As a business owner, you want to stay ahead of the competition at all times. And in a time where technology is advancing rapidly, a digital transformation of your business and its internal processes is indispensable. Unfortunately, this transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It involves a lot of planning, brainstorming, and most importantly, finding the right partner for the job. In our blog on finding the right digital partner, you can read about all the things to consider when searching for an agency that can help you with conceptualizing and developing your digital solution. However, finding the right agency is just one part of the process of starting a digital partnership.

Once you’ve found a partner that suits your needs and requirements, it’s essential to get in touch with them with a prepared plan in your hands. That doesn’t mean you must already know all the details and technical requirements of your solution, but the more information you can provide, the smoother the process towards the development of your application. Keep reading to find out how to fully prepare yourself for a successful digital partnership.

1. Get to know the world of app development

Before diving into a digital partnership, it’s good to already become familiar with the software development industry and its professional jargon. Working together with experts in the field of app development, you’ll come across a myriad of complex terms and concepts, and it’s a good idea to already prepare yourself by reading into the most used definitions to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. Have a look at our blog page for a wide range of information about app development and everything that comes with it. Not only is it easier for your digital partners to explain the technical aspects and processes of the development of your solution, but it also gives you the confidence to know what’s going on during these processes and to know what to expect from a digital partnership.

2. Dive into your target audience and competition

For both your digital partner and yourself, it’s important to gather as much information as possible about your target audience and the competition in your industry. By precisely defining your target audience and turning them into so-called customer personas, you get a deep understanding of their needs, the problems they face, and their expectations of a potential solution. With this information, you can already shape the idea of your application into a concrete solution, which provides a great and well-prepared start of your digital partnership.

Besides knowing your target audience from the inside out, knowing and understanding your competitors is equally important. After all, you don’t want to show up with a plan that already exists. You want to reshape and revolutionize the industry, right? Take some time and effort to find out what’s already on the market (within your region and across the world), including specific features, functionalities and strategies of competing applications. Only by knowing exactly what’s already out there, can you begin to think about the unique specifications that will really add value for your end-users.

3. Define your budget

Estimating the price of developing your app as well as defining a budget isn’t a cakewalk. The price can vary considerably depending on the number and complexity of features, type of solution, and several other factors. Because many of these factors may change during the development process, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact price of an app beforehand. While defining your budget, it is essential to make sure that there’s enough room for the inevitable changes based on new input and feedback from your end-users. As mentioned earlier, the price of app development isn’t an exact science. It changes depending on the process itself, insights gained during development, end-user feedback, and potential adaptations in functionalities to optimize the user experience. So, it’s best to define your maximum budget and leave some room for extra development and product release needs. Keep in mind that app development includes more than simply the technical development itself.

Think of, for example, marketing strategies, advertising campaigns, continued maintenance of the software and servers. In case you don’t have the financial capacity to pay for the development yourself, you can consider finding an investor who can help you with the biggest expenses.

4. Mindmap your solution

Great ideas come and go in a blink of an eye, so write down everything that comes to mind. Even ideas that don’t seem that great at the time might come in handy later on in the process of the development of your application. Mindmaps are a great way to structure your thoughts and turn them into a visualized concept, and there are a lot of free mobile apps and web apps to immediately get started. Once you have a structured mindmap, you can begin to write out the details of your solution, which you can later use for your briefing document.

5. Finalize your briefing

In our blog on creating the perfect briefing document, we summarized the most essential elements to include in your briefing or proposal. This document should include all the details you’ve defined in the elements mentioned above and should represent the potential effectiveness and success of your digital solution. Your proposal should consist of at least the following information:

• An introduction to your business, industry and target audience
• What problems your target audience is facing
• How your application can contribute to solving these problems
• How your app is unique/better than already existing solutions
• What features are essential for the app to function properly
• What features are not as essential but a valuable addition to the app
• Design ideas in the form of wireframes, mockups or a clickable demo if you already have one
• A plan to financially support the development and release of your app, including a budget estimation and a backup plan in case the price ends up being higher than initially planned, as well as a potential plan for finding an investor

Need a hand?

Lizard Global is your full-stack digital partner for the conceptualization, design and development of your very own application. We believe that any business in any industry can benefit from a digital transformation. Together with our clients, we walk the road towards revolutionizing your business and reshaping your industry with the power of technology. Interested in partnering up with us for the development of your digital solution? Give us a call!