When you finally get that unique app idea, you will most likely believe your idea is original and never done before, and you will be wrong! Chances are there is a kid in a basement doing the same thing already. So how do we differentiate our app from the rest?
Unique ideas are very hard to come by, and chances are, if you think of something amazing, somebody else is already developing it, marketing or beyond – you just haven’t heard of it.
But this should not discourage you. Very often, if not always, is not about who has the idea first, but who can actually market it and sell it better. In the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, there is a line about “not being the best author, but the best SELLING author” – so true.
Furthermore, large companies we all love were not the first ones, not even by a little bit. Before Facebook, there was MySpace. Before Uber, there was Lyft. Before iPods, there were crappy MP3 players and before AirBnB, there was CouchSurfer but you used that, really?
The stories about who had an idea before it became famous by another company are endless so get your act together and come up with valuable differentiators that add value to your users.
Differentiate & Improve your App Idea
Don’t just make a website into an app and expect a VC to buy you out. You need to go the extra mile or ten miles. Think about the complaints or deficiencies of your existing competitors and improve on them 10x over.
Stay away from becoming different by offering a “new” pricing model or lower prices. You don’t want to become a commodity and your competitors can squash you in a matter of days.
Offering a different delivery method, for instance, “instead of emails, my app is cooler because we send via SMS!” is not a differentiator worth pursuing.
You should focus on offering value that is hard to replicate, meaning, that your competitors can’t simply copy. This may require investments in machine learning, predictive analytics, AI, computer vision and beyond. Whatever you do that makes a real tangible difference will go a long way.
Better Marketing
This sounds like bad advice, but hey, it’s not about the best app, but the one with the most revenue. If you can afford to outspend your competitors with an equivalent product, go ahead! Just keep in mind there is always a bigger fish out to hunt you. (Check this article to determine if you need a marketing agency for your next mobile app project)
A product or any business for that matter requires 3 components: Quality, Service, Pricing. If you can excel in 2 of the 3 areas you can be successful. This doesn’t mean you should neglect one area, but if you can’t improve on the existing features, then at least offer the lowest price and a superb customer service.
Conclusions
It is almost certain that somewhere, someone is working on a similar idea to yours. Find differentiators which are hard to replicate and try to go the extra mile when it comes to delivering service, pricing and quality.
