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Did you know consumers downloaded a total of 204 billion apps in 2019? What about the fact that Apple’s App Store sees 500 million visits on a weekly basis?
Even Google’s Play Store sees a solid stream of consumer attention with over 250 million app downloads per day!
Developing a mobile app is one of the most prominent ways a business can take their brand to the next level in 2020. They provide a wide range of benefits to both the company and the users supporting that company, yet many business owners will hesitate to make this a reality.
If this sounds like you, we’re here to convince you that hesitating will only allow other brands to make the move first. Not only will this haunt your ability to draw exposure once the app is released, but it will hinder all the other amazing benefits that come with it.
To give you a better idea of all the ways a mobile app can strengthen your brand, we’re going to break it down into two categories — how your users will benefit and how your company will benefit.
Building a Mobile App for the Users
As you can see from the statistics listed above, users absolutely love mobile apps and are constantly looking for new ones every single day. They spend over 3 hours per day on their mobile device, which includes 2.3 hours of time devoted to apps.
While a majority of this time is spent by 18-40-year-olds, even Americans aged 65+ spend over 1.5 hours per day using a mobile app.
If you can find a way to entice these users with a quality app, they will definitely return the favor in a variety of ways.
Mobile apps increase customer loyalty and retention.
Your brand is nothing without customers and followers, but attracting those people is only half the battle. Most companies will struggle to keep those customers around long enough to make a profit off them.
With a mobile app, you can easily retain customers for the long-term. Once they download the app, there’s a good chance they keep it on their mobile device. As long as you continue to provide great service, they’ll have no reason to uninstall it!
Mobile apps make it easier for users to access and connect with your brand.
One of the biggest strengths a mobile app has over other strategies is convenience. In today’s digital world, that’s all consumers care about. With a mobile app, users are only one click away from having access to all your information.
You’d be surprised at how much this matters to the consumer. Having to open a web browser on their phone, google your business, and find the website is just too long of a process for consumers today.
Mobile apps provide an exceptional user experience and promote customer engagement.
UI/UX design is becoming more and more important to a business’s online presence. Mobile apps solve both sides of the equation — user interface and user experience.
High-quality visuals, sleek layouts, and modern presentation will give your brand a quality user interface. At the same time, users will gain quality experience with easy navigation and the ability to view information offline.
Building a Mobile App for the Company
Mobile apps do much more than giving customers and followers everything they need to support a brand for the long-term. They will provide a wide range of benefits to the company, as well.
Knowing how to create a mobile app that both sides will benefit from is an essential part of the development process and a large reason why many apps fail to meet initial expectations.
Let’s take a closer look at how a mobile app can benefit your company and employees.
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Mobile apps allow you to provide quick and personalized customer service and support.
There is a multitude of ways to provide users with quality customer service anytime and anywhere. First, you’ll want to make sure your app has an easy-to-read FAQ section — or some kind of “resources” section — to provide quick and easy answers to common questions.
In addition to that, you’ll want to integrate the mobile app with messaging services. This will allow users to reach out if they have further questions. With technology today, you can even set up an accurate chatbot that does a majority of the work for you (if you don’t have a dedicated support team).
Mobile apps give you access to valuable data, analytics, and insights.
When users download and utilize your app, you can easily track a wide range of data, analytics, and insights. Understanding your customer’s typical behavior and journey when using the app will help you provide the right updates and maintenance.
This insight can also be utilized elsewhere in your marketing and promotional efforts. You’ll see improved conversions, a more defined target audience, and when users are most active — allowing you to send out notifications during peak times.
Mobile apps increase employee productivity and engagement.
If you want to really take your mobile app to the next level, you can optimize your mobile app to be utilized by your employees and staff. Some companies will even create a mobile app exclusively for in-house use.
This can help you streamline certain operations, increase productivity, make it easier for employees (especially remote employees) to engage with their daily tasks, and much more.
Mobile apps give you additional marketing and revenue channel.
The moment you release a mobile app on the app store, your brand can be seen by millions of people with little-to-no effort. In addition to that, you’ll have the ability to promote your products and services inside the app.
The ability to send out notifications can also help you direct users to certain products, services, or pages. Let’s not forget about monetization, which allows you to bank off your app with in-app purchases, advertising, and much more.
Getting the Most Out of Your Mobile App
Now that you have a better idea of how a mobile app can strengthen your brand, we want to showcase three important features that will help you obtain this — push notifications, in-app payments, and social media integration.
- Push Notifications – When you want to drive traffic and alert users of something happening with your brand (discount, limited time offer, etc.), a push notification will act as a solid reminder. They can also be used to keep users connected to the app.
- In-App Payments – Whether you decide to make your app available for purchase or offer add-ons inside the app, you can make some serious dough with a mobile app. It’s an easy process for the user and easy money for you!
- Social Media Integration – Much like your website acts as a hub for your business, a mobile app will act as an extension of your website. It will have the ability to direct users to your social media, share directly to their social media account, and even direct them to your website for more information.
With these three features, you can receive a majority of the benefits discussed above. Of course, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to add unique features and customize the app to meet your users’ needs.
At the end of the day, wanting to develop a mobile app for your brand is one of the best decisions you can make in 2020 — especially before one of your competitors beats you to it. A mobile app is a huge step for your company and should be handled with the utmost care.
If you need help navigating through the mobile app development process or need a team that’s ready to work with you, contact us today!
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Photo by Ksyu Deniska on Shutterstock