You have a brilliant idea in mind for an application, but you’ve got stuck in the process of actually realizing this idea. Perhaps you’ve been doubting the future success of your app, or you don’t know how to find a digital partner that fits your needs. Before taking the step of realizing your innovative app idea, it’s a good idea to ask yourself these seven questions.

1. What’s the goal of my application?

Having a clear and structured goal and purpose for your application is probably the most essential part of realizing a successful app. After all, an app without a clear purpose is basically useless. Hopefully, you’ve already thought about possible goals you want to achieve with your app. If not, it’s probably a good idea to grab a piece of paper and a pen and make an overview of the main purpose of your app idea, and eventual end-goals you’d like to aim for.

Sometimes it’s easier to have someone help you in this process, as the overflow of great ideas and brain spins can be quite overwhelming, especially in the first phases of realizing an application. Luckily, many digital agencies, like Lizard Global, are here to help you a hand in structuring your ideas into a solid and clear [digital concept](https://lizard.global/blog/digital-conceptualisation-in-web-app-development).

2. Who is the target audience of my application?

The main purpose of your application is closely aligned, or even intertwined with your target audience. For example, if you have an idea for an application focusing on an educational app helping high school students with tracking their homework and learning processes, you’ve probably already thought about your target audience being between the ages of 12 and 18. However, for some applications it might be more difficult to pick a clear target audience. Although it’s always a good idea to have a broad range of end-users, it’s also important to know who you are targeting in, for example, your marketing strategy. Or take, for example, your UI/UX design. If the target audience is of bit older, larger font sizes, larger clickable areas or buttons and highly contrasting colors are important to optimize the user experience.

Probably the best way to begin defining your target audience is by creating “personas”. This is done by making a list of categories and qualities like age, gender, lifestyle, use of social media channels, career, interests and hobbies. Another strategy is taking some time to scroll through the app store, finding applications that are similar to your idea, and have a look at their main users.

3. What is the business plan/model of my application?

How are you going to make sure that your application will be worth the investment? What techniques and strategies will you use later on in order to establish revenue streams? When do you expect to gain profit and how are you going to make sure you retain your audience in the long run? It’s important to already think of these issues before you decide to have your app developed by a digital partner. Here are some examples of revenue models you can think of:

• In-app advertisements: the user experiences third-party advertisements while using the apps. Simply watching or clicking on these ads results in revenues.
• Freemium models: lets users test and experience the application for free, and lets users decide to buy the premium version if they like it enough.
• Subscriptions: Netflix and Spotify are great examples of platforms using subscription models. The investment for users is small and monthly terminable, which makes the step to a subscription much smaller.

4. Which minimum viable features does my application require?

By defining the main purpose of your app, as well as your target audience, you already created a little sneak peek into how your application should function. Before diving into a myriad of various detailed features you might want to integrate in your app, start formulating a very basic version of your product. If it’s difficult to take a step back and have a clear overview of what exactly it is that you need, consider the help of an experienced external partner who can help you with this.

At Lizard Global, we usually start with the development of a so-called MVP, or minimum viable product. This is a version of your app that only possesses the features and functionalities that are necessary for the app to get tested by its end-users. Of course, these features have to be developed in such a way it already provides a high-quality user experience. After iterative cycles of testing and feedback, we develop additional features that proved to add value to the app based on the feedback we received. But even before the phase of actual product development, it is essential to already have a clear understanding of the main features of your product. Keep it small and coherent, and keep unnecessary features and functionalities at bay for the moment.

5. What technological functionalities does my application require?

Thinking of the right technologies for the development of your application is essential. With “technologies” I refer to, for example, the different types of application development. These different types all rely on their own programming languages and what technical features can be implemented or not.

• Native mobile applications: platform specific code bases, high quality and performance, but higher in development costs.
• Progressive web applications (PWA): native experience of quality, lower development costs, but not accessible in app stores, and limited in access to built-in features like camera/microphone/etc.
• Cross-platform applications: fast in development and cost-efficient, generally lower in quality and performance than native apps.

Especially in the case of technical possibilities and limitations, it’s a good idea to discuss these options with a professional, as they have the knowledge and experience needed in order to make sure you get the best out of the development of your application. Besides the digital conceptualization of your app idea, Lizard Global also offers a free consultation for the technical research of your app.

6. How will I bring my application to the market?

A solid go-to-market strategy plays an essential role in the eventual success of your developed application. How are you going to promote your application? Have a look at your competitors and their strategies, and try to think of ways that make your app stand out from the crowd. Are you planning on investing in paid advertisements? Or will you make use of a strategic social media marketing plan? You’ve already created an insight into your target audience and what social media channels they interact with. Have a look at the benefits of different social media platforms and the benefits they offer regarding the marketing of your product.

In order to make sure your strategy works, think about what metrics need to be checked to measure success. What platforms and applications, like Google Analytics or Google Search Console, will you use to track these metrics? Take some time to dive into the world of marketing and the measurement of success. Ask yourself what a successful app means for you, and what goals or KPIs you will aim for in order to verify the success of your product after you launch it.

7. Do I have all the requirements to have my application developed?

The one and only questions that matters most in the end: do you have the necessary requirements to actually build this application? Often, innovators tend to underestimate the price of app development, as there is much more to it than simply the technical development. Think of a proper and well-functioning UI/UX design, a solid go-to-market strategy, server costs, long-term maintenance costs, support costs, advertising and marketing, continued development and improvements, and much more. So, before diving into the deep with the development of your app, make sure to have a clear insight into your budget and the time and effort you want to invest in this process.

Full stack digital agencies like Lizard Global are most likely the best option if you want to have your app idea realized from scratch. You get the entire package in one partner, and aren’t faced with keeping up with five different parties all providing a different service. This will save a significant amount of time. However, because this process requires a lot of attention and investment from a professional and experienced team, it will have a considerable price tag.

Lizard Global as your digital partner

Do you need a hand in the development of your app idea? Lizard Global provides free consultations regarding the conceptualization of your idea, as well as professional technical advice and budget insights. Get in contact, and we gladly meet with you to discuss the possibilities to turn your innovative app idea into a successful product. Perhaps you want to have a look at our services before? Check out our Business Success Cases to find out what projects we’ve worked on before.