citygirl enterprise blog

Citygirl is a brand new application that aims to prevent female university students in Birmingham between 18-22 from feeling isolated.

This lifestyle app will enable users to safely network with one another throughout Birmingham and actively engage with upcoming events, so they never have to miss out.

The app aims to be a creative and personal platform where students can adapt all content to suit their needs individual and interests.

 to view my target customer

 

My mission statement:

 

Our mission is to dedicate and consistently deliver high quality content on student life in Birmingham, to ensure they have the best experience possible.

 

Value Propositions

 

I intend my app to be eye-catching and modern and for my customer to percieve it as being:

 

Target Market:

 

    My idea meets a clients needs because according to                             

     around 70% of students say the student loan isn't enough to cover their

accommodation and personal lives.   The website also breaks down on average how a student will spend their money each month: £64 on social, £20 on their phone and £34 on clothes.

 

In late 2018 a                was released to show a further break down on what the average student spends their money on each month - as you can see the social cost is slightly higher.

This supports my initial idea as seen in 

because every student wants to know everybody and settle into their new hometown, which is typically done through attending student events regularly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also created my own primary research through an online survey targeted at female university students on what their biggest fears are or have been about starting university. This question was vital information for me because it would allow me to consider specific features my app should include. My results are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the 20 participants, 50% responded saying their biggest fear were money related issues. This feedback allowed me to reassess my initial app idea and consider discounts as there had to be an incentive for them to want to pay for and use citygirl.

I also received feedback in support of my app idea:

 

"I am currently in my final year at university in Birmingham and I feel this app would benefit many because living in a big city it is hard to judge where the best student venues are and whether they are worth the money."

 

Personalised features the app will include:

 

- Ability to design your own character to represent yourself

- Engage with various fashion brands and receive exclusive discounts and outfit inspiration

-Be the first one to receive updates on student events in Birmingham. 

-A reality map - Decide whether you want to publically share pictures, videos or reviews form your time there

-Various safety features 

-Online chats: Users will have the ability to meet and connect with other people living in Birmingham

 

Competitors:

 

My main competitor is:                   as this is already an established business which appears online and in print format. It also addresses various different places throughout the UK with frequent updates on 'what to do in Birmingham'. 

Time Out reaches a demographic of male and females between 15-34. That is a huge demographic and I intend to focus on a niche audience. My app will also differ from the platform it's on and it will incorporate direct needs of students i.e: fashion and cheap days/ nights out.

 

Social media apps such as: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Snapchat are also potential competitors because they each feature elements of my app for free. However, citygirl is a platform allowing all their needs and interests to be in one place. 

 

 

Revenue:

 

After conducting research I discovered that young people actively engage best with subscription-based apps such as: Spotify.

 

Therefore I have decided to allow students to benefit from a one- week's free trial and have all content available to them and then start paying monthly to receive the benefits.

 

Although my research has proven that students don't have a lot of money to spare which is why there are two payment options:

£5 a month / £6.99 a month.

The slightly more expensive subscriptions include benefits such as free- entry to certain events and discounted drinks. Whereas the £5 option includes discounted entry and users can't access visuals on the Birmingham app.

 

 

SWOT Analysis:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safety Settings:

• The ability to turn your location off 

• Turn off cookies.

• When you connect to public Wi-Fis, you are prone to attacks like MITM and identity theft - therefore my app will include an offline feature to prevent this

• Retailers can collect your data behind your back through the Wi-Fis at their stores.

• When you share too much private data on apps that you assume as “secure” or “trustworthy”.

• You will also have to accept people as 'friends' so they can see what you share

• Background check 

 

Prototypes

Here are a few                       I have designed to help market citygirl and show how the app will work. 

 

What next?

 

Citygirl aims to be an app accessible to other female students in other cities. Through advertisements and working with clothing brands and events teams, we will be able to produce different variations of the app so the content is relevant for each location.

In order to achieve this, I will need to contact an app developer to ensure this happens and create a team of people who can work on supplying this content.