Part Two: How Kids’ App Makers Use Data to Build Business Strategy
This is the second installment in our Guest Blog Series with Moms With Apps and App Friday Co-Founder, Lorraine Akemann. Part One can be found here.
Today’s kids are tech savvy, and app makers realize that family-friendly content is filling a growing niche. As independent developers turn their apps into businesses, they rely on data to help chart their course. What circumstances can change an app’s rankings? Which country generates the most downloads? Which day of the week is most popular for sales? You name it, app developers want to track it.
I interviewed several app makers from the Moms With Apps community about how they use data. Three main themes emerged: 1) analyze past data to chart historical trends, 2) monitor current data to evaluate visibility, and 3) synthesize past and present data to adjust future business strategy. In this article I will illustrate key points from each theme with specific developer testimonials.
Current Visibility
1. Using the daily email to stay informed
“What we like is the daily email that everybody receives here in the company. Now everyone knows what is going on such as downloads per app, by country, and by purchase type (normal or educational). This has really been a great improvement. It helped everyone get the same level of information.” Marc-Henri Magdelenat, News-O-Matic.
2. Checking real-time rankings to assess visibility
“The day I released my updates to the App Store, I realized I lost all ranks I had achieved before in the Games > Kids category, and my app was getting lost in the vastness of the App Store. So I was able to make a contemporary price promotion which helped stop my app from becoming totally invisible.” Jan Essig, Playground Apps.
3. Using the watch list to keep an eye on the competition
“Another feature that has proved extremely valuable are the Top Charts with the possibility to watch apps. I can see how other apps are doing after advertising. And frequently other developers tell me how well they are doing, it´s easy for me with appFigures to see how their apps rank compared to my apps at the very moment. I can easily tell how my app ranks compared to Disney for example, in the German kids category.” Kristin Heitmann, appp media
4. Deciding on price promotions and marketing campaigns
“After observing our Gorilla Band ranking drop since the initial launch period on a daily basis, we’ve decided to run a free promotion to coincide with App Friday in November. This decision was guided by other insight from appFigures with past free promotions for other apps, where we witnessed a rapid rise in rankings and new reviews via the reporting interface in our markets of focus (North America and the UK).” Amy Friedlander, WasabiPro.
“I can add events to my reports. If I add a marketing campaign to my charts I can see with one glimpse if sales went up or not after the event.” Kristin Heitmann, appp media