HOW TO CREATE A GO-TO-MARKET PLAN FOR YOUR MOBILE APP

Launching a technology product whether it’s a mobile app, wearbable or IoT is not as easy as it seems at first glance. It’s incredibly difficult to survive in the competitive app market that’s overly saturated with millions of apps. Gartner even predicts that through 2018, less than 0.01% of consumer mobile apps will be considered a financial success by their developers.
Regardless of whether brands are creating tech products for an additional revenue or to build brand recognition and product awareness, many fail largely in part of a poor go-to-market plan. Many early founders spend too much time brainstorming features and functionality far beyond MVP and instead stuff too many elements into their apps as part of their first release without having the benefit of testing with actual users. From improper product release strategy to weak marketing plans and pack of product definition — a lot of companies are fixated on building a quality mobile app that functions properly and addresses a pain-point in the market. But there is so much more to it than that. If you want to market your mobile app successfully, you need to begin strategizing before development even begins.
There are several pillars of building a go-to-market plan so you can avoid common mobile app launch pitfalls and have a better chance of success in the app market.
Properly Define Your Product
Product discovery and definition is the first step in creating a go-to-market plan for your app. This lays the foundation for a strong market presence and a competitive advantage. Properly defining your product allows you to align your marketing objectives with your business objectives.
Choose the Right Monetization Strategy
The type of app you’re building should determine your monetization plan. Is your app intended to be a leading source of revenue like a game or an organizational tool like Evernote? Does it support your e-commerce website or another product or service, like Nike’s retail app, for example? A monetization strategy can either make or break the success of your mobile app. It can positively impact the user experience or have a drastically negative impact. The several types of monetization strategies include:
- Advertising
- Freemium
- In-App Purchases
- Paid Download
- Subscription
Preparing a go-to-market plan for your app is the surest way to define your product properly, identify market demand and target audience, determine a monetization strategy to increase your chances of mobile app success.
Carnellia Ajasin is passionate about inventing new technology products in the emerging technology space that are meaningful and relevant. She works with ambitious organizations and businesses on the strategic application of innovation, creativity and emerging technologies to create competitive advantage, transformative impact and growth in business and society.
