We have discussed how mobile is the future of digital marketing and that every business needs to be joining the mobile revolution. Smartphone usage is increasing and people are spending more time on their smartphones than ever before! We have already discussed mobile websites and why your website needs to be mobile friendly. But what we have not talked about is mobile apps and what they mean for small businesses.
Mobile websites are mobile versions of your website designed for small screens, making viewing your website easy for on the go customers. A mobile app is an application that must be downloaded and installed on your device. While both are similar, a mobile app allows you to have a closer link to your customer.
Mobile apps can function much like mobile websites and serve many functions: they can provide info, prices, messages, accounts and more. But mobile apps have the advantage of having placement on your customer’s device at all times. Even if the app is closed, customers can receive notifications or reminders about sales, news or shopping carts. The direct, real time access to your customers is one of the biggest benefits of mobile apps.
Additionally mobile apps can help you stand out from your competition. More and more companies have mobile websites but not as many have mobile apps. This is still relatively new to small businesses and some are slower to adopt. But mobile apps are growing and you will see more of your competitors creating them in the next few years, just like websites have increased over the past decade. Get on board early and create a mobile app strategy to stay ahead of the curve.
Mobile apps are also excellent tools for promotions. You can send users notifications about flash sales, loyalty programs or coupons. These can be triggered when a user is in a particular geographic location or during a specific time of day.
You can let your creativity run wild with mobile applications and create games, savings schemes, interactive promotions, such as videos or voice reminders and much more. Apps are fun to create and work with because there is so much you can do with them!
Building an app is not as complicated as you might think it is and we can help! If you’re interested in what a mobile app can do for you, contact us today to learn more.
