6 advantages for developing a mobile app for your business

Mobile Apps

From social media platforms to news channels, you use apps all day, but have you thought about having your own? Announcing a new app is trendy and it is a good way to appear in the media, but let me tell you six great reasons why every small or medium size business should consider developing a mobile app:

1 – Create Awareness

There are several ways to spread the news about your business practices to the digital world and one of them is creating a business app that brings something unique to the table. Take Starbucks for example, the coffee app provides early-risers with directions to the nearest store, coffee mixing recipes and coupons as reward for being an early-riser. You can also create an app that provides a service to your business which would definitely create some buzz as people talk about it.

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2- Predictive Analysis

The use of apps as a data collection tool cannot be over-emphasized. Having a mobile app or forum for the goods or services you offer provides a medium for knowing the likes and dislikes of your customers. You can then use this information to track the progress of certain products and services with the aim of either manufacturing more products—for popular items—or increasing the awareness campaigns for slow-selling items.

3- Interact With Your Customers

The push notification feature that can be integrated in your business app can serve as a medium of communicating new releases or products to your customer base. The use of notifications gives you ample room to open discussion with your customers, carry out market surveys and provide solutions to their grievances when it arises.

4- Reputation Management

A business app serves as a communication forum between customers and also between the business owner and the customers. And it is in our human nature to first seek redress from the person that hurts us, before broadcasting our hurt to the entire world. A mobile app allows you to read reviews of your products and services, be aware of customer issues and address them amicably before the disappointed customer runs over to Yelp to post a horrifying review.

5- Target Better

You will be able to track metrics such as ‘number of views’ which provides an insight for you and grabs readers’ attention. This insight then allows you to breakdown what users look at and you can feed different content or projects to different demographic groups.

6- Attract a Younger Generation of Consumers

Don’t forget that today kids are learning App Development in school!

The art of customer relationship management which has been perfected by almost every Fortune 500 company, plays a huge role in the success of these large corporations and most of them— such as IKEA or Starbucks—integrate the use of mobile apps to drive customer satisfaction.

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If these successful business organisations need the extra support of a mobile app to engage their customers, then why shouldn’t your growing business have one too?

Anna Danés
Anna worked in the web sector before founding Ricaris have a nice day (www.ricaris.com) in 2009, a successful services company providing distributed solutions for companies in the web sector. Managing Virtual Teams (www.managing-virtual-teams.com) is a new consulting product bringing together all of the experience across the distributed teams of Ricaris, and putting it into bite-sized courses, virtual team activities, and consulting packages. Follow Anna @virtualteams