Market Potential

The events sector is a strong economic force. Globally, available data shows that this

industry is expected to expand at an annual rate of 10% in the next five years. This rate of

expansion is higher than the mean growth rate for all other occupations.

Apart from the growth prospects of this sector, another crucial pointer to its potential

is the fact that it is highly fragmented due to the existence of diverse types of events. Highly

fragmented marketplaces are characterized by significant value, which needs to be harnessed.

These points imply that the potential of the event planning industry is robust and worth

investing in.

Maximizing Traction

For any startup, one of the primary objectives is to create brand awareness. To

increase traction for the application, four effective strategies can be adopted. The first

strategy that can be applied is growing the proportion of ‘active hosts' who actively engage

with individuals who are not aware of the platform. This aspect can be achieved through

incentives such as asking individuals with the app to invite a colleague to unlock a specific

capability or earn a reward. Alternatively, each touch point of the app can incorporate an

option for the user to share it.

Another strategy that can be utilized is expanding the contact rate for every active

host. In the implementation of this strategy, incentives can be offered for both new users as

well as those who already have the app. This approach harnesses the network effect to

generate value.

The virility of the App

 For any new business, the primary goal is to have a viral app after it is launched. In

this case, only a single individual out of every three invited downloaded the app. This statistic

illustrates that the app is not viral because viral applications often have 100 percent

conversions.

Improving the Virility of the App

According to Ray (2002), 81 percent of consumers are influenced by social media

posts made by their acquaintances. This view is informed by the fact that word of mouth

represents the best marketing channel. The best way to harness word of mouth marketing for

an app is through provided valuable content.

Word of mouth can be harnessed using this strategy by either filling the app with

curated content, using content to promote it on social networking platforms or integrating

tools in the app to allow users to come up with resourceful content.

Another strategy that can be utilized to make an app viral is to offer social proof.

Essentially, social movements often develop when a product or service creates fervor among

a group of individuals. When an individual sees other people using an app, the inclination to

utilize it is enhanced. The concept of social proof is the solution to any uncertainties that may

be lingering.

Some of the strategies you can use to provide social proof include displaying profile

photos of a target user’s friends as well as providing suggestions of most actives users for

them to follow.