Why and How to Conduct Market Research for Your Mobile App?

Developing a mobile app is one thing, making it a success is the other. Thousands of apps are developed and published in the app marketplace every month, but only a few succeed. Though nothing guarantees the success of an app, performing thorough market research around your app idea can surely boost the chances.

Do you know the global revenue from mobile apps is expected to cross the $600 billion mark by 2025? It’s massive but not surprising, honestly. Users, especially Gen Z and millennials, spend a lot of time browsing apps. The usage has significantly increased in the last few years, which has led to the remarkable growth of the mobile app industry or app development companies. So, if you have got an amazing app idea, now is the time to invest in it.

Almost every brand owner wishes to have a mobile app built for their brand. And there’s no harm in building a mobile app. But the truth is, most mobile apps are not able to make a mark in the market and fail within the first year of their release. And do you know overlooking the research part is one of the core reasons behind it? Yes, not doing enough research on the kind of app you want to build increases its chances of failure. If reports are to be believed, around 72% of new mobile app-based products fail to perform to their expectations due to inadequate market research.

So, how to conduct market research for your mobile app? We’ll find out in this blog post.

What is Market Research?

The process of obtaining, analyzing, and interpreting information about a specific market (such as healthcare, travel, etc.) is what we call market research. This information could be about your business competitors, current market trends, or your target audience- their interests, needs, behavior, and expectations, which helps determine the product’s viability and feasibility.

Conducting market research provides you with several valuable insights, such as-

1. the pain points of your target audience

2. psychology of your ideal end-users

3. competitor’s strengths and weaknesses

4. industry trends, and

5. whether the product is actually required in the market

But before you begin with the market research for your app, make some notes about the following-

Target users- who will be the target users of the app and what would be the target market?

The goal of the app- what problems does the app intend to solve? How is it going to be beneficial for the end-users? And how it would be more helpful than the current similar apps?

Take note of the problems users generally come across in the kind of app you are looking to build and explain how you are going to address their pain points.

All this information would come very useful when you actually start with market research.

The Aspects of Mobile App Market Research

As an app development company or a wannabe appreneur, you might want to know how to conduct market research.

There are generally two phases in the mobile app market research- Primary Research and Secondary Research.

1. Primary Research

Primary research is done by the company itself or a person hired specially for this role. It helps-

a.) determine the need for your mobile app in the market.

How to do this research?

Use online forums, social media sites, landing pages, Facebook ads, etc.

b.) frame the business plan/model.

How to do this research?

Analyze the current market conditions. Do your research on the sales and marketing strategy. 

c.) set up an effective marketing strategy.

How to do this research?

Define your marketing/advertising strategy- organic and paid advertising. Know the pre and post-mobile app launch mistakes.

2. Secondary Research

Secondary research is done using external sources. It helps-

a.) strengthen the core of the mobile app.

How to do this research?

Perform a SWOT analysis, where SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

b.) create a practical social media strategy

How to do this research?

Research your target audience, identify the current market trends, and leverage both paid and organic marketing.

The Different Market Research Methods You Should Consider

We’ve compiled a few market research methods that could prove the most effective for your mobile app.

1. Surveys

Surveys are an excellent option to get into the minds of your target users and know their thoughts on the product you are looking to develop. It can help you gain some valuable information by asking them the ‘right’ questions. Yes, you need to put the right set of questions into your survey, and also avoid asking for too many as it may put the user off. Ask concrete questions that relate to the users’ pain points. The survey won’t be of much use if the questions themselves aren’t worth paying attention to.

Tip- Ask open-ended questions and avoid asking for one-word or Yes/No questions. Open-ended questions encourage the respondents to put their feedback into words without feeling restricted. If possible, reward users with something for taking the survey.

2. Social Media

Social media isn’t just a source of communication or entertainment these days but a platform for brands or marketers to promote their products or services. It is also an extremely good option to conduct market research for your mobile app.

More than half of the world is using some form of social media. There, they are sharing information that can come very useful for your research. Look around for similar apps on social media, see what people are saying about them, what flaws do they find in them, and what do they look for. For example, if you are developing a fitness app, join some fitness groups or check out pages of other fitness apps. See what people have to complain about and what solutions are they demanding. Gather all this information during your research and use it when you start with app development.

3. Competitor Analysis

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Remember this famous dialogue from the movie “Godfather?” It applies to market research too. No one can offer you better insights or information (about a product) than your competitors. Whatever kind of app you are looking to build, see the existing similar apps in the market. Those will be the ones you would be competing with in the future.

Research your competitors. Analyze their strong and weak points. Find out what people love about their product, what problems does their app solve, what strategies do they follow to keep customers engaged and hooked to their application, and what’s their revenue model. Identify what they are lacking at, and try to fill that gap through your app in the future.

4. Stats

Stats can be of great help in your mobile app market research. Just make sure that those are collected from trustworthy sources. Stats around your industry or business niche can give you a fair idea of consumer behavior, their preferences, and more.

Some of the websites that you can look up are Statista and Gartner. The former has over 1 million statistics on more than 80,000 topics from 22,000+ sources and 170 different industries.

Check what stats say about your industry or niche. Collect crucial information and see how it can be utilized for your future app. One more thing, consider only the recent data. Even if not recent, it shouldn’t be older than a few years.

Apply The Information

Mobile app development is directionless without proper research on the type of app that needs to be built. A product that is built after thorough research and analysis has higher a chance of success than the one that is not. So, collate all your findings and incorporate them into your app. A solid market research is one of the mantras of success for popular mobile apps.