“Hey Siri” Does My Business Need an App?

This morning Apple highlighted my Sunday morning by informing me that my screen usage last week was up 26%. For a guy who lives in front of a computer and iPad for work, a 26% increase is not easy to do. I’m not quite sure the purpose of Apple’s love note. You think about it; it is like a donut maker saying, “do you know you have eaten 12 so far today.” As he happily sells you another. While Apple’s intentions are unclear, it did get me thinking about the apps on my phone. As a business owner, have you ever looked at your phone and thought, “does my business need a mobile App?”

The fact is, building a mobile app for your business is not an easy proposition. If you are going to do it, you need to understand the importance of having a mobile App for business or the advantages of having one within your organization. In the coming paragraphs, I’ll share my thoughts and lay out the case for why a business needs an App.

Okay, Okay, Do We Need an App?

By 2019, over a third of the human population on Earth had a mobile smart device such as an Android phone, iPhone, or iPad. Buildfire recently reported that Mobile apps are expected to generate $189 billion in revenue in 2020. Today there are 2.8 million apps available for download in the Google Play Store. 21% of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day, and 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day.

So yes, the numbers indicate that your business does need a mobile app. But beyond the numbers, developing a mobile App for business can offer your company valuable marketing opportunities. In the age of COVID-19/Social Distancing, it can help you reach your target audience in ways you have never thought of before, putting you well ahead of your competition.

Key Selling Points To Building a Mobile App

1. Direct Communication and Engagement with Clients and Customers

One reason why your business needs an App is to improve direct communication with clients and customers. Society has shifted to a digital-first social distant mentality in the last eight months. Just count the number of Amazon trucks going up and down your street daily. With access to a wealth of information at just a touch of a button, business mobile application development has opened the door to clear and direct communication between customers and businesses. The information gathered from customers using these Apps is invaluable for any business, with shopping behavior and buyer personas being readily available to help enhance marketing strategies.

2. Customer Feedback and Connection

Today’s customers are demanding. They want to be heard through convenient forms of communication on their schedule. They reach out, wanting to know the answers to questions, like “where the heck is my order?” To which if it is not on the way, they want to reach out and complain. Mobile App design and development make both these processes much easier for everyone. The idea is that the quicker a customer can communicate their concerns and receive a response, the less likely they will leave that bad Google or Yelp review.

3. Keeping it Brand Compliant

A mobile app is an extension of your brand. Therefore, it is a chance for you to remain faithful to branding while being able to explore how it can be presented in a completely different way. The phone’s digital and mobile nature can also be thought of as a new advertising platform for the business that can say whatever you want it to for your brand, thus increasing awareness. Developing a mobile App for business allows you to reach potential a new demographic of customers that find using Apps more preferable than a web browser.

4. Always Be Closing

Custom App development also allows notifications and information to be sent to customers in an instant. If this information is useful and relevant to them, for example, containing information regarding exclusive deals and offers, it can help you make loyal customers who value using the App.

5. Make Them Love You Even More

Suppose your company has a loyalty program or is considering introducing one as a way of encouraging sales. In that case, an on-the-go digital loyalty scheme via a mobile app is an effective method for building and creating a community of customers. Once customers are rewarded for their spending, they are much more likely to come back. A mobile app makes it a much more comfortable and quicker process for them to do just that.

6. Go To The Head Of The Line

One of the essential benefits of mobile apps for business use is that it will make you truly stand out from the competition. Apps are very relevant in modern technology today and gaining traction and steam every minute. As Matt Damon eloquently opines in the movie Rounders, “If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half-hour at the table, you are the sucker.” While app adoption levels are healthy, it hasn’t quite taken off across the entire board yet, allowing you to get the edge over any competition.

In my next entry, I will dive deeper into the competition angle and explore some cool new technologies that will give you a lot to think about. For now, I leave you with one question. If cost wasn’t a factor, would there be any reason why your business shouldn’t have an app?