As a small business owner, every penny you spend is heavily weighed. Which is understandable since you can’t afford to lavishly spend on every whim without cutting into an important budget. For this reason, small business owners often ask themselves if the cost for an app is worth it or should development be pushed to the following year? In fact, an app is more of an investment rather than an expense. Sure, it will cost you funds upfront, but the benefits and potential revenue are exponentially better than leaving your business without one. Here’s why:
- Your Presence Right on User Home Screens
Just take a look at your own smartphone. You see all the branded native apps right on your home screen. When you want to shop, you probably use the Amazon app to take a look at products. You see the Amazon brand every time you look at your phone, and it’s easier than opening a browser and searching on a search engine.
The same could be said of your mobile app. Your customers can browse your store or list of services without using search engines. You even bypass the possibility of customers or potential leads finding a competitor in a search engine. Instead, they head right to your app to find what they need.
- Increase Revenue
By 2020, it’s estimated that mobile app revenue will increase to $101 billion. If you haven’t tapped into this market, then you’re behind the times. Mobile apps increase revenue especially for new business owners trying to market their brand.
Using the Amazon example from the previous section, you can greatly increase your revenue by marketing a mobile app directly from the app stores. By having a mobile app available through Google Play and Apple’s App Store, you can also increase the visibility of your brand. By placing your app in the app store, your brand gets put in front of millions of viewers.
As a matter a fact, an app can actually help your Google search results. Firebase App Indexing lists your app in search for targeted phrases.
- Build Customer Loyalty
With the Internet so widely available, customers have dozens of competitors to choose from even if you target a local market. Customer retention is more difficult than ever. The small business owner has to fight big local businesses, and then fight with competitors on the Internet.
An app helps build customer loyalty due to its convenience. More customers are shopping using smartphones and tablets. With an app, customers don’t need to use a clunky browser and read random websites. The app makes it much easier to shop, purchase, and browse services.
Conclusion
If you haven’t built a mobile app, you are missing out on the millions of potential customers and revenue. Mobile app development is a cost you might want to avoid at first, but in the long-run it becomes an invaluable investment. The initial cost is well worth the increase in brand recognition, lead generation, customer retention, and overall revenue.
Keith Shields is the CEO of mobile app development firm Designli. Designli was formed after its founders first experienced the industry as clients with dozens of separate app projects, noting how the experience was consistently sub-par with projects running over expected time frame and agreed-upon budget. As a result, Designli specializes in adding certainty to the custom software development process.