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acquisition customer launch traction

You have developed a unique iOS app and have done your best to make it fun and useful. Now it’s high time for launch. You sit back in the excitement of seeing downloads rise rapidly. However, the numbers are well below your expectations… One of the common, yet not obvious reasons for application failure is ignoring the importance of acquiring customers before your iOS app is launched. Developing a product does not merely imply coming up with an idea and realizing it. To succeed on the highly competitive market of iOS apps, you should consider the entire life cycle of a product development. Promotional techniques and customer acquisition strategies are inseparable parts of this cycle. If they are undervalued, your product can end up unknown and your efforts - wasted. Consequently, you should think and plan to acquire customers before your app is launched on the market. Consult the following five strategies as helpful hints.

Set goals and build traction

You cannot rely on mere chance to ensure success. If you don’t have your goals stated clearly, your customers will fail to gain an accurate idea on what you are going to deliver to them. Remember, you are just starting, and it is essential to cultivate rapport and confidence towards your company. Surely, the messages you communicate to your audiences will be decisive because the market has not seen and used your product yet. It’s your text that generates leads at this stage. In customer acquisition strategies traction plays a vital role. To put it simple, traction is a business proof that your potential customers demonstrate trust and commitment to buy your product or service upon their arrival on the market. If people are eager to buy your product before its launch, you get a better chance to attract investors, partners, and mass media – key role players in your business development. That’s why traction is of particular importance for startups that haven’t proved themselves in the marketplace yet.

Reach key influentials

Keep in mind that before your product is downloaded on your customers’ devices, you are selling the idea of your product. There a number of effective ways to do it. Seek partnership with influential people in the industry. Jump at every opportunity to find these people on various online pages, groups, and forums. More importantly, try to attend conferences and talk to them in person. These are great ways to spark conversations about your iOS app, get to know investors, and find potential customers. No doubt, press has a huge potential of getting the ball rolling. Find tech journalists that will write about your app in their blogs, social site pages, etc. If you have come up with a useful, unique, and entertaining idea, most probably you will enjoy positive reviews and boost your product’s popularity before it is launched. Prepare business presentations to your target audiences: key companies and people in that sphere, as well as potential customer groups. Take a useful hint: prepare a beta version of your iOS app to demonstrate its functions to those you meet.

Decide on a target group

You don’t want to waste your precious time and resources on audiences that will have no interest in you app, do you? While advertising, identify age, gender, location, and any other parameters that are of high priority to you. Spend your resources accordingly. Targeting may touch upon devices as well. For example, if your app is designed for mobile devices only, don’t make your social advertisements available to PC users.

Make it possible to refer your app to others

Referral marketing has a proven success story to rely on. Dropbox, Airbnb, Uber and many others were a tremendous success owing to creative referral marketing campaigns. The idea behind is simple: you recommend a product or a service to your friends and receive a reward. Treat your customers in a special way. Think of rewards for those who will recommend your app to their friends. It can be a discount, a free download, or free features of your iOS app. You can even come up with a contest idea to encourage people to get involved.

Create emails lists

One of the best ways to get a proof for people’s traction is generating leads through email subscriptions. If people subscribe to get updates on your app, then you have got their interest. To spark interest, you can share some exclusive offers you are going to have, send ‘behind the scenes’ photos, or communicate your key values and goals as an app developer. A pre-launch campaign enables to spread the word about your iOS app and sell the idea before your product hits the market. More importantly, it helps to demonstrate strengths and advantages of your app to gain traction from your future customers. If planned and implemented accurately, customer acquisition strategies can generate outcome that goes far beyond your expectations. You can pick up one of the mentioned strategies, use them in combination, or come up with a creative one to meet your app’s special needs. One thing is clear: you should never ignore the importance of well-thought and effective pre-launch campaign to achieve business traction. The more people trust you, the more they strive to have your iOS app on their devices and the better are your chances to make the next boom in the application market.