When someone wants to build a piece of software like a mobile app, one of the first things that they should do is look to see if there is an opening in the market for it. New apps are developed every day, and one of these apps may close a gap where your app should go. Plus, you do not want to sink a lot of costs into a project only to find out that your top competitor is one of the big-name companies, like Instagram. The product discovery process helps you ensure that your app can be successful before you even begin working on it. In this article, we discuss the product discovery process for mobile apps.
Basics of Product Discovery
Product discovery refers to the process of identifying the right kind of product or service and getting it to the right user population. There are many large players in this space including players like Google, Apple, Amazon, and others. The product development process for these companies has evolved greatly over time because of the changing needs of their consumers. This need has motivated the companies to design mobile apps that are capable of providing a rich variety of services or solutions that can satisfy the user's varying needs.
There is a tremendous rush of new software applications being launched every day. It is important for an application to get noticed so that it gains a foothold in the competitive market segment. At the same time, it must be able to provide its users with the kind of experience that makes the use of the software addictive and keeps the user glued to the app. This makes the process of discovery much easier and faster than if the project was started with no idea of how the market would react.
With the introduction of the latest technology coupled with intense competition, the mobile app development industry is witnessing explosive growth. In order to capture a larger chunk of the pie, innovative ideas and innovative concepts are required from the developers. Product discovery tests out ideas to meet user needs before a product is launched to ensure that the mobile app has a reasonable chance of success before additional resources are invested into the app's development or it is launched.
At the same time, quality needs to be maintained at a high level. With the advent of a new mobile platform powered by mobile technologies, more focus is being laid on user interface design, where the screens are crafted aesthetically in order to meet the desires of the user. Mobile app discovery experts work hard in bringing out innovative ideas to help meet the challenges posed by product discovery for mobile apps.
Conducting Market Research
Market research has become crucial for mobile apps because of the increased number of apps in the marketplace. Each day brings a new program or an upgrade that can appeal to a wide range of consumers. The trouble is finding an innovative concept that can generate significant interest and a high return on investment (ROI) for your business.
Market research can be a complex undertaking. The first consideration should include how customers use their mobile devices today, what functionality they need, and how they would use your app. Then, it is important to actually talk about your app with users and then give them the opportunity to test prototypes to give feedback about the app before it goes to full development. This information can help provide insight as to how to better target your marketing messages.
Try to Disqualify Your Idea
It is always a challenge for the innovators to think of how to disqualify product ideas before they get started. Most ideas seem like good ones at first. The products that manage to gather more traction and get market acceptance will be those that have a sound concept, high demand, and are backed by robust technology. As this becomes an increasingly competitive area, ideas that don't have a viable and scalable platform will quickly find themselves canceled. Nobody wants to waste time and money on a mobile app that won't sell.
When you are looking at how to disqualify product ideas for mobile application development, you must also look at the technical challenges associated with implementing your idea. In many cases, it is going to be very difficult to code a mobile app that is both simple to use and that will run on a variety of mobile devices, from smartphones to laptops. The best idea is to create a prototype and to test it on a limited number of mobile devices. You can then scale your application down to a mobile device and test it thoroughly before making the final product.
Building a mobile app can be a challenge without specialized help. Fortunately, there are development agencies that can help you through the process. At KitelyTech, we work with companies and startups to help them develop mobile apps. Call us at (800) 274 2908 to start the development process on your next idea.
