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Whether you are running a mobile app startup or have already launched, this app business plan template covers all the essentials of business planning. Developed specifically for startups working on mobile apps, this template is easy to customize and export to Excel.
Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Mobile App
Mobile apps brought an unexpected revolution to the digital era. The number of unique and useful apps increases daily.
- Just a year ago, the number of applications available on the App Store exceeded 2.2. million.
- The mobile industry is forecasted to bring in almost $190 billion of revenue in 2020.
If you would like to join this beneficial industry, and already have a great app idea, it’s time to take the next step towards your goals and bring into being a great app business plan.
But first, let’s clarify why you actually need a brilliant business plan for an app.
Attracting great minds and great investments
Depending on the type of business model you want to use, you have to decide between startup co-founders or investors. In some cases, you need to attract both. An application business plan is your sole way to fulfill this task quickly and proceed with more significant steps towards your company’s growth.
Reducing the risks
Recent reports show that writing a business plan will bring you closer to your goals and ambitions. Entrepreneurs with extensive business plans are more likely to develop their company and increase their revenue than those who without a plan.
Planning is a simple way to secure loans and investments.
Keeping to the defined strategy
In a world full of interruptions, it’s hard not to miss the important things. Every day you, as a startup owner, will face new issues and obstacles. But a set of points on your blueprint will act as a quick reminder of why you started it and where it should take you.
Preparing properly
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin wasn’t involved in software development, but these words highlight the app business plan significance. By writing a plan, you are enhancing your knowledge about the market you plan to break into. This will clarify your goals, set your priorities and help you build more accurate forecasts. It’s your chance to reveal possible risks and find your own voice in the industry.
Managing and delegating effectively
Being a good manager is an art. A mobile app business plan is your tool for creating a masterpiece. It provides a vision of critical tasks, helping you delegate each of them to the responsible person.
Decide what to consider when writing a mobile app business plan
Mobile apps are continuing to grow in popularity year on year – in fact, mobile apps are projected to hit $188.9 billion in revenue by 2020 – up from just $88billion in 2016 (Statista).
It doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to wonder what the future holds for mobile apps – and whether the market is already saturated.
And yet technology is constantly changing (think about the rise of voice-based apps such as Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri for instance) along with consumer habits and expectations.
So there is no doubt that the demand is still there for apps that can genuinely be shown to be more innovative and more engaging than their competitors.
Whatever your business, writing a business plan takes time. But it’s an iterative process can and one that can be hugely helpful in clarifying exactly what you want to achieve in the development of your own app.
So what are some of the key points you might want to consider when putting together a business plan for your mobile app?
To get you started, here is a app business template:
App business plan template
- Executive summary
- Company overview and business goals
- Industry analysis
- Customer analysis
- Competitive analysis and market research
- Marketing strategy plan
- Operational plan
- Management team (if you have one!)
- Financial plan and forecast
Define what kind of app do you want to develop
It is tempting to rush into the development of an app simply because other businesses similar to yours already have one.
But it’s worth giving some genuine thought to the ‘problem’ that you aim to solve with the creation of an app.
Businesses build apps for all sorts of reasons, such as branding, improving customer engagement, direct marketing etc.
But as online publishing platform Medium says “Ultimately an effective mobile strategy involves more than just a mobile friendly website.”
Focus on Designing an Impeccable UI/UX
One of the common elements in most successful startups is the impeccable design that the applications are made with. No matter which successful app you pick up – Instagram, Canva, Telegram – you will find intuitive design being a part of them.
The role of UI/UX design doesn’t just lie in the eye-catching appeal. The application should be usable and functional as well. Additionally, it should meet the standards set by Google Material Design and Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
The UI/UX design guide that we follow at Appinventiv is one that not just meets the guidelines but also solves a number of additional areas like – getting visibility, app spend time, and user retention rates.
Product Development
The next step is to jumpstart the development process and for that, you would require an app development team.
There are effective ways to choose an app development company and see months of planning and strategizing come into action.
To ensure that your idea materializes into a successful product, you need to give a lot of thought to the people you will partner with.
In that context, you generally get two options:
- Hire an in-house team of developers
- Partner with a team of remote developers through the mode of outsourcing.
Reflect on the challenges you are currently facing.
Do you want an In-house team or do you plan to Outsource?
Take a decision based on what aligns with your business needs.
While the former ensures a faster level of communication and a deep understanding of your product idea, outsourcing provides you the opportunity to hire highly skilled designers and developers.
The next question you need to ask yourself is whether you will be able to monitor the development process yourself? Accordingly, choose an app development company.
Before hiring an app development company, make a list of potential partners, ask the right set of questions and go through their portfolios and case studies. Not only it documents their work, it gives you due clarity if the company is the right fit for you.
Get feasible options by analyzing the app development cost worldwide.
Hire the best developer but make sure you sign a Non- Disclosure Agreement.
Besides building a scalable app, your focus should lie in delivering a delightful experience to your end-users. Any user first perceives an app through the User experience. To retain your users in the long run, the
User experience should be immersive and the UI should be modern, innovative and intuitive.
Being ambitious is great but we suggest, you do not get lost in a maze of features. First, concentrate on building an MVP for your app, address the core pain points and then gradually shift to improved features after garnering feedback from your users. The emphasis should be on the ‘must-have’ features, the ‘nice to have’ features can always be added later.
Making a wireframe solves a lot of problems. It outlines the layout of an app and plays a fundamental role in structuring the product early on.
It also provides necessary insights on how the users will engage with your app and helps you identify the problem areas.
Have an App Retention Strategy
The reasons behind app uninstallation are numerous – and so are the instances of app uninstallations. Keeping users interested in your application, in the presence of 50s of similar apps.
Here are the different ways you can retain your customers –
- Plan your notifications timing properly
- Be transparent about the permissions and how you’re going to use their data. Being transparent continues to be one of the secrets of successful tech startups
- Although your partnered startup app development company must take care of it. But, update the application only when necessary.
Conclusion
Planning a startup company is nearly impossible without all of the right tools. A mobile app business plan is one of the most important things you need to create if you want your creation accepted and financed by a large corporation.