In our previous post, we talked about a few questions to ask yourself before building a mobile app for your business. A mobile app takes lots of planning and marketing before, during and after. Now that you’ve committed to a mobile app and you still think it’s a good idea, I’d like to discuss some ways a mobile app can help your business.
[Sidebar: If you are still a bit unsure about what a mobile app is, read this post about the difference between mobile apps and mobile websites.]
A new platform
Mobile apps are written in an entirely different language than websites, and released on their specific platforms. Google Play sells android apps. The App Store sells iPhone apps. This is an independent platform for marketing your business that unless you have a mobile app, you can’t get on.
Along those same lines, you can now advertise in the mobile market. People spend an average of 2 hours and 7 minutes on their smartphones, in apps, a day. 2 HOURS. Wouldn’t it be awesome if some of that time was spent on your business? With a mobile app, you can now capture some of that time.
But how do you capture that time?
Solve a problem or make it easier to interact with you
Pre-order your takeout. Reserve a table. Check in for your flight. All of these are ways that mobile apps make your life easier and allow customers to interact with the business in question digitally. They ease the transaction between client and business. What are some speed bumps to communicating with your clients? In what areas are clients distracted or lost along the way? Are you constantly answering the phone with the same question over and over? Perhaps a mobile app can help ease that transition and provide info to your clients at a quicker and more efficient rate.
What about building customer loyalty by offering deals on your mobile app only? Look up account info on the mobile app. These are just a few ways to keep people coming back to your mobile app, and not going to your competition.
Advertise directly to your client base
We all know it takes marketing to get downloads of your app. But once you have, that benefit is immeasurable. Now you have direct communication with your client base. You are literally at their fingertips. Using push notifications (you know those little message boxes telling you when you have a text message, missed call or reminder? Yes those), you can communicate with your users about upcoming sales, new products or features. The possibilities are endless. The bottom line is that you have a direct line to your clients, and with nearly 3 hours a day spent on their smartphones, you know they are receiving your messages!
