7 Reasons Small Businesses Should Invest in Mobile Apps

7 Reasons Small Businesses Should Invest in Mobile Apps. Despite obvious reasons to invest in mobile app development, small businesses take it with a grain of salt. However, more businesses are realizing this is a lucrative integration not only for big players.

With the advance in technology, applications can bring many benefits that go beyond simply increasing income.

Business Mobile App: A Big “Yea” for Start-Ups

In the survey conducted by AppAnnie, they asked different companies what their mobile app goals were.

Source: AppAnnie

As we can see, some goals go beyond revenue purposes.

Another interesting fact is a survey conducted by consulting firm Clutch. They asked more than 300 small businesses if they had a successful mobile app, and if not, whether they were evaluating doing so in the future.

30% of those who didn`t have an application, said they are planning to do make one in the future, while 48% of responders already had an app in place.

Increase Revenue :

The more convenient your product is, the more likely people will buy it.

Food delivery could be much easier rather than finding a phone number, making an order, and finally paying when the courier arrives. Today a smartphone and few clicks are all we need.

There’s no doubt that one of the keys to the success of mobile apps is their simplicity, their accessibility, and, ultimately, how easy they are to use anywhere, anytime.

This means that if we sell products or services through an app, we will automatically make it easier to consume and, therefore, this can lead to more sales. A good example is Domino’s Pizza – they managed to increase sales by 19% with the launch of the mobile app.

Smartphone Bonanza :

Do you remember a wave of mistrust in websites in the early 2000s? The same thing with apps today – they are key for any type of business.

It is true that the web is still popular today, and just as important as it was a few years ago. However, if we look at how and where these sites are viewed, we realize that something has changed in the last decade.

A report from Statista shows that today people use smartphones more frequently than PCs.

Here`s even more food for thought:

• 3.6 billion smartphone users worldwide, with the Earth population of 7.8 billion.
• The percentage of smartphone users of 65+ generation is now 79%.
• The average user spends 3 hours and 40 minutes a day with their smartphone.
• 82% of smartphone users use their devices to learn about products just before purchasing it in a store.
• 55% of online purchases are made through a smartphone.

Attract Customers to Your Business :

Retaining an existing customer is much easier than getting a new one. The more contact you have with previous customers, the more likely they will make a purchase again.

The app can offer the ability to make appointments, show hair trends, introduce the team and services, and display card prices. News can be sent as push notifications.

Push notifications are a good way to draw attention to a daily updated offer.

According to a study by Xtity, push notification open rate is 60%, compared to 20% for traditional email marketing.

Bonuses :

Coupons for retailers, lunch offers for restaurants, current weather information, an option to book an appointment, and a loyalty bonus – these are not the only benefits an app can offer.

‎McDonald’s Deutschland reached about 828 thousand downloads. The fast-food chain lures users with exclusive coupons. And this is just the first step.

As Holger Beck, CEO of McDonald’s Deutschland states “We are planning to enter a big e-commerce field, where the key to our new app will be digital order and payment.”

Staying Ahead of the Competition :

Few small businesses currently take full advantage of mobile apps. It`s mostly top organizations with well-known brands, such as shopping malls, banking institutions, or marketplaces who move towards app development. Since small businesses are staying on the sideline in their app implementation, it is easy to get ahead of your competitors in this segment.

The Brand Is a King :

In traditional marketing, advertisers search for customers. They place TV ads, radio ads, billboards on the street. However, with the advent of online marketing, the rules have completely changed.

The idea is that the customer will find you when they need to. A prime example of this is content marketing, which consists of creating blogs, audio, video, interactive content.

Apps like Nike + Training or Nestle Cocina build their brand with the help of small games, videos, or helpful content. Nike puts emphasis on a large number of programs and exercises to stay in shape, and Nestle offers a lot of useful receipts.

Both apps are free, and their main purpose is to make the brand visible.

To Wrap It Up :

Today mobile apps are not just for companies with six-figure revenue and revolutionary idea.

Mobile apps offer us a lot of opportunities, and any small company or startup can benefit from them. It’s worth stopping and thinking about how all these new technologies can help you.

Author’s BIO: Louis Sawyer is a professional writer, editor and a web design expert. She loves writing about technology trends, web development, mobile games and business issues. Also, Louis works as a proofreader at Computools. Follow Louis on Twitter.