With the rise and continuing development of smartphones, mobile apps are becoming more and more relevant to businesses across the spectrum. Indeed, many successful companies like Instagram, Tinder and Snapchat have been built solely around an app. People use apps for everything from planning out their day to day activities to finding love. Indeed, the next generation of consumers have been brought up solely in the digital age, so the businesses that don’t invest in the latest technology are simply not going to be on the radar for them.
This growing market means that it may be time for your business to consider investing in creating an app. A host of companies are out there willing to do the job for you, while there are also a variety of online tools teaching you exactly how to build a mobile app. Whichever you decide to go for, there are various advantages to your business having an app that you need to know about.
Visibility For Clients
Studies have shown that the average American spends two hours a day on their smartphone, and this is a figure that shows no signs of slowing down. Of course, most of this time is split between a couple of their favourite apps, but this just shows you how smartphones have revolutionised how we spend our time.
When people are looking for new apps to take up their time, it’s important that your company is out there. The creation of an app adds to your overall online presence. People need that constant reinforcement of your company name and brand identity for them to become fully aware of your business. It has been estimated that they need to see it around 20 times before it really becomes embedded in their brains.
Direct Marketing
Everything that your customers need to know about your business will be right there in the app, and you have a direct route to them. Most people use apps for their direct functionality, so you should keep the services you are offering clear and straightforward. Apps also give you the option of contacting consumers with push notifications, reminding customers of any new products or services that you have out, as well as any offers or promotions that you would like to shout about. Remember not to overuse this function as people are more likely to get annoyed and unsubscribe.
Provide Value
If you have a loyalty scheme in place, consider shifting this onto the app. Send out an email letting your customers know that’s what you will be doing as encouragement for them to download it. This should increase the number of downloads you receive and increase your customer interaction. People are more willing to download something if they think they are getting something in return, so make sure this is something you are giving them
Build Brand Awareness
The beauty of a mobile app is that it really is a blank canvas for you to do what you want with. If your brand is known for being cutting edge and innovative, make sure the app reflects these qualities. It’s likely that you will already have strong branding in place for your business, so also make sure that your app fully matches up with everything that you have already created. Getting your brand out there used to be one of the most expensive parts of building a business, but the world of mobile apps has allowed you to cut back significantly on marketing costs.
Improve Engagement
Businesses tend to stand or fall depending on how well their customers are treated. Technology has provided an instant portal for you to stay in touch with your clients, so you should always utilise this wherever possible. Contact shouldn’t just be reserved for dealing with complaints, but rather handling enquiries and providing help and support wherever you can. Social media has made the art of customer engagement better than ever, but your app can also go a long way towards this. Create a help desk feature within your app so customers can get in touch directly. Many people would prefer to contact you via an instant messaging forum rather than over the phone, so it pays to offer this to them.
Make Your Business Stand Out
While many businesses have now utilised mobile apps, not all of them have by any means. This may be a factor that helps you stand out from your competitors. People are impressed when they see a business that looks modern and state of the art, so your app may end up going a long way towards winning new clients. As well as this, it’s yet another way to get your business firmly on the map.
Customer Loyalty
In a world where people are constantly being bombarded with messages from all sides, it has become increasingly difficult to generate customer loyalty. Though an app may not be the only answer to this problem, it may well make a big difference as you have that direct route to your customers. It may be the way that you manage to cut through all the noise and get your voice heard loud and clear.
Mobile Transactions
Mobile phones are now the most commonly used device to access the internet, so people are using them more and more to pay for goods and services. While there is still a long way to go, this seems to be a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. Services like Google Wallet and Apple Pay make transactions possible at the click of a button. People are now much more likely to make impulse purchases, so if your app has the function to process transactions, you are much more likely to make the sales you need to run your business successfully.
A Faster Solution
People have now found themselves to be more time poor than ever before, so they are demanding services that are as efficient as possible. An app loads up a page much quicker than a standard web browser, which is why so many people choose to use them. Not only this, many apps allow customers to access their features without being online. People are looking for apps that can provide solutions to problems or make their lives more streamlined. If your app does this, you are off to a winning start.
In today’s fast moving world, whichever business manages to get their message across quickest often wins. Your app is your way of doing just that.
More Affordable Pricing
Compared to a complete branding campaign or website redevelopment, creating a mobile app is a snip. It’s unlikely that you would have the capability of doing either of those two things yourself, but the range of app building software now available means that anyone can build their own app. Even if you decide to get a professional involved, it’s going to be much more affordable than creating a whole website as this list of functionalities is much smaller.
Though the mobile phone revolution has been going on for some time now, you’re not too late to jump on the bandwagon. Indeed, with so many companies still so behind the times when it comes to online development, you are still likely to be ahead of the curve. Though an app may not completely transform your business, it may well go a long way towards boosting your prospects in the rapid moving 21st century marketplace.
