Who Are Your Competitors?
Competition in any business can be defined as “the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms” (Wikipedia/competition/economics). Competition gives consumers greater selection and better products at better prices.
It is important to understand that competition should not be viewed as a bad thing. Competition establishes a market and drives interest around your iPhone/iPad app. While it is possible to open a new business and truly offer a niche service (meaning that you have entered a new market without any direct competitors), it rarely happens in today’s business environment.
The same holds true for apps on the App Store. Understanding your competition is one of the most critical, yet misunderstood aspects of marketing and applies equally to iPhone/iPad app marketing. Even if you have not started developing your iPhone/iPad app, you should survey the App Store and look at the competition to see what you’re up against. Do you think you’ve thought of the perfect iPhone/iPad app? Check the App Store to see what’s already been built in that category. I can almost guarantee that there is a similar app to what you are building or plan to build.
Chances are there are many competitors out there with the same or similar applications. This is not said to discourage you but to emphasize the point that you must take a close look at the competition. Not too many years ago Hyundai entered the U.S. car market. They no doubt surveyed the competition to determine what they were up against. They had a very large hill to climb.
They built their marketing plan and executed on it and have been quite successful by any measure. You have a similar hill to climb with the App Store. A quick scan on the App Store for apps to help you name your baby, for example, reveals more than 30 apps on this topic as shown in this image:
You can also be guaranteed that if you do create a truly unique application and your app shows signs of success you will not be the only one offering that type of app for very long. Other people and companies emulate success. Rather than fearing the competition, learn to understand your competitors to leverage their successes and note their failures. Competitive reviews of other apps should also be viewed as an ongoing task new competition will enter your market, and if you do not keep a watchful eye on your competitors, you will allow others to displace you.
Note
Your competition can be leveraged to aid your marketing efforts. There’s no shame in “copying” a good idea especially if it works. You can be assured that your competitors will be watching you closely, too.
Meaningful differences in your iPhone/iPad app compared to that of your competitors should be created and communicated to your target buyer via multiple avenues, several of which will be discussed in this article. These channels include your web messaging, features and benefits copy on the App Store, product design graphics, icon colors, advertising and other promotion mediums including marketing campaigns, and even spokespersons.
Intuitively (or based on research and/or trial and error) you believe that your app will succeed. You believe this because you are doing something different from some or all of your competitors. The first marketing test of any business, small or large, is to understand how you are unique when compared to your competitors. For example, you may be selling a financial app that offers some unique features that you think nobody else can match. So perhaps you focus your message around communicating that your app has a highly complex financial formula that is so handy to have on the iPhone or iPad. This special feature will resonate with some customers and separate you from your competitors.