Featured article by Emily Roberts, Independent Technology Author
It is becoming increasingly common for today’s businesses to make many of their services available online. From providing customers access to FAQs to offering a way to make purchases online, even the smallest shop understands the importance of doing business online. However, most small businesses also understand just how beneficial mobile apps are and if you have any doubts whatsoever, here are seven reasons to invest in mobile app development for your company.
1. Capturing Those Mobile Searches
The most recent statistics indicate that Google now processes more than 3.5 billion searches every day in Australia alone. What is more amazing than that is the fact that at least 75% of those searches are from mobile devices. Very few people still browse the internet at home from a desktop anymore, so if you want to capitalise on that mobile market, give them a custom app to download once they arrive at your site!
2. Branding Was Never Made Easier
When working with a mobile app developer, make sure you discuss the fact that you want your custom app to work alongside your efforts in building brand. Not just any standard app will do. You want one that is user-friendly as well as unique within your industry. You want your brand to be a virtual household name. You can take a look at an app developers’ portfolio if you want to see how effective they are at branding. An example can be seen on Appetiser (one of Australia’s leading developers) who have numerous featured projects that you can explore. A portfolio page like theirs is something that you should look out for when choosing an app developer, as the work they’ve done previously will reflect what they could do for you.
3. Customer Service
Most of today’s consumers use travel time to and from work or work breaks to query businesses they deal with. Instead of waiting half an hour in a queue for your customer service reps to answer a phone call, customers can now access things like a chat feature or an FAQ section via your custom mobile app. Consumers want instant answers because we are all living in the fast lane in the digital 21st century.
4. Special Promotions Only Available via Your App
Imagine targeting an exact audience – your customers – with special promotions. Wouldn’t it be much more cost-effective to use a special promotion feature in your mobile app? If you want to increase repeat business, mobile apps are the easiest way for your customers to continue buying and with special promotions only available on that custom app, you can watch your numbers rise by the day. It’s amazing what customers will buy when you make it easy (and cheaper!) for them to do.
5. Giving them the Ability to Make Mobile Payments
Here again, most consumers do a lot of business on the run. Whether looking to pay their utility bills or make those mobile purchases mentioned above, giving them access to mobile payments through your mobile app gives them an incentive to do business with you. Consumers are always looking for apps offering added conveniences, and mobile payments are one of the most desirable conveniences of all.
6. Stay Connected via Custom Mobile Apps
Also mentioned above is the fact that with a mobile app you can utilise a chat feature where customers can have instant access via a chat feature to real people. Today’s consumers demand a more personal relationship with brands they deal with, and if you have any hope of competing in today’s market, it behoves you to keep real agents available to connect with customers. Most websites now offer this feature, but adding it to a mobile app is ingenious, to say the least. (Have you considered making your custom mobile app downloadable from your social media pages? What a way to stay connected on many fronts at the very same time.)
7. Real-Time Data for Analysis
Another thing you may wish to discuss with your mobile app developer is how to create an app that will also provide you with real-time data as users connect to your site via that app. When it comes to business or marketing strategies, having the ability to capture real-time data is paramount. Not only can you better plan production going forward, but you can also analyse where customers are connecting from, and which content they find most relevant to their needs. Not only can you make updates to improve the UX of your mobile app, but you can also use the captured data to amend all your marketing strategies across the board.
Coming Back Full Circle
Getting back to what was said at the very beginning, remember that internet users in Australia alone make more than 3.5 billion search queries a day from Australia on Google; some of the highest concentration around the world. With the right mobile app, your customers can access that information directly from your company’s website because you will have undoubtedly added a search feature into that custom mobile app. Instead of browsing page after page on Google, that consumer knows that your brand has the products they need, so they only need to search via your search feature. If you want to expand your reach and keep your customers happy and loyal, developing a custom mobile app makes perfectly good sense.
