Tag Archive for: mobile app launch

5 Outstanding Examples of Minimum Viable Product Launches

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There have been many notable minimum viable product launches that have transformed the tech landscape considerably. But what’s interesting is that most don’t realize that many of their favorite products and startups began life as MVPs. Brands such as Facebook and Twitter all started from humble beginnings and hardly have any semblance to their original form.

However, many MVP apps have had successful product launches and have become household names while being revolutionary at the same time. We’ll look at some of these and unveil what made them stand out below!

1. Airbnb

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, the founders of Airbnb, battled with a common problem. And that’s renting out their air mattress in their homes to visitors that wish to stay for a short duration. Thus, they created a simple website for this purpose and quickly realized that this was a service with much demand. They grew the platform from that point and rapidly revolutionized the vacation rental industry on a global scale.

2. Foursquare

Launched in 2009 and only available in 100 metro areas initially, the Foursquare app tracked a user’s check-in and location data. And to make the process fun, the app came with gamification features whereby the user earned badges depending on where they’d check in. As the user base grew, it eventually became a full-fledged city guide, and the Uber and Twitter apps both use Foursquare’s Places API.

3. Instagram

Surprisingly, the incredibly popular Instagram didn’t start life as one would expect. Initially, it was called Burbn, which offered location-based functionality similar to Foursquare. But it was its photo-sharing capabilities that wowed users. And that was due to there being a shortage of great photo-sharing applications when Burbn launched. Its founders realized that they had a hit on their hands. So, they stripped Burbn of all its other features and renamed it Instagram.

4. Uber

It’s impossible to cover great examples of production launches without mentioning Uber. The Uber app creators followed the traditional app MVP model with much success. They offered the bare minimum functionality, which allowed users to connect with cab drivers and make payments via credit card. Furthermore, the Uber app was only available on iOS initially but later made its way to Android devices.

5. Spotify

Spotify is the leading music streaming service and probably came pre-installed with your Android device. But it originally only appeared on desktops as a closed beta and was made available to specific target audiences. Once the Spotify team ascertained that their MVP satisfied users’ needs, they signed up more artists. And they introduced new features, such as synchronizing smartphones with the desktop app and improved playlist functionality.

In Conclusion

Successful product launches are few, but that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve this with your upcoming MVP app. If you closely study the list above, a very noticeable trend emerges. And that’s that each app offers functionality not available by alternatives or has features far superior to that of competitors. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal MVPs that will turn heads!

7 Steps to Prepare for a Successful App Launch

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In 2021 alone, consumers downloaded a total of 200 billion apps. The rising trajectory of mobile app adoption reveals immense interest among consumers for new exciting apps. However, this doesn’t mean you can create an app in weeks, relax and hope for revenues. Launching an app requires an understanding of market trends and a lot of effort.

Below we go through the different phrases of successful app launch.

1. Define Goals and KPIs

After defining a market proposition and building an app that fulfills a specific need, now it’s time to launch your new product. Start by defining clear goals and key performance indicators KPIs for your application.

It’s easier to identify your app’s strengths with sufficient information about your market and buyer persona. And with specific metrics in place, you can determine if your app’s launch is a success, or you can conduct productive usability testing to eliminate any obstacles before your app gets to the end-user.

2. Prototype Testing

It’s crucial to test your app right away. It’s a great solution to have a QA engineer review your app from inception to completion and evaluate it throughout and before it’s launched. And when the prototype is ready, you should submit it to your sampled representatives for honest review and feedback about usability and functionality.

3. Build Buzz

The next step is to build a landing page and collect emails. A simple one-pager landing page with an email field is adequate. Collect emails and ask for subscriptions. It’s advisable to compile a list of early adopters and engage them before launching.

4. Make Specific Plans

After going through any possibilities, gathering relevant information, building and testing your app, now it’s time to determine the app’s launch date. Your target audience must know exactly when to expect the finished product. This step presents an excellent time to build a marketing plan that covers your distribution channels, the timeline, and the message you’ll convey.

5. Beta Release

Create a contained release to show how the actual product will act in the real world without risking the app’s performance. This research must be specific and must confirm that every functionality is intact. You can leverage these actionable insights to get closer to the launch date. These insights provide you with the meaningful feedback you need for a successful launch.

6. Select Launch Platform

You should select stores that your app will be available on based on your choice of technology or development. Go through the approval process and set the launch date. Each mobile app store has requirements, rules, and policies when publishing your app. Carefully review all the details and prepare your app for publishing by complying with the set requirements. A crucial part of this preparation involves creating a description and high-quality videos and screenshots to showcase. If you adhere to the guidelines given in each store, you will encounter no problems publishing your app right away.

7. Launch Date

Although the launch date is the most exciting part of the app development process, it should come easy with all the steps you’ve done before. Make use of all the materials you’ve used along the way and make a push through the available channels. Whether you’ve opted for PR articles or social media influencers, the goal is to make the “call-to-action” for download as visible as possible.

  • Post-Launch Tracking. After the launch date, keep tracking performance to get an idea of how the launch was and if it met your key performance indicators KPIs.
  • React on feedback. The feedback and insights you obtain from your audience are only valuable if you act on them. Try fixing bugs, testing performance updates, and implementing new functionalities that your users recommend.

Contact NS804 for mobile app development (and launching) solutions.

 

Successful Mobile App Launch in 6 Steps

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Did you know that at least 50% of businesses that have millennial owners have their own apps? There is clearly an incentive to businesses having their own apps to enable better interaction with clients and grow sales. Airlines, banks, tech service companies, and restaurants have apps to enable customers to access services quicker and to keep them within their ecosystem to boost loyalty.

This sounds quite appealing. However, scrolling through app stores shows you that for any service, there are tens, if not hundreds, of options. The barrier to entry into the app space is rather low. As such, major groundwork needs to go into preparing for an app launch to boost the chances of success. The financial cost of launching an app can go into tens of thousands depending on the nature of the app. This further increases the incentive to carry out the launch process as precisely as possible. Here are 6 steps to follow when launching your app.

Market Research before Launching your Mobile App

Whenever you get an idea for an app, chances are that several apps already exist to solve the same problem you intend to. Therefore, you will need to carry out research to see if a market really exists for your idea to flourish. Prepare a spreadsheet with the list of all the apps you’d have to compete with. Note whether they are available on both Android and iOS. What are their pricing models? What is their average rating? How long have they been on the market? When was their last update? Such questions will help you see whether a gap exists.

 It would be futile to go through with the launch of an app without a clear strategy. In fact, any investors in your idea will want to know your differentiation strategy. Is it price, regular updates, customer satisfaction, better functionality, or something different?

Defining the Metrics of Success

Once you are sure that a gap exists for your app, you must develop a method to determine the success of your launch. It is not advisable to simply look at the number of downloads from the different stores. Active install rate shows the number of users who install your app and do not uninstall it after interacting with it a couple of times. You could also look at the amount of revenue generated, if your app is not available for free. Other metrics include the average customer rating. In fact, you should have a method to absorb the written comments that accompany ratings on app stores.

It’s crucial that your app is available across multiple platforms, including browsers. A cross-platform development approach may be expensive in the beginning, but it pays off in terms of reach in the long-run.

Creating Content for Marketing your Mobile App

Before your beta launch, you will need to generate content to market your app. You should record demos on how to use the app, including how it weaves into the real-life scenarios for your target audience. You will also need press releases, blog posts, web copy, and email marketing copy ready before the launch.

By now, you should have social media accounts across all platforms to help generate interest among potential early users. If possible, join a community of fellow developers to help generate feedback on the UI of your app. It is also important to have a dedicated webpage for your app prior to the big launch.  Here, users should be able to view a demo, read about the app, and sign up for an alert once it hits the market. Companies that do this tend to see more numbers than they would have had immediately after the launch.

ASO and Creating a Buzz before Launching your Mobile App

You’ve probably heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It is optimizing your web pages to rank for certain keywords your audience are likely to look up. Similarly, you need to optimize your app (App Store Optimization) on the various stores so that your potential users can find you easily. You’ll need to write excellent copy with your chosen keywords, pick the right categories when adding your app to the store, and include screenshots on your download page to show use cases of your app.

A comprehensive digital marketing strategy is non negotiable in this process. First, to generate a buzz, it would be advisable to invite tech journalists, bloggers, reviewers, and other thought leaders to try out your app. This should happen weeks before the launch of your app. This can help find bugs or take in suggestions on the UI/UX of your app. Give them free range to review your app to their audiences. If any of them are not willing to produce review content, you can request them to share a download link once the app is launched.

If you have a marketing budget for the launch, you can set up paid advertising during the launch week. These ads should mainly create awareness of what problem your app solves. On social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, users can either be redirected to your profile or straight away to the app store where they have the chance to download your app.

There are companies that have created a buzz through an invite-only beta launch. This exclusivity makes people eager to test your app, especially if it is a social app. It also gives you the chance to make mistakes without too much reputational damage as only a few people will have joined your community.

Major Launch of the App

After having given your app a few weeks in the market, you can plan a major launch party. It’s now customary to have a livestream where people can follow the proceedings as if it were a webinar. Go into a detailed demo of the app’s main features, what makes it different from competitors, and any offers you might have during the launch. At this point, ensure that your downlink is widely available on your website, your social media handles, and those of any influencers you may be working with.

Reviews and Coming Soon Features

After launching your app, you will need to constantly monitor feedback on user experiences and expectations. No matter how good your research was, you will hardly get everything right on the first iteration of the app. A customer-centric approach to development is crucial for sustained use of the app. Send out communication to your users on new features you are testing and bugs you have recently fixed. Users who are invested in the app need to feel that their feedback is being taken seriously.

Major companies have an update blog where they constantly keep users informed on changes made to the app. The blog also serves as a sort of hub to collect comments from the savviest of the app’s users. When major changes happen, you can send push-notifications to users on their devices to ensure they stay informed on how such changes will affect their experience on the app.

Research, Prepare, Succeed!

The successful launch of a mobile app is never a fluke, especially when tens of competing apps already have an established market share. Research is quite important in identifying a gap and strategy to carve out a market. Research helps to also define the metrics of success for your mobile app launch. Generating enough marketing content, app store optimization, and working with industry thought leaders is crucial in creating a buzz in the market. Once your app is widely available and beta testing has been conducted, you can proceed with a major launch. Still, you will need to keep refreshing your app and informing your users of new features you intend to roll out.