As the iPhone's sales are flying up in Europe, companies and developers are invading Apple's AppStore with new applications. Here some tricks to market an application well.
1- Get the right price
Apple's AppStore is very easy to use and the billing system is flowing. If the application brings a real added value for the customers, they will definitely pay for it. However they remain very sensitive about pricing and it needs to be defined carefully.
The price should be set according to the services provided by the app. For instance it is not recommended to make users pay for apps used as a branding exercise. A mix model - a light, free version and a paid one with more functionalities - can be considered. If they are offered more tools, users have an interest in purchasing a paid app.
Competition's prices are also a major factor in determining the price of an application. It is recommended to do a complete benchmark and place the app's price in the same range as competitors.
2- Segment the application for the users
The AppStore targets various types of users who haven't got the same needs. It is then a good idea to offer various versions of a specific service in order to target different profiles.
It can also be smart to provide many applications - rather than a unique one - if they offer services that are different from each other. It will later on be possible to set up a cross-selling strategy for the other mobile services.
It is however non-advisable to offer a free version of the app as a demo version only. The user could be content with the limited functionalities offered by the free app and not bother buying the paid one.
A good version of the free app will entice customers to buy the paid app, especially if the application's price is high. However one may find that dropping the price of an app could increase the volume of buyers, and therefore decrease the volume of users on the free app.
3- Keep the app up-to-date
A good mobile application is an up-to-date application. Users are sensitive to updates made on applications and the AppStore puts emphasis on them.
- An update on the price can entice users to download the app rapidly if the price is going down.
- Adding or optimising functionalities can also increase the volume of downloads.
It is vital to then look at the users' comments and take into account suggestions to improve the application. Be aware when uploading a new version of the application to delete all the comments done on the previous version.
4- iPod, iPhone, iPad...
The AppStore is wellknown for its popularity on iPhone. However it also targets the other Apple users. The iPod users have access to the marketplace. However they use it in a different way due to the technical variances between the iPhone and iPod Touch which hasn't got any microphone, camera or GPS set up. The connectivity is also limited to the WiFi networks. These parameters are worth taking into account when creating an application.
A good solution is to create various versions of one application. This is very advisable for the so-popular leisure apps.
It is also very important to take into consideration the variety of iPhone types and their data transmission capacities. The weight of the app is crucial and it is recommended to get it under 10mB. An application that is too heavy could go against a healthy sales volume.
The consideration towards various Apple products is even more important now that Apple presented their new iPad end of January. There will be two versions of the iPad: the WiFi and 3G versions. The screen size will make a big difference between the iPhone's users and the iPad's. This is something extra to think about when creating an application.
