Are you thinking about creating a mobile app for your business but are not sure if it’s worth the resources? You might be surprised to learn that nowadays creating a business mobile app does not take a significant amount of resources, and you can outsource the entire project to an agency or even a freelancer.
Also, the potential upside of investing in a business app greatly outweighs the costs. In fact, 85% of shoppers prefer to use a mobile app compared to a website, which means your sales might skyrocket after acquiring one.
Continue reading to learn why every business needs a mobile app and the top considerations you should make when developing them.
Providing Value to Customers
Mobile apps can function much faster than websites. One reason is that the data is downloaded ahead of time, which provides a digital store where shoppers can browse. Of course, customers will still need an internet connection to use the app, but the bandwidth requirements are lower. Therefore, the digital store on an app looks better and loads faster.
Also, mobile apps can be feature-rich, and providing those same features through a website is more technically challenging. The improvement to the customer experience increases brand loyalty – especially if it’s one of the best apps in your niche.
You can research the other apps from competitors to see what features they have implemented. You must aim to release an app that is better than your competitors, or at the very least the same.
Increase brand awareness
Having a highly rated app on the Google Play and App Store platforms provides customers with a different way to find your brand. For example, they might be scrolling through the app platforms and looking for highly rated stores in a specific niche. If you have a great review score, you may receive many new customers directly from these platforms.
Make sure that you populate the app download page with a useful description. For example, include the app’s features and functionality and a brief summary of your business. Also, adding exclusive app discounts increases the likelihood of users downloading compared to competitors.
Mobile Apps are Another Marketing Channel
Marketing is a significant expense for any business, so finding low-cost channels is valuable. Mobile apps are a great choice for marketing because you have a lot of control over the campaign. Once the user downloads the app, you can send as many offers as possible. However, you shouldn’t send them too frequently as that might lead to many users being put off.
You can take advantage of the push notifications features, which you can send to customers when you have an important product update or promotion. Furthermore, you can showcase discounts and promotions when users log into their account.
Not sure how to execute a successful marketing campaign on your mobile app? Then download and monitor the activity of competitor apps. This will allow you to determine the best industry practices you can include in your marketing campaigns. Alternatively, use a digital marketing agency to outsource the job to professionals.
Gain an Edge Over Competitors
Businesses operating in a niche with nobody offering an app to customers can gain an edge. By releasing a mobile app, you’ll be the only service that offers the perk. Hence, some customers will choose your business compared with the competition.
Furthermore, you’ll be able to capitalize on customers that prefer using mobile apps compared to desktops. Eventually, if you are having strong success with your mobile app, then competitors will somewhat copy your mobile app. But you’ll have a first-mover advantage, which means that customers already using your mobile app are unlikely to switch to another one.
Customer Insights
You can get a lot of information about your customers through the app’s infrastructure. This includes the customer’s location if they decide to share it. Most customers will not hesitate to share their location if you offer a geo-targeted service. For example, customers understand that food delivery and taxi services need to know your location.
You can also monitor the number of app logins and how long customers spend on the app. Also, you can check the most popular sections of your app and the ones that are being overlooked.
Using the information about each customer you can improve the relevancy of your offers to increase engagement and conversions. Customers may not view your marketing messages as spam if the offers provide products they actually want to buy.
Increase In Sales
Customers are more likely to buy products from your store with better access. Hence, offering an intuitive app through a smartphone is arguably one of the most accessible ways to shop online. That’s because customers can access the store outdoors, and if they have access to the internet.
Furthermore, the presence of an app on their smartphone means more sales. That’s especially true if customers place the app on the front screen of their smartphone operating system. This will cause them to check the app often to browse the store and check for updates.
Finally, the promotional methods mentioned in this article can be used to drive up sales through the app. Therefore, the cost of creating, maintaining, and updating the mobile app will pay for itself through higher sales.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, developing a mobile app is a great idea for any business to drive up sales, generate more customers, provide a better experience, and unlock a new marketing channel. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel since you can simply research what competitors are doing and put your twist on the app.
Make the launch of your business app a big event that includes promotions, giveaways and discounts. It will attract a lot of attention and create staying power if the app provides good value compared to competitors.
