Footsteps is a travel guide for those who don’t like to spend their time planning tours around the city or carrying an additional burden in the form of a guidebook. As of now, the application has options for travelers in Gdansk, Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw, Legnica, Polkowice and Zielona Gora in Poland, but the team hasn’t said that’s all. All the founders are students who, at the beginning, neither had the marketing knowledge nor money for the project. So, how did they manage to gain such a success, which gained around 16000 app’s users in one year’s time, and how does the app work? What made it as brilliant as other best startup applications like D-EYE or Spontime? Find out below!
Footsteps – Travel App
Starting to use the app is simple. It’s free and you can download it for both iOS and Android – then register and start sightseeing! But, before you are completely drawn into seeing all of the city’s recess, choose some of the following traveler’s type: hipster, party animal, family guy, art lover, businessman and more. After you choose how and as who you’d like to see the city, the app prepares a list with personalized strolling routes, from which you can choose the one most suitable for you. Once you have chosen, you’ll see all of the destinations prepared especially for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a party animal or a family guy – all the footsteps you take will be in harmony with your nature.
Every traveler knows all the sections that can be found in the regular guide book. There are valuable descriptions and some tips on where to take some rest, eat something or have the best coffee in the city. Footsteps doesn’t lack in any of these things – not only does it feature the description of all the points on the way, but it also has a “pause” option. Once you choose to pause the trip, some icons will appear on the screen – icons from which you can choose what to do during the pause time. Whether you want to take a rest in the park, you want to eat something or drink coffee. Footsteps will give you a list of places where you can spend a quick break. When you feel that you are relaxed enough – you can just press the play button and continue the trip from the point you stopped. It’s convenient and useful, as the user can take his or her time and follow the personalized routes at their own pace. Admittedly the freedom and convenience of traveling is quite an advantage for many travelers who are not friendly with the traditional guidebooks.
The Success
How was it possible that five guys, students, with no marketing knowledge and no money in their pockets gained such a success? They admit that the most important part is to know as much as possible about the target group. Being aware of who the potential app user is, helps to create a product which people will desire and use. Footsteps’ team knew all about their users, including all of the types; they knew how old they are, what do they like, how do they spend their free time and what are they interested in. It is incredibly important regarding creating information that aims to attract their attention. Nobody will follow the product which doesn’t meet their personal needs and isn’t created for them. Knowing the target group well helped Footsteps to gain traction and find users who were interested in testing the app and helping to improve it. What is more, the guys are constantly meeting the user’s needs and trying to make the app the best of its kind. The range of city tours broadens, and founders are not deaf to their users’ voices. They are open to suggestions and inquiries, and this also seems to be the key to success.
About the Future
In the beginning, Footsteps’ team started from trails for tourists in Wroclaw, during the last year they’ve created six more and as for now, there will be three additional cities – Karpacz, Zagan, and Kedzierzyn Kozle. That’s true that the application works only in Poland, but don’t worry! If you want to come and visit this beautiful country, you can easily use Footsteps in Wroclaw, Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and Polkowice, even if you’re not a Polish speaker. The application was designed to switch the language automatically, based on the language you use on your phone – if the language you use is English or any other language besides Polish, you’ll be using the application with all of its facilities and options in English.
It’s a very good idea for those who are not keen on paper guide books, but also for those who just like sightseeing at their pace, in harmony with their personality and interests – it’s the application for every traveler!
Poland is a Footsteps’ ‘homeland’ and maybe pretty soon it will become one of the best places to start a startup and gain a success likewise Footsteps did.
