In a world of Uber and Netflix, you can say that there is a mobile app out there for every function of life. Whether it is gaming, ride-hailing, streaming, or online shopping, apps are considered to be lifesavers for the masses. This might explain why, as of 2020, over 218 billion apps were downloaded. Let’s see essential reasons why every small business needs a mobile app.
And the mobile app industry is surely a profitable one to step into. After all, by 2023, Statista predicts that the revenue generated by the sector will amass to a whopping 935 billion USD!
If you run a small business, you would greatly benefit from developing a mobile application, and because it can be costly to develop, we suggest that you boost your business plan by drafting it from the best template so you can apply for funding, such as a Kapitus SBA loan. Here are the reasons why you should develop a mobile app.
- (Almost) everyone has a smartphone
According to a study by Bank My Cell, there are 3.8 billion smartphone users in the world! This accounts for nearly half the world’s population. The chances are that the target audience of your small business all have smartphones or have access to one.
Some might even say that the modern consumer is too much dependent on smartphones for daily tasks. Whether it be waking up in the morning via an alarm app, staying in touch with friends via WhatsApp, or playing games, our worlds are consumed by the device.
Therefore, it is imperative for all businesses, big or small, to have a presence like airG scam free apps, offering a seamless experience to their users. This helps them to remain competitive in today’s world.
- A channel for sales growth
Data collected by OuterBox revealed that half of the total online shopping traffic comes from mobile! Seventy-nine percent of US citizens have made purchases via mobile apps.
This illustrates the potential of using a mobile app as one of the mediums for sales growth. Depending on your demographics and niche, the mobile world can prove to be a significant channel for sales growth.
This also holds true in case the app is just one of the many channels for your sales. This is because, among all mediums, apps are generally preferred because they allow for convenient mobile payments, whose popularity is also on the rise – especially during the pandemic.
To further boost sales via mobile apps, small businesses can directly communicate with potential customers via push notifications. You can only encourage purchases via offering discounts. For starters, ride-hailing apps provide free rides to both the old user and the new adopter if a code of the former is used by the latter.
- Better brand recognition
In a world full of brands, standing out from the crowd is anything but easy. After all, within every niche, at least a dozen players are selling similar products. It is quite hard to differentiate on the basis of technical specifications and benefits.
This is where branding can come in handy. Here too, developing a logo and tagline won’t cut the deal. This is because there is just too much clutter out there! Developing a well-designed and well-branded mobile app can help boost brand awareness and recognition of your brand.
Your small business should treat the app like a dynamic billboard. Paint the blank canvas in a way that best represents your brand as a whole. You can choose to make it informative, stylish, or functional. How will a mobile app make your brand more recognizable? Well, the more a user interacts with an app of a company, the more likely they will purchase its products or services.
Your app doesn’t necessarily have to be your product or the medium with which you deliver it. It can also complement your overall brand message and image.
For instance, Nike, while being a footwear and apparel chain, has a training club app that reflects its brand positioning of making an athlete out of everyone.
- Access to analytics
Big data has changed the world and how businesses operate. Gone are the days when managers had to rely on their experience and gut feeling to make decisions.
Now, whether it be sales forecast, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, or remarketing, every customer-focused strategy of a company can be perfected through the use of data and analytics. In fact, according to Impact, organizations that leverage data are 23 times more likely to acquire customers and six times more likely to retain them.
How can an app help with data analytics? Well, all technology-based solutions make it easy for businesses to collect information about their customers. For starters, you can make use of the email users sign in for the purpose of email marketing.
Additionally, for small businesses, knowing the health and growth of the company is immensely important to ensure that they are on the right track. Here too, analytics like user engagement, downloads, and uninstalling rates can help companies in identifying how to best retain customers.
- Better user experience
This benefit stems from the previous point. Since a mobile app collects and reports all information on every user of your app, you can easily gauge every user’s interest, active time, location, etc., from your mobile app data.
You can then use this wealth of information to correctly target your audience. Remember, personalized offers and loyalty programs are likely to inculcate brand loyalty among users.
In fact, Forbes reports that a staggering 50 percent of app users don’t mind sharing information about their likes and dislikes pertaining to products if it means that they will get a personalized discount on the platform!
For instance, let’s say you develop a food delivery app. By using the previous order history of your customer, you can offer a promo code for their favorite restaurant or food item. This step is more likely to be appreciated than a generalized discount of different restaurants.
- Improved customer engagement
Every business model requires an efficient way via which customers can reach out to the brand. While phone and website chatbots might be the first solution you think of for this purpose, these are not the only mediums. If you use your mobile app smartly, it can act as a means to engage with your customers.
You can do so by adding a help desk or messaging feature within your mobile app. There is an app that perfectly embodies this idea. OpenTable’s business model revolves around allowing people to book a table in a restaurant via the app, rather than having to call for doing so.
Since many prefer communicating via text compared to a phone, this simple mobile app has been able to use prevalent consumer behavior to create a niche for itself!
Ending Remarks
When you think about the sheer number of apps around us and the amount of time most people spend interacting with apps, running a business without having a mobile app will automatically seem like a grave error. And a grave error it is!
While we have mentioned six of the top reasons why your small business will do better when complemented with a mobile app, know that there are various other benefits of hopping onto the bandwagon.
Other advantages include improved brand loyalty, access to a direct marketing channel, the ability to expand the customer base, etc.
Realize them all by developing an app for your small business. Think of how an app can best be aligned with your brand’s vision while offering value to users that they cannot find anywhere else. Get a quality app developer to create a stunning app for you and watch as your sales figures rise!
