Just a few short years ago, “there’s an app for that” was a confident slogan designed to get people to join the ranks of smartphone owners. Now it’s become a nearly universal truth about the world we live in. Millions of people are equipped with smartphones now, each augmented by a personalized selection of mobile apps designed to handle and streamline as many daily tasks as possible for on-the-go completion.
Since the app has become almost as crucial as a website for businesses, how do you develop an app that not only keeps customers satisfied with what you have to offer, but becomes a selling point for new customers to adopt your brand as the one it uses to scratch that commercial itch nobody else can reach?
The question then becomes, just how far along has the app industry progressed? Is it feasible for a company to spend time and energy into developing one? To ignore its benefits would not be wise, especially in a highly-competitive market.
Why Have an App?
There are many, many apps available. One of them bound to encompass the benefits you want your app to have, so why make an app?
The reasons are many: having an app boosts branding, and having control of the app allows you to make sure that the information that reaches the users is coming straight from the source. It allows you to establish clearer visibility, and stay present in the minds of your customers via the home screens of their phones.
That kind of presence is worth the headaches of development and deployment, alone.
How to Use Apps to Reach Customers
Once your app is in the wild, it might not be easy to find. However, there are ways of getting your customers to opt-in, and download it. Whether it’s a special promotion that offers them discounts, or a feature that they can’t get anywhere else: letting people know about the app in person–or by email–will generate enough interest to start the downloads.
When your app is getting used daily, then you can collect feedback about how it can be better, what more it could use, and if the design and compatibility functional. By collecting user-generated feedback, those who use your app will feel a degree of accountability for how it performs, and will be less likely to abandon it for an alternative. That kind of customer loyalty will also help guide your mobile strategy to make sure it remains useful, and timely in the digital marketplace and in the face of the competition.
Is An App A Necessity?
For smaller businesses, having an app should be at the top of the to-do list when it comes time to to expand your company’s reach. While it may be daunting to introduce a new app into an already overcrowded marketplace, having one for your customers will allow them to interact with your business on both of your terms. By giving them access to the features you think they need at any time they want to use them, an app is as much an extended olive branch as it is a way to conduct business, efficiently.
As the app market continues to grow, it becomes more important every day to explore how one can work for your business.
Shane Russo is an online writer and entrepreneur who is always on the lookout for new marketing strategies for businesses. He also enjoys writing about business communications, globalization and telephony. Today, technology plays a huge role in the success of a business, and he hopes that this article has offered some valuable information to the readers of QRCodePress.com.
