If you have a business and are thinking about developing the app for it, but somehow, you’re still not 100% sure if you really need it. To cut down your misery, we’ll give you a short answer and just say – you do need it. Moving your business to mobile devices gives it immense growth potential. It’s enough to tell you that more than 70% of shopping is now done via mobile phones. 2024 is a specific year, because of the pandemic that influences the change of habits in consumers. Giving the circumstances, consumers are increasingly purchasing online. Other activities, aside from shopping, like e-banking, managing bills, and other obligations are now mostly done via apps. So, all these new situations can be turned to the advantage of your own business.
Many experts are seeing the future of businesses in the mobile application sector because the mobile market is vast. It’s clear how much potential lies in these devices, however, one should always approach these things carefully. That’s why the smartest thing to do if you don’t have a clear vision of what you wish to achieve with an app is to get more guidance from the professionals in the area.
As for the benefits your business will have from developing an app, here’s a fresh 2024 guide.
1. Keeping your customers
Getting someone to try out your product or service might not require so much effort, as it does to keep your customers loyal to your business. When deciding on what’s the best retention strategy, you can always start with yourself. When a friend suggests something, you always ask is it available online? If it’s not, the chances that you will remain interested in trying the product are slim. You are most likely to find a substitute for it, on a mobile app. As silly as it may seem to some, but the app is a crucial factor that influences the increase of clients, sales, and therefore income. All of the mentioned is important, however, the reason behind the decision on creating the app should primarily be the impact it can have on improving the relationship between you as a business and your customers. Loyalty is automatically increased, as they decide more and more to buy from you.
Customers have less and less time for searching, so if a product is not a finger tap away, they’ll reconsider their choices.
2. Loyalty programs create loyal customers
As a result of keeping your old customers, they’ll expect something else from your business, and apps are a perfect platform for creating loyalty programs to keep them satisfied. Some successful companies have built up a loyalty program based on collecting points. For each purchase a customer makes, a certain number of points are awarded. Upon collecting a number of points the customer gets either a discount or a free product.
Small things like this make a huge difference in customers’ behavior. For example, if you’re running a Caffe, and after collecting enough points by regularly consuming at your venue, a customer gets a free coffee, chances that they will visit again are much higher. Even though it’s just a cup of coffee, the fact that it’s free and that you’ve recognized and appreciated his loyalty, makes a customer choose your business over others, every time. Customers like free goodies, and that’s a fact.
3. Improved accessibility
Websites still are a must-have for businesses, and this will not change, no matter what is the primary area of work. However, apps have shown to be much easier for wider public usage. How? Well, not everyone uses a laptop, tablet, or a computer daily, however, mobile phones are something everyone carries around literally every day. They simply became a necessity. If you consider 7.5 billion people inhabiting the Earth, there are at least 5.2 billion who own a mobile device. That means, regardless of the location, you can access potential customers just by developing a mobile app. 4.6 out of that 5.2 billion have access to the internet…
Since not all people use laptops, but almost all use mobile phones, that means that apps provide more interaction than websites. Why? Simply because apps are made for these devices. It is much more complicated to navigate through the website on a phone browser than it is on an app. Through the app, browsing through the product categories is a lot easier, and the purchase is way simpler. Aside from that, the purchase can be made regardless of the customer’s location. We carry our mobile phone wherever we are, so in case something comes to your mind while in a subway, you just click the app and purchase it. There is no more time and space barrier.
4. Collecting valuable data
Improvement can hardly be expected without doing some analytics and research. The value of online presence regarding this matter is priceless. Apps can tell you more about the habits of your customers than any other tool. They keep records on how many people are using your business app, what do they browse for most, if they made a purchase what product did they choose, how much time did they spend browsing and purchasing, and so on. All of this helps you develop more personalized content for a particular customer. You must have noticed how social media platforms can “read your mind”. According to what you have been clicking most, they suggest content you’ll be interested in. It is exactly what we mean when we say personalized content. You’ll be able to suggest products, announce discounts for their favorite ones, as well as decide which product should be pushed more to the market. All the collected data is a great baseline for creating future promotional strategies.
As we have shown in this article, mobile apps can improve business in more than one aspect. We have presented four main benefits, but one should keep in mind there are a lot more benefits and a lot more reasons to introduce apps in your business.
