We are all guilty of committing some mistakes in our marketing efforts and some are even hard to recover from. The magnitude of the damages caused by these mistakes vary in size and impact, but they all boil down to the same things—they disrupt our marketing campaigns and they cost money, time, and effort. Thus, it is suffice to say that avoiding such mistakes will not only lead you to success, but will spare you from unnecessary costs along the way.
Here is a list of top mistakes you need to avoid if you move along with your app marketing campaigns, drafted in the style of the 10 commandments. After all, for marketers, a huge promotional error can be a grave sin.
1. Thou Shall Not Create a Bad Product
The definition of a “bad product” can go as far as to describe purpose, function, experience, and many more. Indy100 provides a list of the worst apps of all times and they are pretty much a disaster in their own ways. Make sure your app doesn’t fall under this category or it will have a bleak future in the industry.
Instead work with your potential users early on and build the product with their feedback. Also, consider soft-launching in English speaking countries before launching in the U.S. and worldwide. Feedback is key to building a great product.
2. Thou Shall Not Falsely Assume
Prajakt Raut in his article on how wrong assumption impacts the company says, “wrong assumptions kill more companies than bad products.” And this is true in so many levels. How many app failure stories have we heard just because the developers made the wrong assumptions on how the app will be perceived by the public?
Base your assumptions on data, metrics, analytics, and proven scientific ways to understand your market.
3. Thou Shall Not Skip Testing
Don’t rush in launching your product without doing extensive testing. Some developers immediately make the apps available and end up getting a dying app with negative feedback. There’s too many apps in the market that the chances of people giving your app a second chance is too slim.
Think about soft launching your app first to get data on retention, usability and marketing.
4. Thou Shall Not Ignore Initial Feedback
Feedback is very important for an app business, so important that it helped make Anthony Kidd a real success in the industry. Listen to what people are saying about your app and use it to improve your product.
5. Thou Shall Not Underestimate Word-of-Mouth
It’s the digital era, but the most effective marketing strategy is still the word-of-mouth. Go out and network with actual people, especially those who can give your app the much needed exposure. Connect with people in the industry and promote your product by forging a good reputation among your peers.
6. Thou Shall Not Shoot Aimlessly
App marketing is costly. It costs money, time, and effort. In business, wasting these is pretty much a big deal. Plan your strategies and tactics accordingly. Determine the methods that best suit your campaign design and let go of unnecessary actions. Find out for yourself the right formula in hitting your app marketing goals. This template from business2community may give you an idea on how to create the right plan.
7. Thou Shall Not Move Forward without Knowing Your Audience
At the end of the day, app marketing success is determined by how much people appreciate your product. The worst way to jeopardize this is to create a product without a specific target market. The demographics are extensive and you have to determine who you are doing the app for. If not, you’ll end up with an app that is unappreciated by any age group or any sector.
8. Thou Shall Not Stop Tracking Your Progress
Marketing is not a one-time effort. Tracking your progress will give you an insight on how your app is performing and how you can improve it. Ran Avrahamy at Convince&Convert provides an in-depth insight on how to do this.
9. Thou Shall Not Price Your App Unreasonably
For paid apps, reasonable pricing is an important component. No matter how exceptional your product is, for as long as people think they are too expensive, they’ll not download it unless they desperately need to. After all, the app market is huge and there could be free alternatives out there.
10. Thou Shall Not Cease Improving
The app market is changing very fast. App retention remains low, with apps losing more than 75% of its users in just a day. This is why you need to constantly improve your product. Enhance experience, add exciting features, and boost marketing. Make sure you keep people interested.
Conclusion
App marketing is both an art and a science, and it requires massive amounts of smarts and creativity to gain attention within the overcrowded app world. By avoiding these mistakes you gain higher chances of success. Keep these commandments in mind and you’re on your way to hitting your goals.