How To Validate App Idea?

Have you ever wondered how people came up with business idea for big apps like Uber, Airbnb, and Facebook years ago? How did they know their app idea was good and dare to pursue it? On the other hand, how many times have you encountered a problem and thought it would be great if there was a mobile app to solve or speed up the process?

Many people come up with ideas when they're not actively thinking about them, as they arise from their own needs or timely recognition of societal needs. However, few dare to realize their app idea because they are discouraged by stories of failure and a lack of information about the entire app idea validation process and then implementing it into a functional app.

How to know if your app idea is worth the try?

One of the biggest mistakes startups make is not collecting user opinions and not doing proper market research before diving into app development for their startup idea. They start from the assumption that their idea is exactly what users need and begin full-scale development. By the time they realize how costly and time-consuming it is, it becomes too late since they skip the app idea validation process through MVP development (minimum viable product).

Therefore, if you already have an app idea but are still wondering if other people need that app as well, start by thinking about whether that is one of your potential customers' pain points.

Try to answer the following questions to see if your mobile app idea has potential:

1. Try to look at your app idea from a distance and another user's perspective, and ask yourself whether you would use the app even if someone else made it instead of you. Why yes, and why not?
2. Is there already a similar existing app? If yes, what unique value does your app idea have that differentiates it from potential competitors? If not, is there a reason why nobody dared to create an app like this? Maybe it is hard to find an ideal customer or there are better startup ideas?
3. Is there a demonstrated demand for this type of app, and what evidence supports this demand?

What do we mean by saying "app idea validation"?

The app idea validation process includes several stages crucial to ensure app viability and potential success. It is not rare that people skip some stages to speed up the process, but that results in missing valuable insights, not validating the startup idea effectively and maybe missing relevant user group.

To minimize risk and potential costs if things don't go as planned and you realize too late the product doesn't fit the market and target users, we advise you to carefully go through all 5 phases of the app idea validation.

Phase 1: Initial market research

Make sure to understand the pain points of the problem you want to solve, it will help in shaping the idea and app features. Then, analyze the market and do competitor research to see if similar apps already exist. Also, be aware of the changing industry trends and be flexible to adapt to the changing needs of your target audience.

Phase 2: User testing and feedback gathering

While they are two different procedures, user testing and collecting feedback for an MVP (minimum viable product) are connected. Both are essential for the product's continuous improvement and idea validation, but they have different goals and involve different methods.

User testing

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It involves evaluating MVP with potential customers and watching how they engage with the product. The goal is to identify UX/UI problems, understand user behavior, and make sure the app functions as expected. Common methods of user testing include:

Usability testing:

Observe users as they complete specific tasks to identify any pain points and difficulties they encounter.

A/B testing:

Create user tests to compare two versions of a feature or interface to see which performs better based on user interaction.

Beta testing:

Releasing the MVP to a limited group of users outside the app development team to gather initial feedback and identify bugs.

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Feedback gathering

Feedback gathering involves collecting users' opinions, suggestions, and experiences with the MVP. The goal is to understand user perspective and satisfaction, identify desired features, and gather honest feedback and insights for future development. Common methods of feedback gathering include:

Questionnaires and surveys:

Asking users pre-structured questions to gather input on features and satisfaction helps you validate an app idea quicker.

Interviews:

Conduct user interviews and have in-depth discussions with them to learn about their points of view and hear recommendations.

User reviews:

Analyzing ratings and comments left by the target audience on feedback sites or app stores.

Social media groups

You can also validate an app idea by collecting feedback in social media groups, or some startup forums, or maybe create a landing page with an email subscription form where you collect email addresses and potential customers can receive newsletters or limited offers you create.

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Analytics:

Using tools to gather information on user behavior, such as where users stop using app features or how frequently they use them.

Phase 3: Build an MVP

Find a trusted company for mobile app development to help you with your mobile app idea validating by building together an MVP. It should focus on solving the primary problem and demonstrating the app’s value.

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What is an MVP (minimum viable product)?

As the name says, it is the minimum feature your app needs to be viable and able to collect user feedback. The MVP allows the development team to validate app idea quickly and cost-effectively, reducing the risk of building a product no one wants. MVP contains only the most basic functionalities, making it cheaper and less time-consuming to develop the first version of the application. Therefore, it is important to find the right app development company that provides MVP development services to start gathering feedback and validate app idea on time.

How long does it take to build an MVP?

The time needed to develop the initial app version depends on many factors: app complexity, size of the development team, core features, technologies used, and more. On average, building an MVP typically takes anywhere from 2 to 6 months. If you go with modern cross-platform frameworks to develop your app, Aetherius Solutions can guarantee your MVP development in just 1 month! In case you are still not familiar with cross-platform solutions, this blog can help you get more informed and make the final decision regarding your MVP development: Kotlin Multiplatform vs Flutter: what should startups choose for their app development?

How to measure success after MVP?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 20% of new startups fail during the first two years. To ensure your app is not among them, you should have various indicators to validate the app idea and determine how well the product performs and whether it’s achieving its intended goals. Track the number of active users, their actions through the app, time spent, and conversion rate. Evaluate if the MVP achieves its goals in terms of user satisfaction, engagement, and adoption. Also, check the position of your MVP compared to competitors and industry trends.

Phase 4: Analyze and iterate based on feedback

As mentioned above, after launching an MVP, you should make future app development decisions based on collected feedback. It's pointless to put effort into releasing an MVP version of the app if you don't know how to properly analyze the collected data and use it to further improve the mobile app idea. Look at key performance indicators (KPIs) such as user retention, conversion rates, and user satisfaction and you'll know if the initial app idea was good.

Phase 5: Complete product launch

When your app idea validation is done through the MVP and iterative improvements, you are ready to launch a full product. Apart from complete development, pay attention to marketing and promotional efforts to reach a wider target audience. App promotion implies targeting users through social media, email marketing, and paid advertising. You should also finalize the app's branding and positioning, including a compelling app store listing with optimized keywords, engaging visuals, and clear descriptions. Finally, monitoring app performance and user behavior on the target market post-launch is essential to make necessary updates and improvements, ensuring the app idea is a successful solution that meets user expectations and remains competitive in the market.

What is the crucial thing to remember after launching an MVP?

Don’t think you finished with idea validation after launching the first app version! The truth is you need to be agile now and act quickly to enable your app to run smoothly. It is all about fixing issues as fast as possible in post-launch, not focusing on launching a zero-bug app. Find an MVP development company with an agile development approach that allows quick adjustments based on market feedback and changing user needs. An app can become safer and more stable by identifying and resolving serious issues early on. This reduces the chance that more users will abandon your app or leave negative reviews.

Planning to build an MVP?

Some say the most complicated part of turning your idea into an app is actually the development of the MVP itself - from defining the main purpose and core features to finding the right MVP development company, and correctly interpreting analytics and analyzing user behavior. The biggest challenge is finding a balance between the time and money you are willing to invest. That's why there are packages specifically created based on how quickly you want to get your MVP: depending if you are not in a hurry, want a standard delivery with optimal balance between time and money, or need a rapid launch.

Now that you know all this, feel free to contact us to launch your MVP together. We'll be here to customize it based on user feedback until it becomes a dominant application in the market!