Yodel Mobile’s Black Founders Initiative: NXTLVL Case Study

In December 2020, Yodel Mobile announced the launch of our Black Founders Initiative, where we internally deliberated on how our service offering could have an impact in terms of equity initiatives that would support black-led companies in the mobile space. The goal was to use our expertise to increase real opportunities and encourage a more diverse business landscape. As a result, we partnered with NXTLVL, a functional primal workout app for modern people. Yodel Mobile provided NXTLVL consultative support ahead of the app’s launch and sought to set up the frameworks for success beyond our support as the app scaled.

What is NXTLVL?

NXTLVL is a mobile fitness app that specialises in bodyweight training and uses very creative exercises, such as primal movements, combined with a very HIIT-Tabata form of training.

Yodel Mobile’s Support

The support Yodel Mobile provided can be segmented into three areas: pre-launch support, ASO and creative. Within the remit of each of those three segments, the activity comprises of audits, strategies, tool recommendations and frameworks for app success, as well as what that activity should be, how it’s prioritised, and, of course, the KPIs you’d want to impact.

What was the reason NXTLVL decided to develop the app and the core mission behind it?

(Maya) Joshua and I actually come from very diverse backgrounds. We grew up in different parts of the world and culture. Having said that, the one thing that we did share as a common value between the two of us was we felt that our value and purpose in life is to unlock our own potential. Our hope is that these types of exercises, and being able to build your own resilience through them, will make you unlock that next level of potential for yourself. And this is where the name of the app came, NXTLVL, because we believe that everyone can use their time wisely and be the best version of themselves. The whole point is that we’re in our own race, not competing against anyone else except yourself and just being that best version of yourself.

What were the NXTLVL objectives ahead of the launch?

(Joshua) We did struggle quite a lot at the start. We had that feeling of being overwhelmed with all the things that we knew we had to do prior to our launch and it almost felt like we had to get everything done at once rather than actually know what was actually important. I’m sure a lot of small businesses go through the same process of feeling like there is an infinite number of things to do. When comparing ourselves with the big players, it is very easy for us to feel as though we’re just these small players against the big corporations and the big competitors that are already out there working with the likes of Yodel Mobile.

We felt that we were very hyper-focused on the wrong things and all the small details and it was causing a lot of delays. After working with Yodel Mobile, it helped us understand that we really need to hone in on optimising our app store listings on both Android and iOS to start and then on integrating analytical tools into the actual app.

What app marketing challenges has NXTLVL been working through over the past three to four months?

(Maya) Joshua explained quite a lot of the predicament that we were under, such as the challenges of being heavily focused on the wrong things. It is so easy for us to just feel so overwhelmed, just trying to emulate what the big dogs are doing. We honestly cannot thank Yodel enough for saving us from these self-inflicted challenges that we were creating. Of course, challenges are there, but at the same time, we realised we really need to pick our battles and be realistic about who we are and that’s just two people.

We are just starting off. Instead of trying to do everything, we’re now focused. We focus more of our attention on App Store Optimisation and also on NXTLVL’s unique selling point. Our aim is to make sure that our branding and our message is always consistent with our USP. This is the way that we know we can differentiate ourselves and also just be ourselves authentically without trying to copy other people.

You don’t have to be smarter or better than the rest, just more disciplined because that level of consistency will compound.

What strategies have had the most impacts and have been the most beneficial?

(Maya) Having an analytics tool integrated has been a fantastic addition to the whole game, helping us shape the app for improvement and longevity. Instead of us trying to assume what people are doing, we can actually gain an understanding of their behaviour. Ultimately, it’s the data that you get that can drive product direction, tell you about churn, the most used features, and how you can kind of build off of that.

Social media also helps to work as an extension of our branding, and we make sure to replicate this same branding and messaging alongside our key value propositions across the app stores, where users actually choose whether to download the app. That’s been another helpful strategy that we’ve been able to implement through Yodel.

What stage is the app currently in and what is the NXTLVL vision for the next few months?

(Joshua) We launched the MVP on our iOS app recently and the Android version will probably be released quite soon. We’ve already started to receive some feedback through the analytics tools we utilise. Going forward now, we really want to focus on making the onboarding process just a little bit more streamlined for a better experience for our users, especially on the user experience side. This means making it a little bit more clear, introducing possible programmes that give them more guidance as well, rather than just throwing them into a deep end full of an unlimited number of workouts. We want to provide users with a little bit more guidance in terms of a plan or a programme.

If you want to find out more about how improving the mobile customer experience can impact your app marketing campaign or you have any app marketing questions feel free to reach out to the Yodel Mobile Growth Team. Additionally, you can sign up to our newsletter for exclusive industry updates and app marketing insights. Want to find out more about optimising your app? Make sure to subscribe to our Mastering Mobile Marketing video series. Follow us on LinkedIn, chat with us on Twitter @yodelmobile, and join our #AppMarketingUK LinkedIn group.

About the Author:

Agata is the Marketing Manager at Yodel Mobile, a leading mobile app marketing company. Assisting the agency growth efforts, Agata regularly shares insights on the latest app marketing strategies, promoting sustainable and long-term growth.

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