Why You Need to Develop an App for Your SMB

The time has come to develop an app for your business. No matter the size, scope, or scale of your company, modern mobile apps have many advantages that will benefit you as a whole. And the good news is that the investment required for mobile app development is minimal initially, with not much oversight moving forward. And when you open your business up with an app, you can potentially take advantage of untapped markets and access almost 7 billion users.

Capture the Data You Really Need

The best mobile apps are very user-friendly at the front end of the interaction. Yet remain complex at the backend. One of the key resources an app has is gaining valuable insights into customer decisions. Much like data analytics software such as BuildOps for construction projects, Tenzo for catering, and Google Analytics for websites, an app can store all kinds of user data. You can then use this data, such as time spent on a product page, to make changes that drive sales.

Become More Visible to Users

Your users are, of course, the most vital resource you have, as they can potentially become customers. So you need to ensure you remain as visible as possible, easily accessible, and always present. Some ways in which just having an app can help your business include:

• Customer exposure to your brand as they scroll through the apps on their phone.
• Push notifications via SMS about your business, services, products, and promotions.
• Personalized information that is more likely to result in a meaningful user interaction.
• Even a catchy icon can stick in a user’s mind and become associated with a product.

Modern mobile users spend up to six hours per day on their smartphones. That’s a lot of time you can take advantage of with more exposure. Features of a mobile app allow you to fully use them in order to stay omnipresent in a potential customer’s life until they decide to disable them.

Develop an App to Improve Personalization

As mentioned, an app allows you to personalize the customer experience. This is a vital tool that most marketers are only just beginning to see the advantages of. By using historical data gained from analytics and insight software, you can tailor messages, promotions, and notifications to a user’s specific profile. Research has shown that prospective customers are more likely to convert when they receive messages that meet their personal interests or needs.

Make the UI and UX More Intuitive

Your app is only as successful as it is easy to use. A poor app that runs slowly has an unfriendly design, and crashes will not be used. This is why you need to pay careful attention to the user interface and the experience it provides. If you make changes to an app’s interface, it should always be with improvements in mind. As a result, you will increase user satisfaction, which increases the likelihood of conversions, sales, and more business further down the line.

Interact with Users Directly

Because an app is installed on a user’s phone, it is much more personal and direct than a website. A website is something your customers choose to visit when they need to. But an app has many advantages through direct communication. This includes push notifications. This is an SMS message that a user receives just as they would from a friend, meaning they are much more likely to read and interact with a text message instead of deleting it like an email message.

Increasing Sales, Of Course

Of course, the whole point of investing in anything as a business is to make it better for customers in the hopes of driving sales. And a mobile app is no different. Your app can serve as a direct sales platform for your customers and a convenient interface without having to use insecure web services. It isn’t uncommon for businesses to see huge sales increases of over 50% through mobile apps. Additionally, you can also place third-party ads for further revenue.

Further Improvements to Customer Service

Customer satisfaction is the most crucial thing your business needs. A mobile app provides another means of making the customer service experience better for your customers. Like a good website, your mobile can enhance customer service in the following modern ways:

• You can use an app to provide easily accessible information that relates to customers.
• Users can get in touch with your service reps much more quickly and conveniently.
• You can provide an instant feedback system on your app to gain more insights.
• The feedback system can offer a way to capture customer suggestions for improvement.
• You can use AI tools such as ChatBots to help customers access the data they require.
• Frontend and backend features such as ticketing systems can link to improve queries.
• Customer service reps can speak to customers in real-time using phone chat systems.

A mobile app is the ultimate customer service channel. The tools and features you can use are quick and convenient for both you and the customer. Therefore, an app provides another solid method of serving your customers well while keeping the business running smoothly.

Higher Customer Retention

Attracting customers and keeping them coming back for more is the golden ticket to business. And because a mobile app is so easily usable, it can provide a great way of doing this. A smartphone is with a customer all day long. So all they need to do is reach to their desk, bag, or pocket to interact with your business. This convenience, especially if your app is well-designed, will maximize retention for most smartphone users and further improve with personalization.

Offer Something Competitors Don’t

Although mobile apps are becoming more common for small to medium-sized businesses, less than half have one. This means you will instantly provide something your competitors do not when you develop an app of your own. At the very least, you can inform users about upcoming products and sales. But on a more complex level, you are giving users what they need by providing them with a quick and convenient way to use your service, which is what we all want.

Meet Technological Expectations

Most modern customers pretty much expect you to have an app. And they might even choose not to use your services if you don’t. So first, you will be meeting customer expectations head-on with an app of your own. However, you will also be able to expand upon this by meeting technological expectations as well. For example, as technologies for interaction evolve, you can add further functionality to your services, such as AR viewings of your products.

Develop an App to Leverage Reviews

Companies spend a small fortune on getting as much exposure as possible all over the web. The idea is that more exposure equals more business. But that isn’t strictly true. The exposure also needs to be of a high quality. And one of the best forms of this is customer reviews and testimonials. You can use a mobile platform’s app store to encourage reviews of your app and, therefore, your business by proxy. With the sheer number of users, this is a golden opportunity.

Social Media Integration

There are almost 5 billion social media users across sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. That’s 60% of the world’s population. And like any good modern company, you probably use social media to engage with your audience. But an app can help you use social media better:

• First, you can promote the app itself using social media platforms to gain exposure.
• You can also use the app to encourage users to connect to their social media accounts.
• Reviews from your app can be connected to social media platforms for all to see.
• Likes, shares, and voting features on services and products can be used in an app.

You can also use other features, such as posting content through your app to multiple social media platforms at the same time and even integrate generative AI tools such as 88stacks in your app to create said content easily. This will save you a lot of time and money. But users can also interact with your brand through social media, providing a more solid communication channel.

Building Brand Loyalty

Loyal customers are hard to come by. But when you get them, you should value them. This means finding ways to increase loyalty and keep the business coming. And a mobile app is a very convenient method of doing this. By offering specific information relevant to the customer at the right time, they will feel much more connected to your brand. You can also use your app to reward customers for using your business, such as loyalty schemes that offer cash discounts.

Summary

When you develop an app for your business, you get much more than a fancy way to show off your products. For example, you can use the backend services to gain real insights into how customers interact with your products. You can also include customer service features that users can directly access from within your app. And brand loyalty, sales, and customer retention boosts are also possible through direct contact through personalized SMS push notifications.