There are many companies out there that offer a dizzying array of services and products. In first-world nations, in particular, there is little you can’t buy if you have enough money to afford it. That’s the free market at work.
If you operate a company or own one, you might have strictly brick-and-mortar stores. You may also have an eCommerce business model, where you sell products through your website. What’s even more common, though, is companies that feature both of these options.
There is something else you might want to consider doing to boost your company’s market presence, though, and that is creating an application for it. Any decent-sized company has an app these days, and most of them find that it pays significant dividends.
Let’s talk about five of the specific ways that an app can help your business in 2021.
It shows you’re embracing technology
Every business needs to try to embrace technology whenever it can. That might mean setting up new IT initiatives in a hybrid workplace, or perhaps it involves accepting cryptocurrency for the first time. Maybe it means setting up a chatbot for your company’s website or accepting Apple Pay for your products.
Whatever tech is out there that can help you, though, you can’t shy away from it, or it looks like you’re behind the times. That certainly applies when we’re talking about applications.
If you create a business app, it demonstrates that you’re not clinging to old methods. Since every credible, decent-sized company has an app now, it indicates to your customer base and employees alike that you’re willing and ready to evolve and tweak your business model.
More people shop on their smartphones
Today, Nearly everyone of any age now has a smartphone, and as previous generations give way to newer ones, that number will someday be close to one hundred percent. Smartphones are so convenient, and you might use yours for a hundred different tasks or more inside of a single day.
Many individuals use their smartphones to shop, and that’s a key reason why you need an app for your business. If you don’t have one, then smartphone or tablet users have to resort to using your website if they want to buy something from you while they’re on the go.
The problem is that developers don’t usually set up websites specifically for smartphone or tablet use. They make them so they work better on a desktop or laptop.
If you create an app for your business, it is easier for someone to access it on a portable device. They are more likely to buy something from you because the app will give them superior functionality.
People can order things through the app when they’re on the go
When people are out and about, they sometimes decide whether or not to buy things remarkably quickly. They might be standing at a bus stop or waiting in a theater for a movie to begin, and they’ll suddenly decide they need a particular item or service.
At that moment, they might think of your company. They may have their credit card number already programmed into their smartphone, and they can potentially order something in a minute or even less.
If your company only has a website but not an app, it’s harder for you to take advantage of these snap purchase decisions. Again, if your potential customer has to navigate a website that has poor UX because they’re looking at it on their smartphone, that’s not going to help you at all.
Studies show that if users arrive at a website and an element or multiple elements frustrate them, they will go to a different, competing site within a couple of seconds. It only takes that long for a possible customer to decide your site is inferior.
If they can use your app instead, the experience is much more likely to please them. They will convert, meaning they will buy something from you. As someone running a business entity, that should be your ultimate goal.
Apps help with branding
Another thing that’s so crucial about an app for your company is that if it exists, people can use it, but it’s also a little emblem representing your brand that they’ll see on their phone every time they move past the lock screen.
Presumably, your app will show your company’s logo in miniature, or it will have your business’s name right there on it. It will show the color scheme you chose, perhaps the ones that you’ve used on your website or in your product packaging.
Apps help considerably with your branding efforts. Business owners frequently design them so they’re as attractive and compelling as possible.
Once you have convinced someone to download your company’s app and feature it prominently on their phone, it becomes much more likely that they will buy things from you more often. Since the app is on there, they’ll see it every time they unlock the phone. That will remind them that your company exists, and they will naturally become a more frequent customer.
You can use your app to send notifications
One final way apps help many businesses is that once someone has downloaded your app to their phone, you can send out notifications periodically having to do with your services and products. You can instruct the app to notify anyone who has it that you are having a flash sale. You might offer exclusive products at 50% off for that day only.
If someone sees that, they are likely to buy from you. You would never have this potential sale opportunity if you only had a website for your business and no application.
Most modern businesses need apps, and the longer you don’t have one, the more sales you will miss. Once you hire someone to create an app for you, you will likely see a bump in sales almost immediately.
