The development of a mobile app is not the exception to this rule. Writing a business plan for an app is a wise step if you have an excellent idea for future business. Today app stores like Google Play and App Store have more than 4 million apps in total. It shows that the popularity of mobile apps is growing, not vice versa.
Worldwide mobile app revenue is expected to grow up to $581,9 billion, as Statista notes. And even if you think that your future app idea is brilliant, you should create an app business plan. Why is it a must-have stage in software development? How to write a business plan for an app? This article will reveal all the secrets.
Why Do You Need A Business Plan For An App?
For a start, we need to understand the reasons for a business plan and how it contributes to the development process of a mobile app. There are the following advantages when you draw up a business plan for creating an app.
Attract funding.
A business plan is necessary when you need to show the value of your future app to investors, and convince them to invest their funds. The business plan spells everything out, potential investors see how they benefit from your project, and all pros and cons are evident.
Collaboration with co-founders.
The next advantage of an app development business plan is to find co-founders and collaborate with them. For example, you may need a specialist in a specific area so that the co-founder will assist you in the development of high-quality software.
Risk reduction.
Business plan writing takes you a step closer to your goal. It is more likely that you will succeed with a detailed and elaborate business plan, rather than you will make random actions and rely on luck.
Adherence to the deliberate strategy.
Once you’ve come up with a decision to build a mobile app, a startup business plan makes it possible for you to follow the predetermined business path. Pitfalls and various obstacles will certainly appear on your way, but a business plan will be a set of crucial points you must adhere to.
Stay on your toes.
You are developing an app business plan, and you need to study the market situation alongside. Thus, you become more prepared for any unpleasant surprises, clarify all your goals, and set priorities correctly. The business plan is a way to reveal hidden risks and avoid failures.
Proper tasks management.
And, finally, your app business plan becomes a tool to manage critical tasks and perform them correctly. Besides, when you single out each task to be done, you can delegate it to the right responsible person in your team.
Proper development strategy means half of the battle. Cadabra Studio is always ready to assist you in planning the one. Contact us!
Ways To Check The Viability Of Your Business Plan For Mobile App
A business plan availability doesn’t make your future app accessible by default. It helps you take appropriate steps, but the viability of your idea should be proved first. You can do it with the help of the following tools:
PPC Ads Research
This is the first and very effective way to find out how your app may be widespread. Use Google or Facebook for PPC ads (pay-per-click), make creative advertising, and estimate your budget. You will need to allocate a specific amount of money for PPC ads, but it is a competent method to identify the level of interest in your product.
Use Google Trends
Using Google Trends, you can input keywords associated with your app idea. If you figure out that there is a problem users want to solve, your app may become a solution. There may be an increasing interest in the app type you may create. Thus, it makes your idea potentially beneficial.
However, don’t forget that if your idea is unique, and you want to enter the market with a new product, Google Trends will be impractical.
Analyze Competitors On App Stores
In case your app idea is not innovative, you should analyze existing competitive apps on Google Play and App Store, and get as much data about them as possible. Download a few apps of your category, test them, identify the pros and cons, read reviews, analyze why users love/hate them.
It is not a short-term task, and you have to spend some time, days (or even weeks) to monitor the data and get a full understanding of competitors’ products.
Run App Analytics Platforms
Various tools for app analytics may be used successfully for analyzing the market, so get acquainted with trends and sizes of different segments. Mind to use Similar Web as well — the analytics platform that helps you monitor mobile statistics in addition to web. This way is similar to Google Trends method. However, it allows you to get a comprehensive picture of the viability of your future software.
Conduct A Detailed Survey
Communication with potential customers is never a wrong method. You can run polls on various social media platforms and get more about customer behavior, preferences, and expectations. The more information you get from the audience, the fewer mistakes you will be able to make. You can see more details on the necessity of customer research — this article reveals the experience of world-known companies.
How To Make A Business Plan For An App
Probably, you still have an essential question that we didn’t answer yet — how to make an app business plan? The answer is simple — you should keep up with the mobile app development business plan template. Let’s check it out in detail.
Mobile App Business Plan Template
When you are writing a business plan for a mobile app, it is recommended to follow the structure below, step by step. This is a framework that will also be helpful for the creation of any other type of business.
Executive summary
— Summary
— Unique value proposition (UVP)
— Targets / Objectives
Problem Analysis
Solution
Company
— Company overview
— Company history
— Management Team
Market Analysis
— Market forecasts
— SWOT analysis
Marketing Strategy
— Target market
— Competitor analysis
— Create a landing page
— App rating
— Product growth
Financials
— Startup costs
— Revenue models
— Funding required
And now, using this mobile app business plan example, we will highlight each point fully right here.
Executive Summary
These are the first steps in creating an app business plan since the executive summary is the essential document you should have. The summary contains critical aspects of your future business, financial predictions, primary calculations. Investors will get acquainted with the summary in the first turn, keep it in mind.
You must include a unique value proposition (UVP) that describes how your product differs from any other mobile apps. And the ultimate objectives you want to achieve with your business. Investors want to see their interests and benefits, so they will focus on your end goals and ways how you determine the success of your app.
Your app should be unique and outstanding to gain the lead. Cooperate with a reliable team like Cadabra Studio to build fascinating software — drop us a line!
Problem Analysis
Describe what problems exist and how your mobile app may help users deal with them. A comprehensive analysis of the market allows you to pinpoint the gaps in the market niche and fix them with your product.
Solution
This point smoothly follows from the one above. Once the analysis is complete, you can find the right solution to the problem and add it to your app. Investors want to know how your startup is going to hit the market and gain the popularity of users.
Company Overview
Your company may include only a couple of employees (and you are one of them). If you are planning to build a startup, and you are a founder, you may probably start your business on your own. Or you hire a team. Everything depends on the requirements of your business and mobile app, in particular.
Anyway, provide information about your company, its history, and the team (if you have one). The more transparency you give the funders, the more trust they will have in your business and activities.
Market Analysis
It is not the same as problem analysis. Market analysis is necessary since it shows the current situation on the market and its state. You should provide a marketing plan, and a detailed report proves the viability of your software.
It must include market forecasts. That is, you show the real demand in your product, the number of possible customers in this niche, how creditworthy they are. Also, include statistics of potential app growth in your niche.
Besides, you must provide a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. You single out each point and describe all the pros and cons of your future product, what it can do, and reasons why it may fail.
Marketing Strategy
The marketing strategy makes it possible for your app to capture the attention of customers quickly and at the right time.
First, you start with target market research. You identify the behavioral patterns and preferences of your target audience and analyze how your ideal customers should look.
Then, competitor analysis. That is what we talked about when describing the way to validate your idea. Find out everything about your competitors, what particularities their product has. It will help your mobile app be different from other competitors and enhance your product.
You can also create a landing page. It should include promotional videos, descriptions of your app, and CTAs, of course.
App rating. Your goal is to improve and make as high as possible. So you should think about the improvement strategy like high performance, load time increase, etc. The high ranking will make your app more popular among users. This point also includes product growth strategy.
Financials
The last point of your plan includes the financial part. Investors will pay rapt attention to this section, so draw up a detailed list of all expenses. Startup costs/funding required list specifies all types of costs you may bear, estimated expenses for the development of a mobile app, and also don’t forget to specify extra charges in case of force majeure circumstances.
It is not an easy process since you need to consider each minor detail and stay scrupulous. However, don’t forget that you should hire a software development company, and this company may provide you with a detailed estimate of mobile app development. Business development managers from Cadabra Studio will prepare the list of expenses for mobile app building, and your investors will have a precise estimate.
Finally, share your monetization strategy with investors. In-app purchases, paid subscriptions, premium app versions, advertising — this list may be extended, but these are the most popular monetization ways. It is up to you which one of them is preferable for your mobile app.
Do you know the cost of your app development? Contact Cadabra Studio to estimate your budget efficiently and plan the development.
Is This The End?
Actually, this is the end of the article. But the beginning of your new business. You spent a lot of time making a business plan, but the game is worth the candle, believe us. Writing a business plan for app development is similar to a skeleton — if it has all bones, it will stand firm.
A template of a business plan will be your guide, and you won’t make thoughtless decisions. In case you still have more questions on how to start a mobile app business, we are always glad to help you and make your idea real. Drop us a line when it is convenient for you. We are always in touch.
