Importance of Mobile App for your business

These days you’ll notice that many small businesses you interact with in your everyday life have their own dedicated mobile app — be it the corner coffee shop or the beauty spa downtown. These companies are ahead of the game when it comes to taking their marketing to the next level.

In case you are still not sure why anyone would want to build their own mobile platform, here are benefits of going down this path sooner rather than later.

Read: Developing a Mobile App for your Business

1. Customer engagement

The best thing about the mobile channel is that it gives companies the potential to engage with their customers in real-time, by location and complete with profile information. If done right, you can turn those engaged customers into revenue generating ones.

Take for instance Sofitel Hotel Bali. The application offers over an ease booking platform that drive an customer actions. The app also includes social sharing capabilities, allowing consumers to share recipes with friends on social networks.

2. Customer service and support

Making it simpler and more efficient for your customers to get in touch with your company and offering them tools to make their life easier while using your products or services can be a great reason to develop a mobile app. Digital Federal Credit Union, based in Marlborough, Mass., has launched an app called Mobile PC Deposit that allows members to deposit a check using the iPhone and Android-based smartphones, among other platforms. This makes customers’ lives easier and is a value-add to their existing service.

3. Promotion

One of the most popular means to monetize is offering coupons. And mobile adds an interesting layer of location-based push notifications to the coupon economy. Imagine being the owner of an apparel store in downtown New York with thousands of people walking within a one mile radius of your outlet. If they were to get notified on their mobile phones with a coupon from your store when walking by, you’d increase the likelihood of having them visit by providing a timely reason.

4. Increase Sales

If you sell your products or services online, a mobile app may be an option worth considering. This gives your customers the mobility to do the same things they would traditionally have done sitting at their desks, but on their phones. In fact, according to Smart Insights’ article, 80% product/service searches are made on mobile devices.

There are many examples for this in which online retailers have extended their offerings to customers who want to shop on-the-go using their mobile phones. If you’re a service company, you too can capture a larger share of the market, as, for example, Dropbox did. Think of creative ways to capture your existing or potential customers’ attention, enhance your offerings, entice people to buy and make life easier for your customer and you’ll reap the results.