Find and Validate App Ideas: Step-By-Step Guide in 2022

Without a process of idea validation, there is always the risk of failure. An app idea needs to pass three different tests for it to be a sure-shot winner. So let us take a look at this process in detail.

To begin with, the app idea should be tested for feasibility in the market. You must have a clear vision of how the app would work. This means you must know precisely what problem your application will solve and how it will solve it. You should not move on to the next stage unless you are 100% sure that you can make your app do what you want it to do.

Secondly, the business model needs to be tested thoroughly. Ensure how you will make money and how much you can spend on development, marketing, and other expenses. Your primary goal is to validate your idea before spending any significant amount of money on it. This is why most entrepreneurs first build a rough prototype of their applications. Then they can test their business model and its product before they spend too much money on further development.

The third and final test is whether or not your target audience truly likes your product idea or not. Again, you need to conduct a survey before moving forward with the whole development process to find out.

It is believed that finding your target audience and validating your idea will save you time and money. But it only works if you know how to validate your idea. Unfortunately, some people don’t even know what validation means.

Steps to Validate Mobile App Development Ideas

In their mind, validation means getting a few of their friends to give them feedback on their app ideas. Unfortunately, they are looking for validation from the wrong people. They need to determine if their app idea will appeal to their targeted audience.

#1 Confirm there are enough potential users

Before you start designing your app and writing code, you need to confirm that there are enough potential users for your app and that they will be interested in downloading the final product. If there aren’t, you should change your idea or find a new niche.

#2 Testing is one of the best ways to validate an app idea.

You can use various methods to test the interest level of your target audience, including asking them directly and using tools like Google Analytics. Testing also helps you find out if your idea is worth pursuing. If you test it and find out that there aren’t enough potential users for your app, then you should either change your idea or find a new niche.

You can use different approaches to test an app idea: surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc. An informal survey can help you figure out whether people would actually be interested in using an app for a particular purpose. For example, if you want to develop an app for finding people who want to get married, go to a few cafes or bars and ask random people if they would download and use such an app.

Designing and Launching

#3 Think about your target audience

Designing and launching a successful app is a long process that requires a lot of thought. Understanding your target audience will help you target them effectively, which allows you to create content that engages them and aims to solve their problem.

How can you use user personas for effective marketing?

–          Identify your target audience

–          Understand their motivations and goals

–          Use this knowledge to develop effective marketing strategies

Minimum Viable Product

#4 Before development — think “minimum viable product.”

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ensures that you can test your business idea before actually starting development. Not every business idea needs to be turned into a fully-fledged app, and in some cases, it is better to use the MVP model so that you don’t invest too much time and money into something that may not work out.

Trying to build an app that has all of the features that potential customers are going to want can take a lot of effort and time. However, launching an MVP means you only need to focus on what is necessary for testing purposes. This means that you can test your business idea and compile feedback from users before moving on to building a full version of your app.

It is also worth noting that some app developers have been known to skip the MVP stage entirely, which has led them to spend time and money later developing an app with no clear purpose. In some cases, this has resulted in apps being removed from online stores due to a lack of downloads.

Analyze

#5 Analyze the App Store charts.

As more and more applications are released for Apple’s App Store, it is becoming increasingly difficult for users to know which apps are worth the money. App Store charts can help you decide if an app is worth purchasing:

–  Top Paid Charts – This chart shows the most popular paid applications in the App Store. Look at the top apps to see which ones are most frequently downloaded by other users.

–   Top Free Charts – This chart shows the most popular free applications in the App Store. Look at the top apps to see what other users are downloading and using on a regular basis.

–   Top Grossing Charts – This chart shows the most popular apps, ranked by their gross revenue in the App Store. These charts are helpful to determine if a particular application will be worth your money and is being used frequently.

This information will help you, as a user, decide which app is best for you, whether it be free or paid, since it is essential to use an app that will provide value for money spent.

Test in Market

#6 Check the product-market fit of your app.

When a product is launched, the success of an app depends on whether it fulfills the need of its target audience. The value of an app is directly proportional to the size and preferences of its user base. Hence, implementing a marketing plan to gain more users is vital. Product market fit can be a tricky thing to achieve.

No matter how innovative your app is, it will fail if you cannot find the right audience for it. Do not underestimate the importance of the users’ feedback. They can either make or break your product’s success. You need to reach a platform where people consider your app an integral part of their lives. This can happen only when you can offer something fresh, attractive, and completely different from what is already present in the market.

#7 Analysis of your key competitors’ apps.

Assemble a checklist of all the essential features your competing apps deliver. Then, you can add the names of some of your critical competitors and list down the distinct features. You can also conclude this task by designing a mind map to list down the features.

Conclusion

You may be a great app developer with plenty of creativity and technical skills, but that doesn’t mean you can be successful at creating your own startup app business. There are challenges to overcome, no matter how brilliant the app is.

If you’re just starting out, you’ll have to start by familiarising yourself with some basic market research. Then, glance around and notice the kind of issues people are confronting and the applications that are accessible to take care of these issues.

You really want to create an extraordinary application that takes care of genuine issues for a sizeable audience. Ensure your adaptation model of business is sufficient to bring you enough income for your business.

Image Credit: Provided by the Author; Thank you

Tracy Alex Shelton

Tracy Alex Shelton

Digital Marketing Consultant

With more than 10 years of experience in Online Marketing and as a Digital Marketing Consultant at Idea2App, I along with my team have developed and manage the online reputation of various brands belonging to industries like logistics and transport, packers, and movers, courier services, etc. I strive to make sure that we leverage today’s advanced marketing tactics in the best possible way to help businesses to grow more.

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