One of the great advantages of the modern digital environment is it is multi channelled. These channels are great to create an effective presence for your business which, in turn, provides visibility to many potential customers and helps your business grow. Out of all the digital channels available, mobile applications are considered some of the most effective tools which help you connect with your business’s target audiences. In this day and age, almost every person in the world uses a smartphone and the market for mobile applications is continually growing. There are many benefits of creating a mobile application for your business. Here are some important ones.
1. Sales growth
A mobile app is a great channel to increase a business’s sales and contribute to the company’s profit. Your profit depends on how large your audience is. Through constant promotion, a company can motivate its customers to make a purchase from them. Promotions through discounts and push notifications have proven to be an effective method in attracting customers. Another added advantage is the company can contact users who have installed their app directly. For example, a company, through geolocation technology, can identify a customer who is present in close proximity to their store or office and can send them a notification containing a special offer, which will motivate the potential customer to visit their business. A mobile app is also useful as it will allow people the flexibility to shop online without leaving their comfort zone. The popularity of shopping online has been growing rapidly as people do not want to spend time walking around and visiting different shops to make a purchase, if they have the option of using their smartphone to make any kind of purchase.
2. Audience building
A mobile application is quite useful to establish relationships with customers. An application will be helpful for the company to reach out to their customers, no matter in which part of the world they are. With the company’s app installed on their phone, people do not have to remember the company’s web address or refer to any search engine. One can even access the app without the availability of internet, depending on the app’s functionality. By installing a company’s mobile app, a person enters the information space of that business. Hence, it is important to increase the number of installations of the app through various methods, like offering bonuses and discounts in return for installing the mobile application. Having a website as well as a mobile app can prove quite beneficial to a company as the combination of both will attract more customers
3. Growth in customer loyalty
A mobile app can also be used to create a group of customers who are loyal to the brand. For example, by providing features like booking a table in advance or using their app to pay for an order, a restaurant can create a loyal customer base which will return to the restaurant for the added benefits. Adding various loyalty programs to their mobile apps in the form of promotions, discounts and bonuses is guaranteed to attract more customers. The company can also add a personalization tool which will let it send notifications based on the customer’s preference. The app will also give people additional information about the company, its products and services anytime of the day. Constant interactions like these increase loyalty amongst the customers and in turn increase the sales of the company.
4. Source of marketing and communication
Launching a mobile app can be seen as a way of advertising a business. The app allows a company to use various marketing tools. A mobile app can also be useful for receiving feedback from users by running polls, conducting surveys and also for allowing users to report any kind of error. A business can also release news about relevant topics and send a press release through the app. A business can use various marketing campaigns through their app to attract attention from people. These are some good ways to increase potential customers and can also be helpful in developing a trusting relationship with them.
5. Increase in employee engagement
Creating an app solely dedicated for the employees of a company can prove beneficial in many ways. An app dedicated to employees can be more engaging as it allows employees to interact with their team, monitor and manage any kind of process and exchange files and data. An app dedicated to training new employees can also prove useful. Training app containing videos, quizzes and charts tracking user performance can be advantageous and can help replace many expensive tools like manuals. Apps can also be used in organizing various business tasks. It is a common practice for many companies to create apps used solely within the company and such kind of apps ensure an uninterrupted interaction between employees, regardless of their location.
6. Source for analytics
Having a mobile app can also be useful for collecting important information to analyze a company’s performance. For example, a company can learn about the products their customers prefer to buy or the product which is the most popular among them. It can also be used to obtain information about how much time a person spends on the app on an average. Another type of information which can be obtained is the most used and least popular features of the app. Data gained from your app will help you track the way people interact with your app and will give the company an opportunity to understand how to modify their app in order to make it more appealing and provide customers with a better user experience. As it is known, understanding the customer is key to the success of any company. A mobile app can help you understand your customer better. Apps give you better insight into the demographic data about the customer as well as insight into their interests, which is very advantageous for a company.
7. Website traffic boost
A company can use its mobile app to boost traffic to its website as well. If the company’s app is properly optimized for the app store, it can attract more downloads. As many people spend a substantial amount of time on their phone, it is safe to assume many of these users encounter the apps they have downloaded on their phones, on a daily basis. These regular encounters by the user can be taken as a branding opportunity for the apps, as the users are still reminded of the company even if they are not using the app. Hence, the app’s icon acts as a mini advertisement for the brand and helps in influencing the users’ perception about a brand subconsciously. Moreover, an increased number of app downloads can also route high targeted traffic to the company’s website.
8. Increased revenue
A mobile app can be used as an additional source of revenue by a company. This can be done if a company decides to monetize its app. One can take the example of photo editing apps, which frequently monetize their app. These photo editing apps usually have a beginner set of filters available to whoever downloads their app. The app then has full sets available which a user can avail through a purchase.
There are various ways a company can get additional revenue through their applications. Some of them are:
Paid applications – According to reports, paid applications are the best way to bring in large revenue. If a company comes up with a really great app, they can make it a paid one.
In-app purchases – A company can add various in-app features which can help their users reach their goals faster. One can take the example of Tinder, where users can make many in-app purchases.
Subscriptions – A company can create an app which allows its users to access its content after a monthly payment. Such as in the case of OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, where users pay a monthly or annual amount to watch the content offered.
Premium – Through this feature, a user can unlock some additional features, special content and can disable advertisements by paying a fee.
9. Advantage over competitors
Having an app for your company is a huge advantage. However, very few companies realize this. Many companies even fail to take any advantage of their website and further lack a mobile application. They believe it consumes time and money and is unnecessary. This is the reason why competition in this area is relatively low and of which advantage can be taken. If a company starts using their mobile application as a marketing and sales tool, they can strengthen their brand value for the future. A company should create as many opportunities as it can to make their brand recognizable in this highly competitive world. A mobile app will make any business, no matter how small or big, stand out. It also gives an impression of the company being modern and tech savvy. An app will make the details of the company easily available to the world and will create a presence for the company. Moreover, having a mobile application can give the company an edge over the competitors who lack such apps.
Mobile apps can be incredibly advantageous to companies and companies working in different fields can offer different services through their mobile app. For example, a company working in the field of tourism can develop app offering services like ticket booking, interactive maps and an option to search for hotels. Similarly, a company working in fitness and beauty industry can offer services like online appointments and reviews. Companies in any industry can experience the advantages listed above just by having a mobile app. A company should always remember to develop an app which can be used to solve specific problems and contributes to the development of the company. It is necessary to keep in mind and make a list of the features the company wants to add to the app in the future. Every business should work towards becoming better and be up to date with the newest technologies and creating a mobile app is one of the best ways to achieve that goal.
To learn more about how a mobile app can be used for marketing, feel free to reach out to us on mail or by leaving a comment below.
