Not only can mobile apps be a source of entertainment, but they can enable you to enhance business operations with internal and consumer facing applications. Internal business apps can boost communication and collaboration among employees while increasing your overall workplace efficiency. Meanwhile, consumer facing applications can amplify your brand and enhance customer engagement which leads to increased revenues. Whether you need to improve business operations, sell your products or services, or differentiate from competitors, the creation of a successful app could be a great start.
So, what are you waiting for? With an increasing number of people using and relying on mobile apps, your business should capitalize on this opportunity. A mobile app may seem like a big investment, but the benefits and rewards can far outweigh the risk.
According to Statista, 178.1 billion mobile apps were downloaded by consumers in 2017, and the number will raise to 258.2 billion app downloads by 2022.
Users are now spending on average, around 5 hours per day on their devices. Mobile apps are an excellent way to educate, inform, and engage users about your products or services.
Although creating a successful app is a complicated endeavor, (especially one that generates a significant ROI) a custom mobile app could push your business to the next level.
The Ultimate Goal of a Mobile App
When you think of the most popular mobile apps, you could probably pinpoint the exact problem these apps aim to solve. Take on-demand ride sharing services or credit score apps for example. Apps like Uber, Lyft, and Credit Karma were created with the goal of solving a user’s problem. Today, users will happily pay for apps that solve a problem for them. Since mobile apps should relieve some sort of customer inconvenience, your main goal of building an app should be to have a platform that provides a solution for potential and current customers.
So, if you feel that you can offer customers a solution that lives on their phone, your gut feeling is probably right!
If your business has these additional goals, objectives, or challenges, it may be the right time to build a mobile app.
You Need to Establish Greater Brand Visibility
You want to grow your business, right? What better way to do it than by positioning yourself top of mind with your audience. The average American spends a lot of time on their mobile device, so it’s pretty clear that mobile is where businesses need to be if they want to get more attention.
By introducing a new way for users to interact with your business, you can increase the visibility of your brand, especially if you create such a great user experience that users think it’s worth sharing with friends. Turn your mobile app into an enjoyable experience, and you’ll turn your users into brand evangelists!
You Have Problems With Your Mobile Website
If a large majority of your target audience is already accessing your company’s website through their mobile device and it’s loaded with problems, there’s underlying issues with how your website translates to a mobile device.
This alone is a sign that it’s time to build a mobile app. There could be a recurring pattern of user problems that could benefit from a better alternative, a mobile app. The introduction of a mobile app can enhance your user experience and handle more complex requests from your customers.
If your website is just an informational, static site where visitors don’t expect to complete a certain task or meet an objective, then you may not need a mobile app. However, if users are visiting your site to fulfill an initiative, a mobile app may simplify the process for them. Meanwhile websites have a number of limitations, with a custom mobile app, you can offer a greater level of functionality.
A website is something users usually exit after using. On the other hand, apps, once downloaded, remain on their device. This allows for your company to send messages to users directly through push notifications. There’s no better way to remind your customers about upcoming promotions and sales than to let them know immediately with personalized messages.
Your Branding Needs To Be Reinforced
Companies that sell products often strive to associate their products with positive experiences while companies that provide services want to create a brand that highlights their business’ capabilities and values.
A mobile app can help strengthen and reinforce your branding. Leverage a strategic user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design to convey what your business stands for. Use a mobile app to increase consumer engagement and create more loyal customers. Give your users the ability to quickly engage and access information. If you’re there when your users need you most, they’ll become loyal to your brand.
Your Competitors Have a Mobile App
How often do you check in on your competitors? They could be introducing new strategies and tactics to help grow their business. Identify what’s working and what isn’t and try to apply these concepts to your own business. Have they introduced a mobile app? Did it get your audience’s attention?
If they’ve already done the dirty work of extensive market research, designing and developing the app, and launching it, you could follow their footsteps and reap similar benefits by tailoring their successful ideas to align with your needs.
Identify the gaps in their mobile app and create a better solution for your users. Conduct stakeholder interviews to truly understand what your customers are looking for and validate your ideas by implementing user testing throughout the software development life cycle. Create a unique mobile app and watch your business climb to the top.
Just because your competitors have a mobile app, doesn’t mean you need one too. Try to understand if it’s driving value for their business. If it is, you should evaluate your current digital landscape and heavily consider a mobile app.
Your Users Want Offline Access
While mobile websites always require network connections, mobile apps can provide offline access. This can be an important feature when your target audience includes users who are heavy travelers. It can also be more attractive to users who are cautious about their monthly data plans.
Maps, blogs, videos, podcasts, and games are all forms of content that can be accessed offline. Even if your entire apps’ functionality can’t operate offline, you can strongly benefit from including features that don’t require an internet connection.
After reading through the signs and analyzing how mobile apps can drive value for a business, you may be inclined to build your own and find a software development partner. If your business has solutions for customers that can be well-served by a mobile app and you resonate with the additional reasons mentioned above, then it’s time to build a mobile app. However, we always recommend conducting your own research to identify if a mobile app is right for you. If you need some guidance, contact us to learn more about how a mobile app aligns with your business goals.
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