How Your Business Can Benefit From Its Own Mobile App

Part Three of features, advantages and benefits

Following on from the Features and Advantages, we now look into the Benefits that arise as a result of having your own personalised Mobile App.

1. Be Visible to Customers at All Times

Statistics show that Britons spend more time using technology devices than they do sleeping. Communications regulator Ofcom said UK adults spend an average of 8 hours and 41 minutes a day on media devices, compared with the average night’s sleep of eight hours and 21 minutes.

2. Create a Direct Marketing Channel

Apps serve many functions: they can provide a general info, prices, booking forms, search features, user accounts, messengers, news feeds and much more. One of the biggest benefits of having a mobile app is that all the information you’d like to provide to your customers – including special sales and promotions – is right at their fingertips.

3. Provide Value to Your Customers

Talking about on-hand information, how about digitalising that loyalty program you have in place? Instead of sticking to the old point-collection card, make it possible for your customers to collect their rewards via your mobile app. The result? More downloads and more return customers.

4. Build Brand and Recognition

A mobile app for your business can greatly contribute to your brand awareness. A mobile app is like a blank billboard sign. You can do what you want with it; you can make it stylish, hip, functional, shocking or informative. But what you really want to do is create an app that has features your customers will love, while at the same time is well branded and beautifully designed.

The more often you can get customers involved with your app, the sooner they will be inclined to buy your product and/or service. In advertising this is called the “effective frequency”: as a rule of thumb, hearing and/or seeing your brand approximately 20 times is what will get you truly noticed.

5. Improve Customer Engagement

No matter whether you are selling flowers or spa services, your customers need a way to reach you. Having a messaging (or help desk) feature within your app can really make a difference in the way you communicate with your customers. Think about it: OpenTable for example, built its entire business model around this principle. Instead of calling a restaurant to book a table, you can book it with less than five clicks on their platform. Now think about it: How many customers would prefer to communicate with you via text than via phone?

6. Stand Out From the Competition

These days’ mobile apps at the small business level are still rare, and this is where you can take a big leap ahead of your competitors. Be the first in your market to offer a mobile app to your customers. They’ll be astonished by your forward-thinking approach.

7. Cultivate Customer Loyalty

The most important reason why you could consider building your own mobile app is customer loyalty. With all the noise out there – roadside banners, billboards, flashing signs, newspaper ads, flyers, coupons, websites, banners, Facebook ads and email marketing – we slowly lose our impact on customers because of the immense amount of advertising surrounding us all.

8. Increased Revenue

An App can help you generate customers and raise sales as a result of the increased exposure and competitive edge.

Either way you go, a mobile app is going to be a standard component of any business in the future. The choice you make today is going set the foundation for the future of your business. It’s on you to decide whether you’d like to be one of the first.

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