Answering audience questions from the onset will help inform the direction you take your OTT app design:
- Are most of your users opting for TV and desktops as opposed to mobile devices or tablets to access your app?
- Or perhaps you’re catering to a younger generation that requires your team to prioritize cross-platform development?
- Where are most of your target users located?
On top of having a clear sense of your target user, your team needs to deliver stellar app performance to ensure your audience isn’t discouraged from using your app. If there are complicated steps involved with downloading your app or if the platform is constantly plagued with technical issues, your users won’t hesitate to look elsewhere for their OTT needs.
With that in mind, let’s consider some of the initial steps you should take to ensure the OTT app you build will be tailored specifically to your target customers.
Understand & Define the Needs of Your Target Audience
Ultimately, your goal is to deliver an app experience that excites your audience and keeps them coming back for more. Achieving this goal is only possible through having a thorough understanding of who your target customer is and what they’re looking for in an OTT app.
Before you get into the more minute details of your OTT app design, do your fair share of market research to gather information on your potential customers. Building your OTT app with specific buyer personas in mind will ensure product development stays on the right track from start to finish.
Additionally, consider what devices your target audience primarily uses, as well as the location of your customer base. If market research reveals that most of your users are streaming OTT apps on their mobile devices or you find that a large portion of your target audience is overseas, then app development will need to take these factors into consideration.
From the get-go, make sure your internal teams are aligned around your target audience. Clearly define their needs, pain points, and expectations, and share that information with teams working on your OTT app. Total internal alignment will result in a better final product that resonates with your niche audience.
Cater Content Accordingly
Seeing as 80% of U.S. consumers have a video streaming subscription, with that number only expected to rise in the coming years, it’s clear that users have deemed OTT apps as their preferred method of viewing content. And while the big players like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime account for big pieces of the greater pie, there’s still a wealth of opportunity for your business to make a splash and find success.
Once you have a clear understanding of who your target audience is, you can begin to consider what kind of content will satisfy their needs. Again, this will require your team to do proper market research and analyze what types of content your audience is consuming most frequently.
Do you want to offer exclusive content that can’t be found on any other OTT apps? Do you plan on partnering with an OTT aggregator and relying on their library of content? Determining what kind of content your OTT app will host and being able to justify its worth to your target audience is crucial to ensuring app success.
Consider the Full App Experience
Designing the OTT app is likely top of mind for your team. But ensuring the growth and success of your platform relies on so much more than just the app experience. Consider the ways in which your target customers will download your app and learn more about it.
Typically, users will browse your company’s website or app landing page before making any purchasing decisions. When developed properly, web pages can be a great tool for your business to share promotions, announce new content, and establish trust and credibility with your target audience.
With such a wide range of OTT apps available to customers, focusing on the entire user’s journey, from when they decide they want a new OTT app to the moment they start viewing content, can give you a leg up on the competition.
Keep an Eye on Key Metrics
If you’ve recently launched your OTT app, congratulations! It’s a great feeling to see all your hard work result in a polished final product that’s now in the hands of your users. However, the work doesn’t stop once your app is out in the world.
It’s important to remember that your initial app won’t be perfect. And that’s okay! Your app is an iterative process, and your team should be constantly looking for ways to further satisfy customers. Continually improving your OTT app and optimizing it for peak performance requires you to take notice of how customers are engaging with your app.
There are plenty of KPIs you should be tracking to get a sense of how your app is performing to identify areas of improvement. Key metrics, such as:
- customer lifetime value
- conversion rate
- monthly active users
- abandonment rate
- churn rate
and more will help paint a complete picture of what’s working (and more importantly, what’s not working) when it comes to the app experience you’re delivering.
By analyzing insightful data regarding app performance and customer satisfaction, you’ll ensure your app is continually improving to meet the evolving needs and expectations of your target audience.
Ready to Get Started?
Designing a user-centric experience starts with understanding who your users are and defining their motivations and pain points. Building your app roadmap on user needs first will increase the likelihood of your app making a splash with the right audience.
At Zemoga, we understand that building the best possible OTT app experience can be hard on your own. If you’re looking for a trusted partner that has proven experience in enabling clients to build better digital products, we’re here to help. Our team possesses the latest skills and tools to ensure your product is meticulously planned and reaches the right market in optimal condition.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help streamline the development of your OTT app.
