Apps Are The New Websites… And Your Business NEEDS One!
When you were first starting out, there’s little doubt that you were told over and over again, the importance of having a website. There were, and still are many reasons why a business that expects to hold its own in the market as we head inexorably towards the 2020s. But if your website is your only online presence, then you need to get with the times and fast!
The app industry has grown exponentially since 2010 with over 2 million apps on the market as of 2015. Many entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs make the mistake of thinking that business apps are the domain of industry leaders and social media giants, but whatever the size, scope and nature of your business, there’s no doubt that an app could be an invaluable aide. You may think that an app is out of reach but as the people at App Developers UK, the coding of apps for smaller to medium-sized businesses is a continually growing market as more and more business owners avail themselves of the benefits of having their own apps.
Great promotion
While apps are still somewhat novel among consumers, there’s no denying that more people than ever are making purchases through their mobile phones. In fact last year, mobile apps accounted for 30% of all e-commerce in the US.
Having a presence in the app store of potential leads will help them notice you while they browse, especially if you have a bold and eye-catching icon.
It broadens your reach
If you know your digital marketing then you know that the wider your reach, the more potential leads are tumbling into your sales funnel. Having an extra purchasing option (rather than through your website, in store or over the phone) is a great way to attract more customers. But as Uber and Deliveroo will tell you, there’s great value in incentivising your existing customers to introduce their friends and family to your business with exclusive deals and coupons if they refer a friend to you. Or perhaps you’d prefer Raffler’s approach of entering customers into a free prize draw if they watch two adverts.
You can cultivate loyalty
Your app can also be an appealing reward scheme that encourages and cultivates loyalty amongst your customers. Starbucks, for example, not only use their app to facilitate purchases by loading credit onto the app, they employ a fun graphic that allows their customers to fill a cup with gold stars every time they make a purchase. Fill the cup and they get a free drink!
Apps are an additional revenue stream
What business doesn’t want to make more money? By pushing promotional content, alerting users to new offers and promotions through push notifications you can generate sales from customers who may not read your email notifications as often as you’d like them to. You can also use geo-location and data collection to target them with unique location-based user offers that are hyper-relevant to them and will forge a much more personal relationship with your business.
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