In the past 75 years, there are three advances in technology that have significantly changed the course of humanity. It should come as no surprise that the first one is television, the second is the internet and the third is a combination of the two in the form of a handheld phone.
These advances have had an unprecedented impact on how we go about our lives as consumers, and how branding and advertising affect us.
We are a society that is so much more accessible now. Everyday we are exposed to product messaging about what to buy, how to feel, what to eat, when to go to sleep and when to wake up.
Despite all this mass media, we as consumers like to be noticed for our individualism - we like our products to be an extension of who we are. This is the same across the clothes we wear, to the books we read, and the apps we download.
The three points below are going to make sure you have a very clear message on why your app offers amazing value to your market.
An opening gambit refers to a preliminary tactic used in warfare, or a phrase used to start a conversation. In the app world, this can be likened to the one reason that a user would download your app.
If there is no one reason, then there absolutely should be.
Let’s look at the app, Flo.
Flo is a period tracking calendar. That’s it. That is the opening gambit. You can track your period on it. And I know it sells simple, but Flo is valued at $800 Million USD.
When you download the app, Flo, you will realise there is so much more to the story, but the one thing that attracts users is the ability to track their period through the product.
Your app needs to have it’s first tactic on the field of battle, the question that starts a conversation and it needs to be strong.
Check out a few examples of apps that are on the market right now.
Calm - Sleep and Meditation
MyFitnessPal - Calorie Counter on your phone
Instagram - #1 Social Media App for Photo and Video
Now that you have used your opening gambit to get users to the front door. You need to entice them inside by spotlighting your best features and how they relate directly to your products narrative.
Flo’s core messaging is centred around being able to plan you life through the period calendar and all the benefits that come with it, such as predicting your fertile window, all while maintaining your privacy.
These are things that people would hope to see on a period tracking app, and Flo delivers on the expectations.
This sounds really obvious, but it can be easy for an app to lose its way.
When I look at Facebook, I feel like it must be so overwhelming for a first time user to download it and experience this product for the first time. When I downloaded Facebook for the first time, I was around twelve years old, so it’s fair to say that the product has really grown with me.
Facebook now has, advertising, a marketplace, games, groups, a watch section, a reel section, events, a social media feed and the list of random shit goes on. I genuinely do not know what Facebook is for anymore.
Flo was released on the app stores in 2015, and the core of the product has not changed. It is a period tracking calendar app through and through.
Yes, the features in Flo are updated to strengthen the experience of the product, but they have been very disciplined and have not added in uncomplementary and redundant noise.
And this is where I think the steady stream of uptake to Flo is.
Can your product afford not to have the right messaging, the short answer is no. Of course this is a very short blog that I could literally go on forever about. But the purpose of this article is to show you why it is important to start with the end in mind. It can be tempting to keep adding to a product in the early days and essentially dilute the strength of your products message to the market.
Remember, a spear is strongest at the tip where all the force is driving in the same direction. This is the same with your app.
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