These days even the smallest local businesses are presented online. It’s understandable because the Internet offers virtually endless opportunities for advertising. Though websites are almost essential for all kinds of modern entrepreneurs, mobile apps offer a much more advanced level of benefits for both business owners and their clients. Let’s review how mobile applications can open new horizons for businesses in the digital age.
14 Reasons Why Businesses Need Mobile Apps
Let’s face it: people have become addicted to smartphones. There is no other type of portable device that has achieved similar popularity. That’s why many companies use the opportunity to reach potential and existing customers by creating mobile applications. The advantages described below will help you realize the immense importance of a mobile app for business and possibly persuade you to invest in developing an application for your enterprise.
Since the list of positive effects is rather big, it has to be divided for better understanding. While all the listed features will ultimately benefit a company, they are aimed at two groups: business managers and customers.
Mobile App Benefits for Business Management
Companies that have invested in their custom mobile applications may fully employ a number of highly useful perks. These benefits help in gaining a competitive advantage in the market by making the business more productive and flexible. In competitive markets, your company needs to seize every opportunity to be ahead of your rivals. A high-quality mobile app will provide a range of such opportunities.
- Reaching out to larger audiences. This benefit comes from the fact that people spend most of their days with smartphones in their hands. It means that people would have access to your services or goods virtually anywhere. More importantly, customers would easily make an order using a mobile app whenever they are in the mood or feel the right impulse. If your business has a mobile app, in some cases you don’t even have to open “offline” offices to cover new areas. Generally, it is easier and more cost-effective to reach a partnership with a trustworthy delivery company to expand your business to new territories. Larger coverage leads to increased sales and bigger profits.
- Optimized sales. The use of a mobile app makes it easier for your sales managers or consultants to reach customers and confirm their orders, set delivery dates, or provide useful information. For example, we have developed app for Harley-Davidson that helps turn exhibition visitors into customers. It is also an efficient way to deliver information about new goods in stock, new features of the app added in the latest update, and so on. Generally, such mobile applications also provide search functionality that allows customers to find required items without communicating with shop consultants.
- Better statistics gathering. Mobile operating systems offer a lot of ways to collect information related to the interaction between the user and your software. Personal data is useful to learn customers’ preferences, predict their future needs and suggest an optimal way of delivery. For example, if a person buys a baby crib, your app may suggest other wares for toddlers during the same or the next interaction with this client. Depersonalized data is invaluable for business analysis in order to build and alter management plans, marketing strategies, and so on.
- Easier promotion. Your company can announce new merchandise, services, discounts, and other offers much more effectively using the potential provided in every smartphone. Your software can use push notifications to inform users in a less intrusive way than, for example, pop-ups on a website. We have implemented similar functionality in our custom solution for a major clothing retail chain. Another mobile app business opportunity is the ability to promote your services or engage customers via in-app suggestions powered by analytics algorithms.
- 24/7 availability. Unlike offline shops or offices with specified working hours, mobile apps can be accessed at any time. This means that your company’s services or goods are available for browsing and ordering. This way, you will not lose clients when your offline outlets are closed. Even when your staff is not at work, the application can use a specially trained chatbot to communicate with customers and relay information to respective departments.
- Better image. A company-branded mobile app is a certain milestone in business development. If a startup releases a mobile software product, it declares that it has both funds and tenacity to expand its presence on the market. Building and maintaining a mobile application requires a well-planned budget and a thorough business strategy. That’s why it strengthens your reputation and makes your position among rivals more formidable.
- Enhanced security. Websites are notoriously vulnerable to hacking or DDoS attacks. Mobile applications are additionally verified by Google and Apple before appearing in their respective app stores. This way, your business operations and interactions with customers are better protected from malicious activities of botnets, viruses, or other digital threats. Additionally, smartphones have built-in means of security, such as face recognition, fingerprint authentication, etc. Those features will make customers feel more secure when using your mobile application, so they will potentially spend more time in it and make more orders.
Benefits of Mobile Apps for Customers
Mobile software will also help your company by offering numerous positive perks to your clients. This will lead to better customer satisfaction and increase their loyalty and trust in your brand. Your clients will love a convenient application that works fast and has a user-friendly interface. Their positive impression of the app will transfer to your brand’s image in general. Simply put, a good mobile application will make users like your company more.
- Time saving. A mobile app will ensure easy and fast access to goods, services, and customer support from a smartphone or a tablet. For instance, instead of spending hours browsing shelves in warehouses, users can go through your entire assortment in mere minutes. Similarly, if you are in a car rental business, clients can easily use an application to check the whole selection of vehicles available to them.
- Convenience and new experience. Mobile applications are designed to use smartphone hardware to provide a unique customer experience. For example, with the help of a camera and augmented reality technologies users may be able to try on clothes virtually. Regardless of the industry, it is hard to overestimate the potential perks of digital technologies provided by the combination of modern hardware and mobile apps in business.
- Delivery monitoring. Using their smartphones, customers can check the status of their orders as they are being processed and delivered. This gives users the feeling of control and assurance that they would get what they want and when they expect. An application can schedule a push notification to appear on the device screen on the delivery day.
- Easy access to loyalty programs. After logging in to a mobile app, eligible customers can see and utilize the perks for regular clients. Those perks include rewards, bonuses, discounts, and other tactics to build long-term clientele. For example, your app may recalculate the prices automatically and apply the discount earned by a particular client who uses the mobile device.
- Personalization. To increase customer engagement by providing personalized deals and offers, the application may utilize data analysis and targeting algorithms. This will make users believe that your company cares about their needs and may even predict them to a certain degree. The research conducted by Google showed that 58% of mobile users prefer when a company’s app “remembers” them. The software can also have several color schemes to appeal to the personal preferences of each particular user.
- Offline interaction minimization. Many people dislike offline shopping because they associate it with long queues, crowded and noisy environments, as well as tedious waiting for their spouses. A mobile application can become a blessing to introverts or anyone who is not overly fond of human interactions. This advantage turned out to be extremely important during the COVID pandemic. The use of mobile apps allowed many businesses to continue their work while minimizing personal contact.
- Ability to give and receive feedback. Users of a business mobile app may view comments and responses from other clients. The software may automatically mark the reactions from verified clients and hide messages from unconfirmed users. This way, both positive and negative feedback can only be provided by real customers. This measure will prevent spam attacks where fake users attempt to leave numerous negative comments regarding your services or goods.
Conclusion
As you can see, mobile app benefits for business are numerous and indisputable. They can create an appealing user experience, increase brand loyalty, and make your company more recognizable and trustworthy, in addition to many other advantages. With the help of a mobile application, your business will be able to reach more customers and answer their needs with greater accuracy and care.
However, those positive effects involve certain expenditures and provisions. To make an informed decision, you also need to know how mobile applications can affect the business process in a negative way. Poor-quality mobile apps may discourage your customers from using them. For instance, customers won’t be able to buy from you if your mobile app doesn’t allow them to add items to their cart. And it is only one example from many when something may go wrong.
That is why you need a highly qualified team to develop, test, release, and support your mobile software. Intellectsoft has 15+ years of experience in this field and provides custom solutions for businesses in many industries, like eCommerce, Fintech, Real Estate, Healthcare, and others. Our company offers a wide range of mobile app development services: from initial consulting and prototyping to maintenance and support.
If you want to fully enjoy the business benefits of a custom-made mobile application, contact us. Intellectsoft will deliver you an optimal software solution tailored specifically to your needs.
