How to do market research for an app?
You have a great idea for an app. But how do you know if anyone else will want to use it? That’s where market research comes in.
Market research is crucial for ensuring your app solves a real problem for real people. It provides insights into your target audience, competitors, and the overall demand in the market. With market research, you can validate your assumptions and make data-driven decisions about your app’s features and positioning.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process of conducting market research for an app, from defining goals to analyzing data. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of your market landscape and be ready to build an app people want. Let’s dive in!
Define Your Goals and Questions
First things first—determine what you want to learn from your market research. Ask yourself:
- Who is my target audience? What are their demographics, needs, and behaviors?
- How big is the market opportunity? Is there sufficient demand for my app idea?
- Who are my competitors? What apps exist that are similar to mine?
- What features do users want? How can I differentiate my app?
- How much can I charge? Will users pay for my app or do they expect it to be free?
- What marketing channels will be most effective?
Once you have a set of clear goals, turn them into specific research questions to investigate. Defined goals and questions will give your research direction and make it easier to collect relevant data.
Conduct Secondary Market Research
Before conducting any primary research yourself, first, review existing information on your market. This is known as secondary research. Excellent secondary sources include:
- Industry reports from research firms like Forrester or Gartner
- Academic journals and papers with relevant market data
- News articles relating to your product category
- App store data on keyword searches and competitor downloads
- Google Trends showing search volume for relevant terms
- Social media listening to see what people are saying about related topics
- App store category leaders and customer reviews to understand user needs
Secondary research gives you a solid baseline understanding of your market and helps focus your primary research on filling specific knowledge gaps. Spend time thoroughly reviewing what’s already out there first.
Define Your Target Audience Persona
Once you have a general sense of your market opportunity, it’s time to get crystal clear on your target audience. Develop a detailed buyer persona that captures key demographics like:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Income level
- Occupation
- Values and interests
- Pain points and goals
- Tech savviness
Really get specific—for example, instead of “upper middle-class professionals,” something like “busy millennial parents in suburban areas with a household income over $100k.”
The more precise your persona, the better you can tailor your app and marketing message to their needs.
Analyze Competitors and Differentiators
Now conduct a competitive analysis to identify direct and indirect competitors. For each:
- Download their app and use it extensively. Take notes on the UI/UX.
- Read through customer reviews and see what users like and dislike.
- Check their website and marketing copy. How do they position themselves?
- Research the company funding the app and its market share.
- See if you can find any publicly available data on their user base, growth, or revenue.
The goal is to determine how your app can solve the same user problem better. Come up with a list of potential differentiators, like:
- Better onboarding experience for first-time users
- More intuitive and modern interface design
- Additional or more advanced features
- Integration with other apps/devices for a seamless experience
- More automated functionality for ease-of-use
- Higher level of personalization/customization
Think about areas where competitors are lacking to help your app stand out.
Interview Your Target Audience
Now it’s time for primary market research to fill knowledge gaps. One of the best ways to learn about your end users is simply talking to them directly.
Conduct one-on-one interviews with at least 15-20 people from your target audience. In-person is best, but phone or video chat works too. Use your persona to recruit relevant people from your existing network or sites like SurveyMonkey.
During a 30-45 minute discussion, ask about:
- Their current solutions/workarounds for the problem your app aims to solve
- Pain points and limitations with current options
- Desired features and capabilities for a better solution
- Benefits they’d expect from your app and what problems it should solve
- What they’d be willing to pay if your app charged a fee
Take detailed notes, especially on any common themes across users. Quote people directly when possible—it brings insights to life.
Create Surveys to Quantify Findings
While interviews provide qualitative data, you also need quantitative data on your market opportunity. SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and Typeform make it easy to run online surveys.
Survey at least 100 people representative of your user base. Ask more detailed questions about:
- How often do they encounter the problem your app solves
- How much time/money the problem cost them
- How interested they are in your app idea (1-10 scale)
- Must-have features they’d require and nice-to-haves
- Ranking of different pricing options
- Where they currently go for solutions—apps, websites, offline resources, etc.
- Demographic and background questions to segment responses
The goal is to quantify findings from your interviews for statistical significance. Let data guide your product requirements and projections.
Size the Market Opportunity
Now combine survey and secondary research data to estimate your total addressable market (TAM). Calculate:
TAM = Population x Adoption Rate x Value Per Customer
So if your app targets busy parents with babies 0-2 years old, look up the number of births per year and average household income. Estimate adoption rates based on your survey results, comparable apps, and gut feeling. Then determine an average lifetime value per customer based on pricing plans.
Multiplying it out gives you an approximate TAM. Compare it to development costs to see if your app can realistically be profitable. A large TAM also helps attract investors if you seek funding.
Define Your Minimum Viable Product
With research insights in hand, it’s time to define what your minimum viable product (MVP) will look like. An MVP has just enough features to satisfy early adopters and get market validation. Prioritize must-have functionality identified during interviews and surveys.
Build MVP documentation like:
- User stories to outline user goals and workflows
- App diagrams showing page layouts and key features
- Wireframes detailing the MVP screens and user interface
- Product requirements document (PRD) with full specifications
The PRD is your product guide as you begin actual app development. It evolves as you learn and add features, but gives engineers a clear direction.
Create a Competitive Analysis Matrix
A competitive analysis matrix helps visually compare your MVP with competitors. List your key differentiators as columns. Then for each competitor, mark which differentiate they meet.
For example, if your app has a customizable interface but Competitor A does not, put an X in that column. Do this across all differentiators.
The finished matrix shows at a glance where competitors are vulnerable compared to your version 1.0. Keep this matrix updated as you add features beyond MVP.
Test Demand with Landing Pages
To further validate demand, create a landing page advertising your app and its benefits. Drive targeted traffic to it through Google/Facebook ads or links in relevant communities. Use a tool like Instapage or Unbounce to quickly set up landing pages.
The goal is to capture emails from interested users. Offer an incentive like early access to the beta version in exchange for their contact information.
Monitor conversion rate from visitors to email signups. If the conversion rate is high, it signals a strong product-market fit. Low conversion indicates messaging needs improvement.
Develop App Store Keyword Strategy
Research how people are searching for solutions related to your app in the App Store. Analyze keyword volume for terms like:
- Broad descriptors like “meal planning app”
- Specific need phrases like “healthy recipe ideas”
- Competitor names
- Related products/categories like “grocery list manager”
Ideally, choose 1-2 high-volume keywords that are highly relevant to your app. Optimize your App Store listing to target ranking for those terms.
Create an App Store Listing and Screenshots
Now draft your App Store listing to resonate with your audience persona based on research learnings. Focus the description on the top benefits identified during interviews.
Take great screenshots showing your app in use. Include explanatory captions and annotated graphics pointing out key features.
Run the listing and screenshots by target users for feedback. Refine based on reactions prior to launch.
Gauge Early Traction with a Beta Group
Before public launch, run a closed beta with a small group of users. This tests infrastructure and surfaces final UI/UX improvements.
Email engaged survey takers and interviewees to participate in beta. Guide them through installation and onboarding. Ask for feedback on which features they used most/least and any points of confusion.
Iron out issues uncovered by beta testers for a smooth wide release. Slow and steady finding fixes leads to fast, sustainable growth.
Set Pre-Launch Marketing Plan and Goals
With your MVP defined and demand validated, the final step is crafting a pre-launch marketing plan. Determine activities and channels like:
- Influencer outreach on social media
- Direct engagement in relevant communities
- Cross-promotion partnerships and guest posts with complementary apps
- Pricing page and early access email capture form
- Press release to announce launch
Also define key performance indicators to track how marketing drives results. Common app KPIs are:
- Email signups per month
- Social followers
- Installs/downloads
- Retention rate after 30/90 days
- Active daily/monthly users
- Revenue and customer lifetime value
With clear goals, you can iterate to improve marketing post-launch.
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In Summary
That wraps up my guide to market research for apps! The key takeaways are:
- Clearly define your objectives and target user upfront
- Leverage secondary data before conducting primary research
- Talk to real potential users through interviews and surveys
- Estimate market size based on adoption rates
- Document your MVP features, user flows, and UI
- Validate demand through landing pages and beta testing
- Research keywords and optimize App Store assets
- Have a marketing plan ready for launch
Thorough market research sets you up for app success. Following this process helps ensure you build an app people love that solves real problems for a real audience. Now that you have market insights and validation, it’s time to turn your big idea into reality!
