your app can be improved and provide a better user experience. Stay up to date on latest trends and technologies to remain ahead of competition.