If you're a junior developer looking to create software products, the most important thing you can do is research your market. Without understanding what your users need and want, it's hard to make a successful product. After all, no matter how great your widgets or apps are, if nobody wants them, they won’t be very successful!
If this notion intimidates you — don't worry! In this blog post, we’ll walk through exactly what types of market research you should consider as a junior developer before diving into development. You'll leave feeling confident about how to begin researching and knowing which questions to ask. Let’s get started!
What is Market Research and Why is it Important for Widget and App Development Businesses?
Market research is an essential process for any widget and app development business. It is the practice of gathering data about potential customers, direct and indirect competitors, and the market as a whole in order to inform strategic decisions about product development.
Performing market research helps businesses understand what their customers need or want so that they can tailor their products to their unique interests. Additionally, it helps them understand how the competition is performing in order to create even more useful products that fill the gaps not addressed by competitors.
Simply put, market research ensures businesses can develop widgets and apps that meet consumer demand and stay ahead of the competition. Moreover, without the insights market research provides into customer reactions and buying habits, companies often find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to developing popular products their customers will love. Thus, if you own a widget or app development business, incorporating market research into your operations will definitely help you make smarter product design decisions for better results.
The Different Types of Market Research and When Each Type Should Be Used
Understanding the different types of market research available and when they should be used is key. Depending on what app you're creating, you could take a look at primary or secondary research to get a better understanding of your user base.
Primary research
Primary research involves getting direct customer feedback from app users. It's a key part of app development and user experience design, as it allows app makers to validate ideas directly with the people likely to use the app.
By conducting surveys and interviews with app users, app makers are able to gain vital feedback about their product features, usability, and potential pain points, which can shape the app in more meaningful ways for app users.
Primary research not only allows room for improvement but also helps to produce better apps from the start by providing essential information such as app user demographics, preferences, experiences, and consumer behavior. It will ultimately result in a higher satisfaction rate among app users when they are given the opportunity to influence important decisions before an app launches.
Secondary research
Secondary research requires gathering data from existing sources like already done surveys, online reviews, and industry publications to gain insight into the app you intend to create. Doing this helps creators have an understanding of the app's potential demand in the market, allowing them to invest time and resources more efficiently while developing the app.
Consequently, it can also provide information on how competitive of an app it could potentially be compared to what already exists. Gathering someone else's thoughts and feedback can help identify its value for a target audience.
Comparing Primary vs Secondary Research: Which is Ideal for Early Market Research?
Understanding which type of research best suits your app will help ensure its success and longevity. Additional qualitative processes like focus groups and interviewing app users can also be helpful in developing an app that customers appreciate and are willing to engage with over and over again.
If you’re just getting started with app research, it can be difficult to decide which type of research is best - primary or secondary. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to both, for app research at the beginning stages of a project, primary research is often the more advantageous option.
With primary research, you can tap into present market conditions by surveying prospective app users in your target audience directly and get a more accurate account of app features and user behaviors. Additionally, primary methods can help uncover trends and work as support for devising the best strategies for app feature design and marketing strategy.
In all cases of app research, having a good idea about what exactly your target audience needs is key for understanding their decisions and habits when it comes to technological products.
What is SWOT Analysis, and Why Should You Consider it When You Conduct Market Research?
SWOT analysis is an incredibly powerful tool you should consider when doing app research. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats - these four points will help you gain insight into what your app's current standing is, and what it could become with a well-crafted business plan. It's an invaluable tool when assessing the app's features as well; not only in terms of strengths or potential opportunities, but also to alert you to any potential weaknesses or threats.
Applying what you learn about each app's features to each point of the analysis will help uncover weaknesses or threats as well as strengths and opportunities which can be used to your advantage. With careful consideration and SWOT analysis, app research becomes far more insightful - allowing you to craft an effective app business model and further marketing strategy tailored to your app's unique needs.
How to Conduct In-Depth Market Research Using Both Primary and Secondary Sources
If you're ready to dive into market research strategies but don't know where to start, fret not — it's super easy to conduct market research! To get started, come up with app ideas that you want to explore. Once you have them, it's time to gather information using the primary and secondary sources we mentioned above.
As a reminder, primary research can come from surveys, interviews, and experiments. The more creative you get with this type of data collection will yield more insightful results as well as help create a better app all around.
Secondary research provides another avenue to find relevant information. Online resources such as industry publications and reports can provide valuable insights into the app's niche and usability aspects.
With both primary and secondary sources at hand, dig into the data garnered and use it to assess viability while considering the app ideas you had in mind at the very beginning of your journey.
Incorporating Competitor Analysis into App Idea Market Research
When app ideas come to your head and you start conducting research, another important step is to perform a good competitor analysis. This will help you gain insights into app trends and understand what features or functions similar apps have that yours doesn't.
Researching your app idea can provide valuable information about the app ecosystem and allow you to identify opportunities for success, as well as any potential unforeseen risks, even at the stage of a minimum viable product. By conducting competitor analysis, app researchers can create an app strategy tailored to their idea that focuses on uniqueness, user engagement, clarity in communication and marketability. By taking the additional step of app research with a thorough analysis process, app creators can better ensure an idea has maximum potential for success.
Implementing Market Research Results in Your Plan
Once you have collected the results of your market research, it’s time to figure out what app ideas to pursue and which features to implement. This can be intimidating, as it requires considerable thought when considering which idea will benefit you in the long-term.
Don’t let this deter you, though; take a step back and evaluate not just your idea but your target audience too. Ask yourself tough questions that get to the heart of app success, such as: “Will this app gain traction? Where is its potential for improvement? How likely is it to make a profit?” With robust answers, you’ll be able to determine with confidence whether or not an idea is worth further exploring.
To analyze the results of your market research, first, compare your idea against any competing app ideas that may exist and determine what sets it apart.
Next, review the feedback you received to assess user interest in the app idea, as well as whether or not they feel like it would fill an unmet need.
Finally, use analytics to measure who is currently downloading and using apps similar to yours, so you can understand who you need to market it to. With a thorough analysis of market research data, app ideas can easily be tested and refined for success.
Tips for Interpreting Data from Market Research Studies
Interpreting data from market research studies can be tricky. However, there are several tips to bear in mind that can help ensure you get the most out of all your app idea research.
Firstly, consider the conclusions you need to make and set yourself up with a solid general understanding of your idea before diving into the relevant data. Set some measures for success and make sure you know what success looks like before gathering details and making decisions.
When it comes to analysis, try breaking your idea apart into smaller pieces so you can evaluate individual elements more easily. Also, be sure to draw comparisons based on meaningful metrics rather than ambiguous ones; this will give better results and help ensure accuracy.
Lastly, have a conversation with customers and users to understand how they view your app idea; having an informed opinion available to provide real-world context is invaluable.
By keeping these tips in mind while interpreting data from market research studies, you’ll be well on your way to making informed decisions about your app!
Pitfalls to Avoid When Conducting App Market Research
When you perform market research for app ideas, there are a few common pitfalls to be aware of. The industry standards are high, yet many app developers make the mistake of believing that there is an idea out there that has never been thought of before. In reality, the app market is highly competitive, and any app being developed should serve some unmet need.
For this reason, it is important to thoroughly research what apps already exist — performing similar competitive analysis has proven successful in solving user problems. Taking shortcuts by not testing prototypes or investing in adequate usability tests could also lead to app failure.
Finally, relying only on quantitative data can give an incomplete picture of potential users - engaging with your target audience and gathering qualitative feedback can provide so much valuable insight into how an app may fair in the marketplace.
Tips for Staying Up-to-Date on the Latest Market Trends in the Widget and App Markets
Keeping up with the app and widget markets, and their ever-changing trends, can seem daunting, but there are some simple ways to stay ahead of the curve.
Optimize social media accounts
Staying informed starts by reading app-centric blogs and positioning yourself to observe app launch events. Both will provide insights into emerging trends and app ideas that can keep you in the know. Subscribing to app newsletters, networking with app developers on social platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, joining app-related discussion groups, visiting app-related landing pages, attending webinars, and watching app reviews by influencers on YouTube — all these methods help you stay connected.
Keep up with the news
Have your ears open for industry news or breakthroughs that could shape the industry or hold strong potential as an app idea. As long as you're willing to do a bit of work and remain open to evolving technologies, staying up-to-date on the latest widget & app industry trends won't be too difficult! Taking a few minutes each day to read up on current market trends and industry news will greatly benefit your app idea research.
Maximizing Outcomes through the Early Consideration of Marketing Strategy in Your App Research
As app research is the first step on your app development journey, it’s important to also include researching your app’s sales and marketing strategy. You should know what app marketing strategies will help your app stand out from the competition, and how you will get users to find value in your app.
Having a thorough understanding of your app’s marketability, latest technology trends, and potential target audience can help you determine when resources should be allocated towards your app's growth.
Additionally, any research into customer needs and preferences are valuable inputs that can inform how to create engaging content and develop a successful and optimized marketing strategy — setting yourself up for long-term success!
Putting Market Research Insights into Action
By understanding your target market and conducting thorough research, you can ensure that any widget or app idea is successful and goes in the right direction. Interpreting the data from market research studies correctly is essential to making informed decisions about these ideas and creating a solid business plan. It's also important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in the app markets by reading blogs, subscribing to newsletters, networking with other developers online, attending webinars, and watching influencer reviews. With a bit of work and an open mind towards new technologies, staying ahead of industry trends should be easy!
So, which of these tips will you use to make sure your next widget or app is ahead of the curve?
