Boston, MA (PRWEB) November 01, 2012
Product lifespan has become shorter and shorter in recent years, as manufacturers and developers struggle to give consumers the next big thing after the next big thing. More and more, a product’s most substantial sales come in the first few weeks after the initial product launch – this is clearly evident with products like movies and music, as well as with books and video games.
That initial success is largely the result of prelaunch buzz building – getting consumers excited about a product before it hits shelves in order to boost initial sales hype as high as possible.
Apple is the master of prelaunch buzz, with carefully leaked industry rumors circulating before they offer a product announcement, much less a full product launch. There was hype surrounding the iPhone 5 and the new iPad Mini before these products were even announced to the public, much less actually began after showing up on store shelves.
In fact, prelaunch buzz building has become an essential component of success within almost every industry but one. The mobile app industry does not capitalize on the power and potential offered by prerelease buzz building. App developers seem to be content to let their apps “sink or swim” with little to no fanfare to even announce the app’s rollout, much less get their target market excited about the release.
The Prerelease Process:
The prerelease buzz building process is vital for achieving several goals, all of which are essential to product success (whether that product is a new mobile app, a new sneaker design or a new Blu-ray). These goals include:
- Increase public awareness
- Increase purchase intent in target audience
- Boost sales after product roll out (or during preorder period)
Boosting public awareness of the advertised product is essential – if developers don’t tell users, they’ll never know. Natural discovery is all well and good, but the developer cannot expect to see success if they fail to introduce their product to their target audience before it hits the market.
An increase in purchase intent is also vital. Consider that only a fraction of those who “intend” to purchase a product will actually follow through on that intention – the more people intending to buy the new product, the higher that percentage will actually be. Finally, boosting sales is the obvious goal of all your marketing tactics.
Initial Advertising Builds Buzz in Multiple Ways:
Advertising during the app’s prerelease period offers several significant advantages. First, it ensures that consumers who see the advertising are encouraged to take action. This action may include:
- Searching for the app online
- Blogging about the upcoming product
- Sharing their excitement about the app through social media
Second, it encourages ongoing buzz building on the part of consumers. For instance, according to a recent study, the beneficial effects of prerelease buzz building do not cease when the marketing campaign ends. Instead, the effects continue to be seen for weeks afterward. Of course, the benefits of marketing wane the longer the time before the release. Hitting the optimum prerelease window is important.
Consider that consumers put a higher value on near-future rewards (new products) than they do on the same or similar rewards in the distant future (app rolling out in months, rather than weeks). The more value that’s placed on the “reward”, the greater the interest and excitement will be during the prerelease period and the more the developer can expect their target audience to share and promote on their behalf (word of mouth).
This concept is enormously important for mobile app success – building prerelease buzz for the new app is the only way to ensure that developers see the success need immediately. While a “slow build” approach can work, there is no way to guarantee that the app will be recognized if the developer does not build buzz before the initial release.
The App Barrier:
In order to understand the importance of prerelease buzz building, developers need to know a few things about the app market you’re seeking to enter.
- Google has seen 15 BILLION app downloads, with over 480 million activated Android devices – Now, on the surface, that seems to be good news for developers. It means that there’s an enormous market out there for the apps. However, it’s actually bad news in the sense that your app has to go head to head with all those others that are already established and are generating buzz with consumers.
- Apple has 650 thousand apps available for download and leads the market in terms of consumer concentration – Again, this seems like good news on the surface. However, what developers should really be concerned with is how they’ll get customers to notice the app buried at the bottom of those other 650 thousand apps.
- The number of app developers for both Apple and Android is mounting substantially – This might seem like a very good thing, as it indicates a healthy, growing market. However, it means that developer have to battle tens of thousands of other app developers in the quest for market share and consumer interest.
It’s clear that successfully marketing a mobile app requires more than just submitting to each app store and then hoping to be found. Real success requires more than marketing AFTER submission – it’s too late once the app is out in the wild. Developers need to start building success before release.
How can developers do that, though? There are a few obvious ways to work toward this goal, which include including:
- Building a website
- Being unique
- Building brand recognition
- Promoting through social media
- Engaging app users in an attempt to boost word of mouth
However, none of these is a proactive measure – they’re all reactive and designed to be implemented after the app goes live or just before. Prerelease buzz building offers developers the means to start boosting consumer interest and generating buzz about the app BEFORE it’s released into the wild.
Generating prerelease buzz offers significant advantages, including:
- Build brand recognition now, not later
- Receive critical feedback from real users and authorities now, to engender better consumer confidence after release
- Generate pre-opted in users to download your app as soon as it’s released
A Look at PreApps.com
In a developers quest to building prerelease buzz, having the right tools is vital. Without a means to begin generating buzz for their app, the process is close to impossible. PreApps.com has the tools developers need to help ensure success. The site is the only one of its kind and puts the power off buzz-building tools and techniques right in the hands of the mobile app developer.
PreApps.com offers a variety of free and paid benefits for the app developer and for app users. In addition, it’s the only place online where users can preview, rate and share mobile apps that are “coming soon”, which allows developers to tap into the billion-dollar prerelease industry. In essence, it’s the foremost social platform connecting mobile app developers with mobile app users.
PreApps.com offers a range of significant advantages for mobile app developers, including:
- Developers gain the ability to generate pre-opted in users ready to download their app the instant it’s released to the public. This gives developers a firm base on which to build their success and helps build their app’s rank in both the Apple and Android markets.
- Developers gain the ability to build brand recognition immediately, before their app is even released. Better brand recognition equates to more authority, a reputation as leading development company and user-generated marketing centered on their brand.
- Developers gain critical feedback about their app before it’s released to the public. This ensures that they can make usability alterations, graphic tweaks and other modifications necessary to ensure success and utility for end users.
- Developers learn tips and tricks for submitting their app to the Android and Apple marketplaces. This ensures that the submission process goes as smoothly as possible, your app is categorized correctly and you receive approval quickly.
Building prerelease buzz is effective and increasingly essential for success. With the help of PreApps.com, developers can take the confusion out of the process and enjoy significant benefits, as well as ensure that their app meets with the utmost in popularity and accessibility. Developers interested in posting their app on PreApps may email Develoeprs(at)PreApps(dot)com.