Does your business really need a mobile application?
The answer to such a question is increasingly leaning towards “yes” as companies and businesses desire to influence their customers via digital route.
With the advent of smart phones, it will be a big mistake to overlook the opportunity that is mobile applications. Technology driven business opportunities have traversed to a point that you can no longer overlook the importance of mobile applications in fueling your business growth.
There are two types of choices available to us when it comes to going ‘mobile friendly’, namely:
- Native Mobile applications
- Mobile responsive web
Native mobile applications have many advantages over the mobile responsive web. These advantages include direct notifications, better performance due to native installation and assisting the user in a direct way via access to hardware features such as sensors and camera. However, a large business might require maybe a simple mobile responsive web solution. The demand as well as the nature of the business are the crucial factors in deciding what you should choose. Needless to say here, the fight isn’t about which one to choose from rather ‘how’ to effectively enhance your digital presence and thus fuel more business demand. Mobile applications have the potential to answer this ‘how’ perfectly.
Our main focus is on whether business should go for mobile or not? Let’s discuss its benefits:
- Visibility: As we have discussed, increasing number of users are making a switch to smartphones as these are becoming a standard everywhere. Stats show that by the end of the year 2017, we would have approximately 730 million mobile phone users of which 340 million would be smartphone users. Stats show that an average mobile user spends more than 2-3 hours every day on mobile devices. So developing your business app and investing in some digital marketing efforts can increase your visibility. Digital ads can also contribute to getting newer clients. Science of marketing and advertisement clearly suggests that our mind is a sponge and absorbs all information transmitted to it via images, consciously or sub-consciously. That’s exactly where slotting your mobile app would work.
- In your clients’ pocket: Yes, I’m talking about direct marketing. This can reap tremendous benefit and makes a great case for having a mobile app. A business can push/send offers and promotions through notifications. They can easily remind their customers about their services, products and new offerings on the go while keeping a track of their grievances and other requests.
- Get recognition: In the smartphone culture, aggregating the number of downloads is important. The nature of numbers also works for the benefit of your business as the app is the taste of things to come thus helping the user to make a better choice about your product or business.
- Use of chatbots: Through customer engagement platforms like chatbots, messengers, service desk chats, businesses can directly communicate with their client. This helps your business by allowing your customer to directly reach out to you. Mobile apps with in-built support feature is a decisive factor in better customer support and satisfaction.
- A quick start for small business: If the business model of your small business allows, then seizing the mobile app technology is a boon. Developing mobile apps has become cheaper while the standards are improving every day.
- Service App for existing customers: By launching service app of your products/services, the after sales service network will be on the fingertips of your clients. This is indeed the most delicious proposition for any customer especially in India. Such a system can build up brand loyalty while fueling word of mouth publicity too e.g. you are an air conditioner manufacturer. You also provide a mobile app for servicing of the air conditioners. A simple workflow of features included in your mobile app would include: Booking appointment for AC servicing, sending regular reminders for AC servicing, sending them new product details and new offers.
I am quite sure that I was able to convince you about the numerous benefits of having your own business mobile app. A competitive and efficient mobile app development team is all your business needs, in order to enhance its digital footprint. So, start developing your mobile app and set the base for the future of your business.
