How mobile apps can grow your business

Thinking of making a mobile app for your business but aren’t sure if it is worth the investment? As with everything which involves risks and significant investment, it depends. If your business is totally dependent on business to business relationship and doesn’t require much consumer data, having a mobile app probably won’t help your cause. But if it does and your competitors are already starting to invest heavily in building their own apps, you are probably going to lose your competitive edge and cede much of your market share to them much sooner than you think. If done right having your own mobile app will be a significant boon to your business and has the potential to be an important clog in your customer engagement and marketing initiatives. Apps require significant effort and time to create and maintain. If you do not have a dedicated team set up to build and maintain your company’s mobile app, it is extremely important to get the right app development company in India to help you out.

Usage through mobile is on the rise

Today 80% of customers in India are accessing internet exclusively through mobile devices. With almost 300 million people using smartphones today that number is set to grow to 500 million by the end of 2022. This effectively makes India the second largest smartphone market in the world, dwarfing even the population of the United States! Having a mobile strategy for your company can not only help but can become a centrepiece of all your growth efforts. ECommerce services companies have reported having almost twice the conversion rates through mobile and tablet devices than any other medium, with the exception of offline retail services. Having a mobile optimised websites is a bare minimum requirement for any company to stay competitive. In mobile devices, apps account for almost 90% of all mobile time usage. Though this includes time-consuming apps like games, having apps still account for higher and user engagement as compared to users engaging content via mobile web browsers. With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of channels through which you can gain data is going to increase manifold and having your own mobile app will put you in a strong position to tap into it.

Enhanced consumer data and insights

In this age of Big Data, having large and accurate data of your customer base is not only an advantage but a necessity for the survival of your business. It is often said that companies which have the largest data sets have the most likely chance to succeed in this competitive market. Even though data obtained through web browsers are good, it is negligible compared to what you can obtain through mobile apps. Mobile app not only helps in better gauging the consumer behaviour patterns because of the extended time spent but also help in better location tracking, user interests and various other crucial information. This information can be leveraged to gain a leg up on your competition and help you make choices. This data can also help you in providing better services and in your marketing efforts by making it more effective. Without having an app of your own you must often rely on third-party sources for all your data need which can often be unreliable or expensive.

An alternate source of revenue

Mobile apps have such an advantage over web browsers that Flipkart, an Indian ECommerce company, once decided to provide all their services through their mobile app. Even today most of the discounts by eCommerce platforms are provided through their mobile apps incentivising users to use their mobile applications more often. Mobile apps are so effective at generating revenues that most of the profitable ventures have their entire business models based upon mobile applications. You can provide products, services or content through your apps which your consumers would value and leverage it to generate important leads or revenue. You can also your apps and it’s users to get passive revenue from advertisements. But it is not recommended if building your brand through the app is your main motive.

Better value and experience for your customers

A mobile app can give you an opportunity to let customers experience your brand which web browsers and websites can never provide. With greater control and access to all the elements of user experience and functionality, the mobile app opens up a huge door to delight and engage users to a whole new level. With an effective and seamless experience, users are more likely to view your brand more positively and engage more often. Instagram, Snapchat and a whole lot of other social media platforms were built upon this premise alone. Many brands provide deep discounts and other value-based propositions to customers who have installed their mobile apps. Mobile apps also let you provide value to your customers besides than what you are selling, like gift vouchers and invites to various events which can help you in building brand loyalty and awareness.

Increased brand connectivity

When users install your app, it amounts to your customer's willingness to engage with your brand on a regular basis. This is a huge boost to your marketing efforts and it can enable you to utilise your app even more. Having your app installed, you can regularly interact with your customers by sending them notifications, and notifications have a higher response rate even when compared to emails! Another huge advantage mobile apps have over websites is that users can use your app even when they are offline. With any offline functionality or services built on your mobile app, it provides an incentive for your customers to utilise your app without the barrier of internet connection. Having a dedicated mobile app is certain to boost brand connectivity and customer engagement and is likely to be a major factor in customers choosing your company over your competitors.

Effective marketing channel

A mobile app for your company has the potential to be a highly effective marketing channel and an important lead generating machine. App Stores are one of the most used search engines and app store optimistion of your app’s landing page for app searching queries will most likely increase your brand awareness by providing a slot in one of the most underutilised marketing real estates. To generate crucial leads, referral methods for installing apps are used by various companies and was one of the major growth factors for Dropbox, a cloud storage company. Apps can also be used for highlighting various other services which you are providing that are newly released or not as well known. Most websites are accessed through websites and significant effort and resources have to be spent to index your website in a fairly high position. A dedicated competitor might also be able to rank for the keywords which you are targeting or keywords specific to your company. That is not the case with apps and once your app has been installed by your customers, you can safely keep your user's eyes and attention away from your competitors.

Hi! I'm Vinayak Rao, a part of Digital Marketing outreach at Site Galleria, a web design company in India.