It’s Friday evening as I write this blog-post, so Happy Friday! And while I’d like to say TGIF – well, when you’re an entrepreneur, the grind doesn’t care what day of the week it is; they all start to feel the same. However, there are certainly good days and bad days – it’s a rollercoaster and this week wasn’t an exception.
If you’re looking to take the next step with your app idea, one important question you need to answer is “what’s in it for me?” from your Customer’s perspective. At a very basic level, your Customers want to know if your app will either make them money or save them money (or perhaps both). I should caveat this by saying there are many apps with millions of users which don’t necessarily make or save money directly per-se. Instead they become platforms in which to advertise – but that’s probably a topic for another blog post.
When you talk with Customers about their problems and challenges, you’ll eventually get to sharing with them how your app can solve their issues. As someone who’s “close” to their idea (it’s your “baby” after all), you’ll tend to love talking about all the cool things your app can do. Just remember, as your Customer is listening, they’re also saying the themselves “what’s in it for me?”. As such, it’s important you tell people how your app can make them more money (who doesn’t want that?). Does your app allow your Customer to sell more things to their Customers. Can they re-sell your app?
Alternatively, tell your Customers how the app can save them money. Be aware there are two kinds of savings – “hard” and “soft”. Some of your Customers may be looking for “hard” bottom line savings, meaning they’re looking to reduce their spending. For instance, if your app has equivalent (ideally better) functionality of a competitor but at 1/3 the annual subscription cost, that would be a hard savings to your Customer.
On the other hand, if your app delivers “soft” savings (or cost avoidance), then it’s probably helping a Customer improve their efficiencies, meaning it saves them time. By saving time, they can allocate their freed up time to more valuable activities.
Customers will look forward to hearing about all the “bells and whistles” your app offers and how it solves their problem. They’ll also be looking to see “the numbers”; how much money your app will make for them or how much will it save them. So make sure you spend some time crunching numbers, and tell them what the financial gain (or return on their investment) is for using your app. Contact me to discuss further.
