It’s All Appening, So Get In The App Business
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The future of business is digital. In fact, the present of business has been digital for a while, too. But more and more are finally getting on the bandwagon and seeing what the online world has to offer their company. There are plenty of fresh businesses being born in the digital age, too. A lot of them use apps to offer their customers a greater online retail experience, or to better organize their workforce, or to better deliver their services. Which means a lot of them need apps from developers just like you.
Have the kind of presence they want
The skills of actually developing and delivering apps are essential, but they’re not the only skills you should have. Marketing is how you deliver the idea of those skills to the customer. If you want your ability to help businesses make their mark on the digital world to be taken seriously, you need a digital presence that can be taken seriously, as well. You need the website, the content, the social media presence, and even the app that shows you know what you’re talking about when it comes to the world of business online. If you’re not willing to invest some time and money in creating an online presence that looks truly professional, people won’t make good assumptions about delivering professional apps for them, either.
Find your market
If you’re having trouble finding your brand or finding customers, then you need to think more closely about the market that you’re going to target. As any guide to selling mobile apps will tell you, one of the best places to start is with the contacts you already have. You need to start building leads, starting with the real partnerships you’ve already formed. From there, look into people who are on your LinkedIn network or following you on social media. These are the people who are already interested and could be the easiest leads to convert. Take it slow working on prospects individually while you continue using tools like search engine optimization and social media marketing to build a steadier flow of inbound attention.
Stay visible in the industry
Another great way to connect more solidly with certain kinds of leads is to focus on a niche industry. If you’ve worked on developing software solutions for other businesses before, think about the industry they work in and see if you can’t grow a more solid customer base from that industry. If you can get a testimonial from past clients and partners, even getting them to spread a bit of word of mouth amongst members of their industry, it can build roads to leads much faster than you would be able to, yourself. If you have those industries showing a strong base of interest, you need to keep yourself visible. Attend their trade shows, take part in conferences, hook up with them on LinkedIn groups and the like.
Be the solution provider, not the problem thinker
Giving the right message about what exactly you do can be tricky. But there’s a general rule to keep in mind in your marketing campaigns and when you have meetings with potential clients. It is not your job to think of problems that businesses might have that you are able to solve. It’s your job to listen to problems they have, maybe even the bare-bones of a solution they’re thinking of to fix that problem. It’s good to have an idea of what your apps can provide to them, in case they ask. But focus on asking them what they need, not what you can provide. Marketing this on your site can mean providing case studies of past work, leading with what they asked for you and how you delivered. If you start by offering to solutions to problems they’re not thinking of, not only does it show a lack of chemistry between developer and client. It gives the impression that you’re steering your services in that direction because your actual capabilities are limited.
Keep it simple, stupid
One rule to always remember when talking to new clients is to keep the jargon on the down-low and start off speaking to them in their own terms. This doesn’t mean you have to assume that clients aren’t capable of understanding you. It’s about learning that effective communication means finding a shared language. Too many software and app developers pay too little mind to how well they’re being understood. If a client doesn’t understand what you’re doing for them, how can they be happy with it?
The ‘everyone wins’ pricing strategy
Developing an app is more than the delivery of a product. It should include ongoing support, open lines of communication, and regular reporting on progress. There are different levels of that service you can offer to appeal to a broad market. Small companies might not be able to invest in such a thorough process, so your pricing strategy should reflect different levels of service you’re able to offer. Whether this means throwing a pricing page with different packages on the site or offering a quote based on conversations with potential clients, flexibility lets everyone win out on a deal.
Keep adding value
Keeping clients sweet is important. That’s why you should make sure that you have an ongoing relationship with them even when ‘app 1.0’ is complete and shipped off. For instance, the higher price packages or extra post-complete services can offer compatibility updates, ensuring that your clients’ apps will stay supported even after you’re done working with them. You can go even further, promising that their app will never be obsolete even if your business for some reason is unable to work on it. You can do that with escrow services that allow you to share the source code with them in the event you’re no longer in business. But it doesn’t share that code too soon, so you’re not giving away the tricks of the trade that allow you to produce such professional work.
Hopefully, the tips above give you the focus you need to start getting those coding digits typing away. If you have the business and people skills to go along with the software development, then there’s plenty of money to be made in the world of B2B app-selling.
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