Mobiles are the future. This is a simple truth. As the fastest growing form of communication device, everything from the big organizations to smaller single entity companies has also started developing applications that help them connect better with the audience.
There has however been stagnation in the small business app sector. Surprising, isn’t it?
Today we will be understanding this exact phenomenon in detail with the help of a survey of 351 small industries. Let’s begin ;
The rapidly growing dependency on mobiles is evident in our day to day lives. Companies have figured out that the way to true customer engagement is the creation of a mobile application.
Mobile Applications can help companies boost brand image, loyalty, and employee efficiency. But for an application to actually work one needs to understand a company’s target audience, what the apps core features and at the same time also have enough resources to build and maintain the application.
Facts About Small Business Applications
Small business has already begun to enter the application market and the ones that haven’t are planning to at point or another.
Small business application growth is still stagnant.
Most businesses say they have built an application to acquire a new customer base but time and time again it has been seen that it is a pointless goal to have.
Small businesses state that the most important part of their application is the online payment feature but even this is disputed by the experts.
Millennials are more likely to own an app instead of baby boomers.
Why is Growth Stagnant?
The forecasted trends pointed in the direction of the growth of mobile application but the on-ground reality has not been the same. Most businesses want to but are not following through on their hope to create an application.
During the time of a survey by the clutch in 2017, an astonishingly large number already had an application (42%) and another 25% were in the process of making one,
But the following year the figures once again stayed the same. 42% of small businesses had a mobile application and 23% were in the process of building one.
So, even though the predictions regarding the growth of applications were strong, the actual growth did not amount to anything. There was practically no growth in the small business adoption rate of mobile applications
However, one should note that even though the questionnaire for the survey was the same over the course of two years, there was a difference in the respondent pool. This may be the reason why the growth rate remained stagnant.
A big issue with the creation of mobile applications in the case of small businesses is the `scope of the resources required by a mobile application. Especially the associated costs and labor.
Another big factor that plays in is the industry that the business caters to. Most of the companies whose core sensibilities include technology would already get their applications in order,
Value Is A Direct Result Of The Goals
The mobile application has abundant marketing opportunities attached to them. But, this is only seen if the app has a clear objective driving its purpose.
Even though there is an evident lack in the number of companies building mobile applications, Companies should still have a look at all the advantages that a mobile app provides.
Two unmistakable advantages are
Enhanced Communication
Enhances Business Metrics
All of this and more is possible just because of the introduction of a movie application in the fold of your business strategy.
But if you are going to invest, then you must keep the following points in mind
Take the customer journey into account and identify the various touchpoint that your customers interact with that can be enhanced by a mobile application.
Your application needs to create a significant impact on the business. To accomplish this without fail, you need to have clear goals. These have to be SMART e.g. building customer loyalty and increasing sales,
You need to set specific metrics for your application to be deemed as a success.
Always do a dry run of your application before shelling out the big bucks for your application. This means keep the initial app simple and cheap.
Once you are 100 % sure that your application is going to work on the market only then continue with developing the application.
By following these steps you manage to ensure that you not only save money but also save time in developing something that might not even help you in the long run.
There Is No Guarantee Regarding The On-Boarding Of New Customers
When was the last time you just happened to stumble upon a small business application? Chances are next to none. This is because the search functionality of app stores is very poor. There are a large number of big names that keep entering and exiting the market and that there is hardly in space for small enterprise owners.
So, you can practically count out any chance to have access to a new audience base. After all when was the last time you went on the app store just to have a look at the new additions. There are over 2 million applications on the App Store. Plus new ones come into practice every day.
This just means that there is no point looking for customers in the app store,
To attract new users, you will have to spend on marketing the app on one of the various channels available. This is the only way your application will succeed.
Helps Enhancing Loyalty and Customer Communication
Certain business apps have a very strong benefit system that it provides to customers.
If you are a company that deals with a lot of repeat customers then you are posed to gain the most from an application. You need to make sure that the app becomes the most important part of a person’s phone.
A strategy that works really well in terms of customers enjoying your show is a loyalty program. Mobile applications can help track points, send notifications, and provide discounts.
Also, the conversion rates are much much better.
It's A Matter Of Convenience
Once upon a time paying for services and products with a mobile phone was considered a nice functionality. But this is an accepted practice now.
This was proven as well, about 26% of small business applications list mobile payment as a necessity which is a valuable driving force on the apps.
And since they are also prominently dominated by first part solutions, they are pretty safe.
With Great Investment Comes Value
For small businesses, a mobile application is the best way to provide enhanced customer communication.
But the market is stagnant whereas it should be bustling with options, This has led to the belief that there are companies that want to invest in an application but the logistics are lacking.
Outline your metrics and highlight the goal for mobile application and then build it. Just because you can outpace your competitors and add functionality because its cool. It doesn't mean that you have to do so.
If you feel that a mobile application is required for your business, go for it as it would help you out as well.
