Mobile apps are becoming increasingly popular in the business world, with research revealing that roughly 62% of businesses already have an app or are in the process of developing one. And why not? Mobile apps have immense benefits for businesses, including boosting customer loyalty, building a stronger brand, creating better connections with clients, staying ahead of the competition, improving administrative processes, and increasing brand awareness, among other benefits. Incorporating one into your company can revolutionize the way you do business. Whether you’re considering investing in a third-party app or building one from scratch, these tips will help you to seamlessly incorporate it into your business.
- Create goals for the app
The last thing you want is to invest in a company app just because you’ve noticed competing businesses doing so. Your app should be relevant to your company, helping you push various business goals, whether marketing, sales, or efficient administration. In other words, your app must be useful to your business, so create important goals for it. Start by determining problems you want your ideal app to solve or expectations to meet. For example, do you need the app to improve sales, or do you want to smoothen customer experience? After identifying what goals you want to achieve, decide on how best to use your app to achieve those objectives.
- Decide between in-housing or outsourcing the development process
So, you’ve settled on some key issues you want your business app to address or goals you want to meet. Now, it’s time to consider how to acquire the app in the first place. Two considerations are important here. One, do you want to or can you want to hire developers to build the app from scratch in-house, or two, would you rather outsource to an experienced development company? Both options have advantages and downsides, so you have to take time to weigh each.
For example, developing your app in-house can be expensive. Plus, you can expect to experience more security vulnerabilities, a lack of quality control, and long-term cost overburden. On the other hand, outsourcing the development process can ensure that you have a better app at a competitive rate while avoiding cost overburden issues.
- Sometimes, a third-party app may be the right option
There’s also a third way – investing in an already-created third-party app. Of course, this option may have limited benefits, as you might not have the chance to customize or tweak it to suit your business. But if you need an app to solve specific administrative problems, increase work productivity, or make your workers more efficient in their line of duties, a third-party app may be the right option.
As the name suggests, you do not have any role in creating or supporting a third-party app, but you can use it to solve specific issues or achieve specific goals within your business. There are many types of third-party apps to choose from, depending on what your business needs. For example, you can use a field service app to make your field service technicians or workers more productive. You can also find a dispatch app designed for companies with dispatch services or fleet drivers. What third-party app you use, depends on your business. But they offer many benefits. In most cases, they’re easy to use, comparatively cheaper, come with no reduced development time, and there may be several options already available to choose from.
- Decide if you want to earn directly through the app and how
If you’re considering creating and incorporating an app into your business, you’re probably expecting it to rake in revenue directly or indirectly. For example, you might not directly earn from an app that boosts administrative processes like in the previous point. Still, its ability to improve work productivity can indirectly translate to more sales and revenue. On the other hand, some apps are designed to help generate direct sales and bring in more profit. So you have to decide between the two options.
If you want to earn directly through your app, it’s best to decide how. There are several ways to monetize a business app, with the most popular options being subscription, freemium, and premium models. Which option to choose depends on your niche, target audience, and the monetization approach your competitors already use.
- Offer value with enhanced user experience
Incorporating an app into your business is an investment move, and you want it to pay off. It’s not just about showing that your company also has an app, no. It’s about providing value and improving the way your customers do business with your company. So, ensure that your app offers value and enhances user experience. In other words, it should make things easier, more convenient, and better for anyone who uses it, whether they’re buying a product or enjoying a service through the app.
User experience (UX), in particular, is paramount for the success of any business app. Your target audience will hardly spend time on your app if it doesn’t appeal to them in any way. It’s even worse if the app is cumbersome or too complicated to use. Regarding added value, your app should solve a problem your customer base has. It should also have something enticing enough to attract your target audience to download and use it. For example, you can offer exclusive discounts, special rewards, or access to premium services and content on the app. That will encourage people to use it.
- Identify your ideal platform
A solid platform is necessary not just for app integration but the ability to reach a wider market, and the right platform is key to ensuring that. Two main options are available – iOS and Android, and the right one will depend on your location and target audience. In the US, for example, you may want to focus more on iOS than Android, as the latter dominates the smartphone community, with Apple having more than half (57.93%) of the market share. The story is different for the rest of the world, as Android has 70.29% of the global market share. That means an Android platform should be ideal if you’re targeting a global audience.
Also, consider your target audience demographics to help you decide. Generation Z and Millenials, for example, are more likely to use Apple’s iOS than Android. But if you can afford to make your app available on both platforms, that’s even better, as you’ll offer access to a wider audience. It’s worth noting that experts have predicted Huewei’s HarmonyOS to start dominating, so that’s something to keep in mind when deciding on your preferred platform.
- Think about daily expenses when running your app
Paying the initial cost of developing your business app is one thing, and investing to keep it running is quite another. Managing a business app comes with many expenses, mostly with maintenance and upgrades. Some studies show that you can spend anywhere between $2,000 and $7,000 yearly on basic maintenance expenses like fixing bugs. Can your small business budget handle this? And what about tax? As a business owner, you’re expected to pay taxes on the money you earn on your app, including income and social taxes and, in some cases, value-added tax. Also, did you know that Apple, the owner of the iOS platform, charges a 30% fee for apps and in-app purchases? However, this fee does not apply to free apps, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
The point is that the hard work does not end after you launch your business app. You have to spend time and money to maintain it and keep it running. You may even have to spend a little more to push the app’s visibility to get the right download numbers.
