With more and more people turning towards mobile apps to carry out their daily tasks, there are plenty of apps operational for almost all kinds of businesses.

If we go by statistics, over 300 app stores are available worldwide for businesses to launch their apps, according to the Business of Apps article.

If we only consider the top two app store data, there are more than 3.3 million apps available on Google Play Store and more than 2.2 million apps available on the iOS App Store. However, this counting does not stop here.

The competition is getting fiercer every day, with an average of over 150 new apps per hour getting launched on Google Play Store and over 40 new apps per hour getting launched on an Apple App Store worldwide, according to Statista.

For everyone, who wants their app to get successfully launched in this cut-throat competition, the first and foremost thing is understanding their space.

However, the problem does not stop here. According to a recent business insider report, the trouble launching the app is neither the design nor the development, but its marketing.

Yes. It is critical to leverage a comprehensive app launch strategy for paving the way to a successful launch, and many find this the most challenging part.

So, here we are with a detailed guide on mobile app ideation to development and marketing to set your app for success for years to come.

Pre-app-launch strategies

Market research:

Before going ahead with the app development, you need to understand the industry you are targeting and thoroughly go-through its norms.

Also, you need to conduct in-depth market research to know your user demographics, behavior patterns, strong & weak points, etc.

You must get to know the leading players and competitors in your niche, analyze their products, user reviews/feedback, and see where they fall short.

By doing all the above steps in advance, you will know the demand and opportunity for differentiating your app from the competition.

It is crucial to ensure your app idea does not end up going head-to-head with anyone but offer real value to your customers and make your app even better than the competition.

Get your digital home:

Well, in today’s day and age, it is better not to limit your presence just to the app store, so you must create a digital home for your app.

Register a domain and create a simple yet engaging web landing page for your app with all the features and launch date of your app.

Besides, your landing page must have a call-to-action (CTA) and a contact form for the interested users. This way, you can attract more users and leads.

Create social media hype:

Once you are digitally present, now it is time to expand your web presence through social networking.

Social media is a powerful tool to generate pre-launch interest in your app among the masses. You can also gain early sign-ups through social media.

But first, you must identify which social media platforms are the most popular among your targeted users, then register the accounts with that platform.

Now you can start building the followers base by sharing the content related to your soon-to-be-launched app. You can also run targeted ad campaigns to gain more traction from social media.

Decide platform dependency:

When it comes to launching an application, it is no longer enough to stick to just one platform. Your app needs to be available across multiple platforms to expand your reach in the market.

Cross-platform application development is also a more cost-effective app solution for your business in the long-run.

Create a buzz around:

You must start advertising your app before the launch (apart from social media) to generate awareness of your app.

But remember, every aspect of your app-marketing must align with your targeted user-base, i.e., app store listing, content marketing initiatives, press kit collateral, social media presence, visual representation, website messaging, etc.

You can also participate in communities or forums relevant to your market and popular with your target audience.

Videos formats tend to generate higher engagement, as they are one of the most expressive ways to market your app UI and help you establish a voice and communicate the app’s capabilities.

Test your beta-version:

Before you launch your mobile app in the market, test its invite-only beta version because what is obvious to you might not be for someone else.

Also, users may not necessarily use your app the same way you intended. Therefore, getting initial conceptual feedback from your potential users can help validate your app design.

The beta test, sometimes preceded by the alpha test (a very early development stage) for most apps. You can conduct both.

By conducting the beta test for your app, you can also fix bugs and expensive UX/UI errors early before a full-scale app launch.

Additionally, these beta-testers can help you get your initial app-store reviews and be your app-ambassadors.

Leverage goal-oriented app analytics:

Monitoring usage behavior and engagement through in-app analytics help you optimize your marketing strategy and safeguard your app’s success.

You ground your app by a system for regularly recording your KPIs that are most relevant for your target audience and business goals.

You can also consider building a readily accessible and intuitive in-app feedback and customer service channel for users to engage with more personalized campaigns and increase loyalty and retention.

App-launch strategies

Prepare the visuals:

Have visually engaging screenshots of your app in-hand before launching your app to the app store to make your app-launch easier and attract more users. You can also prepare a press kit for your app in-advance.

Get testimonials from your beta-testers:

In the app store description, you will need a few testimonials highlighting the use cases of your app, where you can use your beta testers’ feedback and testimonials.

Firstly, open a communication channel between you and your beta testers to address whatever questions, suggestions, and comments they have for your app.

For best results, you can build the feedback loop into the app itself, i.e., in-app messaging, surveys, etc. So, testers are not required to leave the app to reach out to you.

Create Content:

Content is the cornerstone of any successful app marketing strategy. You can create content as blog posts, email marketing copy, guest blogs, landing pages, press releases, social media content, website copy, etc.

You can pre-schedule any of the above contents, which explains more about your app to go live on your launch day to reach your users to get your app.

Pitch on app stores:

Initially, it is advisable to launch your mobile app on just a single platform because it will help you gain the highest possible concentration of users and ratings.

Also, in your initial stage after the launch, you might make lots of improvements to your app, and having your app on a single platform will help you streamline those updates.

Once your app is more established on the targeted app store, you can launch your app on multiple platforms.

If you’re unsure about which app store to launch your app first, do some research and find out which app store is the most popular among your target market.

App store optimization:

You must carefully craft your app store description, as in most of the app stores, users only see the first few lines of your product at first glance unless they click through to read more.

Hence you have just a few lines to convince potential users to download your app. Make sure these lines clearly explain what problem your app will solve for the users.

Well, writing a great product description is not enough. You must ensure that your app ranks prominently in the app store search results.

For that, you need to use the language and tone your users speak in your app description and strategically invest in App Store Optimisation (ASO) to rank higher in the marketplace.

Don’t confuse ASO with SEO. While both are important, you need ASO to get your app rank higher just within the app store.

Best practices in ASO include optimizing your app title and description with relevant keywords used frequently by users or competitors.

Higher ranking and catchy content will help your app stand out in the app store and get a fair number of initial downloads.

Post-app-launch strategies

Active user-engagement:

After the successful launch of your app, you can focus on increasing your user-base and enhancing the user-engagement in your app.

Though increasing numbers is crucial, you shall not forget that engaged users are more likely to convert and make in-app purchases.

It is critical to ensure that users leave with a positive experience on your app, which leads them to come back for more.

And what could be the better way to give users a positive experience than Communication?

You can reach out to your customers and make them feel valued with tools like push notifications, in-app messaging, special offers, customized content, etc.

App performance optimization:

You must monitor and optimize your app-performance to understand the usage pattern and UX of your app. This way, you can increase the customer satisfaction and user retention level of your app.

You can monitor app store rankings, download trends, feedback streams, etc., on social networks or Google Alerts to assess the app-performance.

Social media can also offer valuable insights into user perceptions about your app because social media is the first place where users complain about what is wrong with your app.

You can never release a bug-free app. But by early monitoring the app performance, you can fix those bugs while your app is still hot among your user-base.

App-version update log:

If you want to keep your app alive in this fiercely competitive market, you must update your app versions by adding new features or bringing an attractive UI.

You can send these update logs to your app store pages or have a dedicated update log page on your website. So, users can easily see the changes you have brought to your app over time.

You can also send push notifications and in-app pop-ups for users to see a breakdown of your app version-update. You can also create hype about your Coming Soon features.

Are you ready to launch your app?

To succeed in the current fierce competition, it is not just enough for you to have a Million-dollar idea, but you also need to know how to market that Million-dollar idea.

Well, do not worry. Coruscate is here to take the full responsibility of developing the full-fledged app with the best app-launch strategy for your Million-dollar idea.

Let’s have a call!