Just how important is the smartphone to an average American consumer? So important, TechCrunch reports, that American smartphone users spend as much as five as hours a day on their devices. With regard to what occupies them, the overwhelming answer is mobile apps; the same survey by TechCrunch notes that 92% of the time people spent on their smartphones was dedicated to apps, while only 8% was allotted to browsing via web browsers.
This offers a glimpse into why apps rule the digital world—and, increasingly, the world of entrepreneurs and enterprises. A mobile app can be a formidable means to amplify the company’s own branding, grow a customer base, or increase revenues. As such, web application designers are currently in high demand, and businesses constantly embark on the search for the right professional mobile app designing agency to spearhead their app design.
But a mobile app can be a big investment, and if you’re deciding whether or not to launch one for your business, there are some things you need to consider very carefully first. App development can be costly, and entrepreneurs run the risk of spending their money on an app without having a clear idea of what purpose it should serve. By the time they realize their mistake, the app may have already drained a huge chunk of their budget, proven redundant and cannibalized by a similar service offered by the business, or left to obscurity after being downloaded and used once by a few customers.
If you want to avoid this scenario, then you should start brainstorming about the bigger picture you want your mobile app to operate in. To help you out on that front, here’s a list of factors that will help you determine whether investing in a mobile app is a good decision at this time.
1. Is a mobile app the only solution to make your business more mobile-friendly?
Your partner digital design agency might be able to recommend something different in order to improve your prospects. For instance, they may tell you to fix your website design to be more mobile-friendly instead. If you’re in a similar position, then you might want to opt for a site revamp instead of mobile app design, which might prove redundant and costly.
2. But say you’re sold on an app
What added value would the app be able to provide that a website won’t?Some of these answers are already obvious. A mobile app is a direct and immediate channel to your business; your brand will be at the top of mind when your customer sees the icon of your logo on your screen. Moreover, a mobile app can employ Push notifications to send constant reminders, thus increasing the chances of sales or conversions. Go beyond these functions, however, and try to find a unique value proposition for the app itself.
3. Does it answer a recurring need that your customers have?
The app should not be there just for posterity, or created in advance without a problem in mind. Hash it out with your design partner and name the gaps in your services that you want the app to address—whether it be enhanced customer service, a better system for mobile purchases, general info dissemination for your business, or others.
4. Will it make customer engagement even easier than on your site?
Think in terms of how the app can make your customers’ lives easier, because that is what will motivate them to engage with your business more often. For example, you can market the app as an easy platform to attain and manage loyalty points. You can also configure the app to automate customer details so that purchases can be completed in a flash, and at an even quicker rate that on your website.
5. Do your direct competitors also have their own apps?
Is it working out for them?Perhaps the best way to judge how a mobile app will contribute to your business is to observe an immediate example—and by this, we mean your competitors with their own apps. Do a search of your competition on app marketplaces like the Apple Store and Google Play. Note down how many people have downloaded your competitors’ apps, what ratings they’ve accumulated, and what feedback customers have left for them. This will be a good gauge for how an app works in your industry, and how customers typically use the app features.
If done well and executed at the right time, a mobile app can truly help you rake in the numbers. Hopefully the decision pays off, and you’ll see your app bring added prosperity to your business!
