Your website is up and running, your social media presence is slick and professional, your business is turning a profit, yet you can’t quite help but feel that you’re missing something.
In our increasingly technology-savvy world, an app might be just the thing you need.
Whilst creating an app can seem like a daunting project, there’s nothing to say you can’t employ an app builder to help, or even challenge yourself to learn something new.
If you think an app or a tool could boost your business then read on
Would An App Work For Your Business?
First of all, there are some businesses that would benefit from an app much more than others.
Most startups should focus on other things whilst getting their business off the ground and leave the app-building to a later stage.
That is, of course, unless an app is integral to your business, in which case, fire away!
Generally, if customer loyalty is important to your business, then an app will be of great help to you.
One-time, large sum purchase businesses may not rely heavily on customer loyalty, but those in the area of consumables and services should seriously consider it.
How the Online Gaming Industry Uses Apps
In order to apply some expert knowledge to your app-building, we should look at some of the industries that do it best.
When it comes to the gaming sector at large, convenience and accessibility is paramount for users.
The online casino industry in particular has found that whilst many people enjoy playing games at their computer, modern times value the ability to play online casino games on the move.
Therefore, industry-leading providers have spent time translating their desktop catalog of games into their mobile versions with overwhelmingly positive results.
With this, gamers are given access to entire libraries of titles 24/7 at any time and place.
Improving customer experience is one of the most important reasons for app development and allowing customers to choose exactly how they’d like to use your service is a perfect example of that.
If your business provides a service then, for many of your customers, the ability to use that service via their phones instead of in person or by computer can be a really useful tool.
How the Restaurant Industry Uses Apps
So many of us enjoy sitting down to a fancy meal on a Saturday night.
We choose places for their inimitable atmosphere, flair with food, or maybe even just their wine list.
So, even though restaurants don’t seem an immediate leader in terms of consumer apps, they really are.
Just think about it- if you’ve got a handful of favorite restaurants and only one of them has an app with incentives that you can collect, then you’ll probably frequent that restaurant more.
Your weekly meal could turn into a free glass of wine; you get more for your money and that restaurant trumps the competition.
Everyone is a winner! Well, except the restaurants without apps.
Giving your customers incentives in this way can encourage them to choose you over the competition, which is the aim of almost all marketing.
Additionally, nowadays many restaurants are using mobile apps to increase efficiency in their locales.
For example, customers can select their food of choice through apps that send the information directly to the kitchen, without waiters having to run around and waste time collecting orders.
Both parties benefit as a result, with hungry customers being more likely to return to an establishment that prioritizes speed and productivity.
How the E-Commerce Industry Uses Apps
E-Commerce is a fiercely competitive industry, so if you’re part of it, you need an app. Whilst restaurant loyalty apps are so simple you could learn to make them yourself, an e-commerce app can be a little trickier.
There are providers out there that have already done the hard work for you, like Etsy or Amazon, but they’ll take a commission.
If you want all of your profits to be your own, then you should consider going it alone.
E-commerce apps can simply be marketplaces for customers to shop around for the best deal, but the ones that build customer loyalty tend to offer perks and ‘catch up’ with their customers regularly.
We’ve learned all about offering perks from the restauranteurs, but little catch-ups might be something new.
Sending notifications to customers to remind them about a sale, a new product line release, or a re-stock on something that’s sold out in their basket are all good ways to remain at the forefront of your customer’s mind.
Build notifications into your app to ensure that you keep communicating with your customer.