Today there are umpteen small businesses existing in the market. The competition is fierce to vie for the suitable customers. The latter are very savvy these days and have a lot of knowledge about the various small businesses. Customers are very much aware of which small businesses offer the best services and/or products. They usually take feedback from fellow customers and do compare different small businesses to get the best possible deal. Therefore, every small business must take steps to make their particular enterprise stand out from the competition and give better value addition than others. Today is the era of the smartphone and Internet. Americans spend more time on their smartphones than on televisions according to reputed surveys. Hence it is a good idea to have mobile apps specific to your small business in order to capture new customers as well as retain old ones.
Some small businesses may already have a mobile responsive website. They might think since they already have a mobile website in place then what is the necessity of a mobile app. The answer is that mobile apps are much faster. It takes almost no time to launch a mobile app. Whereas a mobile website may take several minutes to load in a place with poor reception. Hence, users can avail the benefit of mobile apps for small business.
Other advantages that mobile apps have over mobile websites is that they work offline, enable mobile push notifications for direct communication with clients, is always visible on the mobile’s home screen and are always present in the Apps Stores.
We look at some of the reasons why every small business should have its very own mobile apps.
Reaches Out to Actual Clients and Fosters Customer Loyalty
A major advantage of having a small business mobile app is the capability to market to real people compared to online profiles on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and others. Small businesses can achieve the goal of building loyalty leveraging mobile apps by giving loyalty offerings such as push notifications to clients on future sales available exclusively to the mobile business app users.
Better Customer Relationship Management
A small business mobile app can help keeping instant track of important contacts, tasks, emails and upcoming appointments. It can function as a CRM mobile app and automate the sales process. Small businesses can thus serve customers better, increase customer engagement, improve customer experience and give better sales support.
Solidifies Relationships and Retains Clients
Folks are attracted to mobile apps which offer useful features. Thus, small business mobile apps which offer useful facilities to potential clients such as the ability to book services or buy goods definitely keeps clients happy as well as engaged with your small business as well as its long-term offerings.
Affordability and Faster Communication
Both experts and the layman know that small business mobile apps are the most affordable and best way to reach out to prospective clients. Other conventional means of marketing such as mobile websites, email marketing, web and print advertising are much more expensive and comparatively less effective.
Increases Small Business Visibility and Cash Inflow
A small business mobile app has the ability to connect to customers irrespective of geographical location or different time zones. It is a potent tool to inform customers about upcoming offers, product launches and company events. It has been demonstrated many times that mobile apps reinforce client loyalty. Finally, Mobile apps as a brand recognition standout from competition and small businesses can leverage mobile apps to generate significant business as well as obtain repeat business.
It is imperative that you do not waste valuable time and develop mobile apps for your small business right away. This will give you equal footing with your competitors. Customers are also likely to prefer your enterprise over others that lack mobile apps. If possible, develop it in house. If you are not satisfied by the quality or results, then it is a good idea to outsource the work to mobile app developers who are experienced in the nuances of quality mobile apps development.
