Clamber Execution Log 2 - Nov 2017
Right, as promised in the last update (https://goo.gl/8aNS2g), the app is now available in the iOS and Android app stores as long as you live in Ireland.
One of the reasons I built this app is that I found the compeditors too clunky to use. They force the user to enter far too much information in order to record a climb.
Take a typical climbing session that I might do in my local gym. I'd usually warm up on some easy climbs. Maybe do 3 or 4 of those. Then I'd do some medium difficulty climbs. Maybe 4 or so. Then I'll do some harder stuff when I'm property warmed up.
The main competitor to my app makes you enter every attribute of a climb individually.
- Type of climbing (indoor)
- Discipline (bouldering)
- Gym: Name of my local gym
- Grade type: Font
- Grade: 3a (In fact I don't even know this because the climbs in my gym aren't individually labelled. I'm forced to guess).
- Repeat 14 times.
I find this to be a pain.
I want to try and record a number of attributes about each gym and then use these to customise the interface in smart ways to make like easier for the user. If the gym doesn't offer rope climbing, don't offer it as a choice when logging a session there. Simple as that.
Problem is, I have to do some schleps (https://goo.gl/xtEPsw) to build up the data. I'm sure some sort of crowdsourcing is possible at some stage but for the moment it's just me and Google doing some non-scalable work.
Of course, I didn't want to delay launch of the app behind me doing hours and hours of Googling so I decided to focus on Irish gyms where I like (there's less than 20 of them) and the Irish climbing market. There's definitely not enough of a market available to build any sort of profitability but there's enough for me to test some of the assumptions I've made up to this point.
Targeting a small market like this has allowed me to eschew a number of features I would otherwise have to build and get to market faster but it does mean I don't get to use the app stores very effectively for user acquisition.
Anyway, having done enough coding for a controlled launch, I'm moving into a marketing phase to test how effectively I can acquire users in the Irish market.
The pillars of my user acquisition plan are the gyms that the app can be used at. These gyms have already built up communities around themselves over the years, both in the physical buildings themselves with events and parties and online, mostly on Facebook and Instagram. I want to work myself into these communities as best I can.
Right now I'm waiting for some posters to get printed so I can put them up in my local gyms. I've already talked to one or two gym owners about this and they seem fine with it. The app is free and helps their members so it works in their favour really. I'll do leaflets too.
I've started getting involved in the local climbing community on Instagram. Following people, commenting on posts etc. That's driving a slow stream of sign ups.
I've also started trying to figure out how best to reach climbing gyms. I need them to tell me what climbs they offer so I can add them to the app. Things I'm trying there are cold emails and Facebook messenger (they're usually available there for customer questions). I'll be cold calling too as follow ups from emails.
That's about it for the moment. I think two months of this and I'll reassess the plan.
