Today, a business without your website is improbable. And those companies that took care of this tool in advance got the lion’s share of customers, while others sigh in regret.
After the Internet revolution, the era of mobile technology has come. Right now is a perfect time to create new powerful tools that burst into our world along with mobile devices, and a good web and mobile app development company can help you with that.
10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Mobile Application
Have you thought about developing a mobile application? What do you want to achieve with it, and what functions to implement? If you still have some doubts, continue reading.
№1: Audience building
It was estimated that nearly 90% of mobile internet time is spent on apps. Mobile apps allow building relationships with your customers wherever they are. A person does not need to remember your web address or go to a search engine since the application is already on their device. Depending on the functionality, it can be used even without Internet access.
The combination of “website + mobile application” brings double profits to the company. The company’s website attracts customers with the help of search engines, and when a user downloads an app on the website, the company switches to a more targeted approach.
№2: Increase in sales
The main goal of any business is to make a profit, and mobile app can help company increase sales because it serves to attract and retain customers. Built-in functions, such as a loyalty program and sending push notifications, can motivate users to buy goods or services from this particular company and offer various promotions and discounts.
Leaving the house, we can forget anything, except keys, wallet, and smartphone. Just imagine: your product or service gets into the phones of clients, potential customers and remains in their pockets. Companies interact with customers all the time when they use their mobile devices. The scale is stone-cold amazing. No other type of advertising in the entire history of humanity offered such an opportunity – to be constantly in the client’s pocket and interact with him.
№3: Detachment from competitors
To get new customers, the company can offer them encouraging bonuses for installing the app. Everyone loves perks and discounts. It can be a fresh-new solution that no one has applied yet, a gift, or a lifetime discount of 10% on certain types of goods/services for installing a mobile application. The application helps launch exciting new marketing campaigns and differentiate itself from competitors and gain customers’ trust.
№4: Loyalty
How to Build Customer Loyalty? The answer is simple: to be valuable and helpful to customers. With the help of loyalty programs, you can share with your customers attractive bonuses that they love so much and make sales and stimulate repeat sales.
People are already tired of having many bonus cards in their wallets and business card holder, and loyalty programs in mobile apps replace bonus cards that you can no longer carry with you.
№5: Automate business processes
There are many software and web services, including industry ones: finance, retail, healthcare, hotel. Ten-fifteen years ago, such solutions, even for desktops, seemed like a breakthrough. Mobile applications for solving internal problems of the company are the next stage.
Company workflows can automate not only internal solutions but also applications created for customers. So, for example, the primary function of the taxi application is to quickly and conveniently call a car. At the same time, it automates the receipt, processing, and distribution of orders. Without an application, orders are received by phone or from the website. A live operator processes them, selects the nearest driver, sends them to the address.
№6: Simplify customer communications
The presence of a mobile application for iOS or Android essentially makes it unnecessary to send messages and e-mails to clients who have the application. All necessary information can be delivered directly to the gadget’s screen via push notifications – discounts and promotions, the readiness of order, delivery to a pick-up point, a reminder to sign up for a session, confirmation codes for banking and payment services.
It is convenient to make chats with managers, consultants, or support services through the application. At the same time, the operator on the other side can display all the information about the authorized user, so it is easier for the user to solve issues and answer questions. Not to mention the fact that many people do not like to make phone calls. The ability to log into the application and resolve the issue in the correspondence is a real salvation for them.
№7: Accept payments
Acceptance of payments is a primary function for many commercial applications, be it a taxi service, an online store, an online service for controlling personal finances, or an electronic library. It is convenient to pay for all this in one click using your saved credit card details or Apple Pay/Google Pay. But the fewer actions a person needs to take to make a purchase, the more likely he/she buy it. Entering card details every time is a time, and it is psychologically more easy to part with money when all you need to do is click “Pay.”
№8: Analyze target audience
You can collect and analyze all the same information about the audience of mobile applications as about site visitors. The difference is that a person always has a smartphone with him, and he can turn to it even when there is no desktop at hand. Analytics systems can recognize users on different devices and collect complete information about their interests and preferences. Such analytics allows you to draw up a more accurate portrait of the audience, draw conclusions and build a marketing strategy based on this information. Of course, the collection and processing of data are limited by law, so not everything that can be collected technically is implemented in practice. For example, obtaining user geolocation can be enabled with user permission only.
№9: Interactivity
Such applications help clients solve problems in different areas of life easier, faster, and more conveniently. The scenario can be implemented using two approaches.
The first approach is suitable for companies for which service is the main direction of their activity. Examples include educational applications like LinguaLeo, cloud accounting, task managers, personal finance accounting services, digital libraries, cloud storage, job search services, real estate, used items, and much more. Their applications duplicate the main web service or program and make it easier to interact with them from smartphones.
The second approach, an additional valuable service, is created in the application that helps users to solve any problems. Such a service can be an in-app shopping list with promotions and sales, a bow designer in a mobile clothing store, a workout planner in a fitness club app, etc.
№10: Work assistant
The mobile application can be an assistant for organizing employees’ work in one shared system, where they can manage their orders and regulate all technical issues. Firstly, it is convenient. Secondly, it creates a common eco-system for all franchises and, thirdly, this approach will increase profits by reducing time costs.
Yes, Your Small Business Needs a Mobile App
Of course, the mere presence of a mobile application does not solve all business problems, but it becomes a powerful tool for increasing profits in the right hands. Let’s summarize. If you’re still unsure if you need a mobile app, I hope the arguments in this article will help you make the right decision. The main thing to remember is that any product or tool should solve specific problems and contribute to the company’s development. With this in mind, it is necessary to plan the work and list the required functions for future application.
Any business should strive to develop and keep abreast of the latest technologies and respond to innovations that can make it more efficient.