The value of having a market-ready product cannot be understated; this is true for every industry but almost more so within the fintech space. Many apps fall flat (approximately 9 out of 10 for those who are keeping track) and are unsuccessful due to a lack of vision, clear purpose, and understanding of their target audience. The fintech industry is ever-evolving and is seeing a surge in recent times, so now’s the time to have a crystal-clear strategy in place so that your fintech product is foolproof and ready to succeed in the market. The Blott Studio team shares top tips for a market-ready fintech product to set start-ups on the path to success.
The Game Plan
As with any business model, your fintech product should have a clear vision and mission. Consider what specific problem in the market your start-up aims to solve. There are several types of fintech products readily available: online banking, payment services, cryptocurrency – the list goes on. While these apps make for great inspiration, one can easily get swept up in the beauty and brilliance of many apps and end up with a list of functionalities to incorporate into your own design, which will only lead to a confuzzled fintech app. Take the time to jot your idea down onto paper and define the value proposition, the core features of your app, how you plan to acquire customers and your revenue model. Having a clear aim in mind will help to declutter the interface, provide clear direction to your development team and result in a seamless UX. Your game plan should make it very clear what the core functionality of your product will be to give you a competitive edge, as well as highlight a few features that help address your customers’ concerns in a unique way.
The Value of Research
Market research is crucial to ensuring your fintech product is market-ready. Market research dives deep to give you as many insights as possible to best understand your audience and how your product will best serve their interests. Without it, your fintech product won’t have a clear goal and is more likely to struggle in the market.
First, market research identifies, A. if there is a need for your fintech product and B. who your target audience would be. Understanding your target audience and their needs helps to best know how to serve your niche with your fintech product’s capabilities. (This research may even show that the specific version of your fintech product won’t be well-received, but we’re a “cup half full” type of group at Blott Studio, so keep reading for our solution to this hypothetical.)
Complying with financial service regulations in your area of operation is of utmost importance and the next important step in your research. Any number of restrictions and licensing could be required; we recommend partnering with a development agency that has experience operating in the area you wish to launch and who can give you valuable insight and assistance.
As with any market, trends and challenges exist within the fintech space. Trends could potentially help your fintech product, while challenges may hinder it, so it’s important to monitor and be aware of how the macroenvironment could influence your product. Artificial intelligence systems, blockchain, and cybersecurity are just a few of the trends your start-up should be tuned in to.
Customer Discovery
Once you have a handle on market research, and you’ve done your initial homework, you’ll want to switch gears and zone in on your ideal customer, and how your fintech product is going to solve a pain point they have. Start by making estimations about your market and spend time working down to a niche audience. The aim of customer discovery is to determine your niche, outline the problems they have, see how your product can solve that problem and if your solution is something they would be happy to purchase. For this reason, and building on the research you’ve already undertaken, you’ll want to conduct surveys and host focus groups and/or one-on-one interviews. This is a learning curve for you to ensure that the fintech product you’ve outlined will be successful in the market, so take the time to ask in-depth questions that are open-ended, start discussions, and gather as much feedback as possible.
Learning to be Flexible
An important lesson to be carried is that you may need to be flexible. (Ah, yes. Here it is – the hypothetical we mentioned earlier.) In some scenarios, fintech start-ups come up with their prototype, conduct theoretical research, and launch their MVP to early adopters and realise that what they initially had in mind for their app, is actually not the solution their niche needs. Oftentimes, what does happen is that they learn that a part of what they initially had in mind, rather than the sum of all parts, is what their target audience is looking for right now. Enter, the “pivot”. By way of example, when we say, “a part” what we mean is that you may have planned a two-part functionality, such as “Save” and “Invest”, or “Buy” and “Exchange”, only to realise that to best serve your niche market, you should be sticking to “Save”, or “Exchange”, only. By identifying this change through user feedback, your start-up can pivot and double down on serving exactly what it is your customers are looking for in a fintech app. When we say, “right now”, what we mean is that you won’t necessarily have to give up the remaining capabilities you had hoped to incorporate, only that these capabilities should be tabled and considered as future additions. Being flexible does not only mean that you should be pivoting but listening to your early adopters and turning their feedback requests into deliverables wherever possible, as well. Working with and aiming to serve your niche grants you a higher probability of generating loyalty and longevity.
A Strong Foundation
“A Jack of all trades” means “master of none” and the last thing you want to do is jeopardise your start-up, especially when you’ve laid all the groundwork and spent valuable time tinkering with your fintech solution. So, don’t overlook the impact of quality development when it comes time to. At Blott Studio, our specialty is with fintech start-ups. Our gurus and wizards have years of experience in the fintech space, meaning they can add valuable input to the development of your fintech product and create an incredible user interface and experience. The ideation and market research conducted up to this stage should all weigh into the creation of your fintech app and it’s important that you can trust the team you’ve enlisted to bring this vision of yours to life.
Working to fulfil that product-market fit is no easy feat, and is by no means a small task, so it’s important for any fintech start-up looking to launch to market to take the time to fully develop the strategy, from ideation to launch. As we’ve discussed, some tips to keep at the forefront of strategic planning have to do with: developing a clear goal, centralised on meeting the needs of a target market, conducting thorough research in support of this goal (or highlighting any shortfalls or opportunities), to connect with a quality fintech development team and to remain flexible throughout the process. With these tips in-hand, your fintech product will be well on its way to being market-ready and geared towards success.
Connect with the Blott Studio team to find out how our expertise can best help your start-up develop a market-ready fintech product.
