If you believe a mobile app may be in the future for your town or business district, but you don’t know where to start, try creating a Mobile App Project Brief.
We’ve developed the 7 questions below to help you get the clarity you need to move forward with confidence that the app you launch will achieve your goals.
- First, outline your current situation. If you’re at the point where you’re finding articles about mobile apps, then you’ve probably been thinking about this for a while and may have a lot of thoughts in your head. So use this step as a “brain dump” – write down everything you can think of about your town or business district: who’s on your team; what are the ups and downs you’re going through; get it all out there. Knowing where you are will help you know where you want to go.
- How do you draw people to your town and its businesses? Is that changing or about to change? Think about how the app fits into what you’re already doing. Is this new mobile app going to be in addition to your current strategies, or are you replacing anything with the app?
- What will you need to see to know your mobile app has been a dramatic success? Are you looking for a bustling main street? Or perhaps it’s more important for you to draw bigger crowds at your events – or perhaps it’s both! Alternatively, are you really just looking to aggregate municipal information into one central app that’s easier for your elderly population to access? Every town or business district will have different goals – take the time to work out yours!
- How do you want people to FEEL as they use your mobile app? Here are a few common answers to get you thinking: excited; connected; confident; informed. This question may seem strange, but it can have a strong effect on the design style and even on what content you decide to put in the app. For example, if your main goal is to get people excited about the great events in town, then you’ll want to make sure events are front and center, but you may leave out most of the nitty gritty municipal information. Towns' goals for their apps can vary greatly - here are some examples of different clients' focuses.
For a worksheet that includes these questions plus more...
Download our MAPP (Mobile App Planning Pack).
- Who are the important people that this mobile app needs to be created for? This again helps you narrow down the design style and content that gets included in your mobile app. Clearly, different people are looking for different things – the more accurately you can identify who your target is, the more effectively you can engage them and provide value.
- What are the budget, timeframes, and boundaries we need to work within? Of course, with an endless budget and timeline, you can create the world – but that’s never the reality. Knowing the answers to this question will help you make sure that you’re not biting off more than you can chew, that you’re choosing the right service provider, and you’ll end up with a mobile app that is your best starting point. Then, after your app is a great success, you can update and upgrade from there!
- What do your town and its businesses really mean to you? Take the time to get a little sentimental here. Having a strong connection to who and what you’re doing this for will help you and your team get excited about the project and develop a mobile app that has true value.
If you answer all of these questions to the best of your ability, you’re getting ahead of the game. Now, when you start your project, whether you’re hiring a developer to create a custom app, going DIY, or something in between like an app template service, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.
If you’re struggling to answer these questions, we’ll be happy to help. Schedule a Free 30-minute Consultation to get started.
