8 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Mobile App

What are mobile applications? Understanding the term is more important before we move into explaining the hacks that help one build a strong application for mobile. An app is a software application that is designed by a team of app developers, which goes through a lot of stages before getting launched in the market and being used. It is a one-stop solution for almost all our daily needs. These can run on any of your personal devices like phones, tablets, computers, iPods, etc. Each app has its own compatibility with different devices and operates only on those that they are compatible with.

Why do we need apps?

In the era of technology and smartphones, when each person is carrying their data and information on just a single device, it has become extremely important for them to have mobile applications that suit their needs best. From running businesses online to getting a platform to market your business and run it on some other platform, there is a lot that the apps offer to its users on a platter. The number of mobile users is much more than it was before and with the increase in users every passing year, these apps have become the need of the house. Since all users have separate needs and demands, the apps are made to suit them and be useful to them in some or the other way.

These apps are not only used to sell products but now the on-demand service apps like Urban Company, Uber, etc. have also gained immense popularity. We are now going to talk about the reasons why these mobile applications have become so essential for businesses:

• Brand awareness: All brands and companies are always on the lookout of getting ahead of their competitors. The best way to climb the ladder of success these days is by getting in touch with the best app development agency and hiring a team that has a good skill set and experience in app development. This will help you get on to the platform where your name and products will be visible to the public and you will get more recognition. There have been times when brands were approaching advertising agencies to market their name, but with the development of these apps, third parties are approaching the app owners for displaying their product ads on their app pages.
• Customer loyalty: What do you think will happen if your customer is not loyal and switches to some other brand anytime? You will lose out on them. So, the best way to gain their trust and loyalty is by communicating with them directly, which can happen only through these apps. They help in creating a personal contact between the app owner and the users. They can communicate, users can raise issues, questions, and the customer management team can look into the problem and assist the users. This way customers can get an enhanced experience of using the app.
• Brand recognition: It is important for all brands to be recognized among the users and their clients as marketing helps them in the long run. The brand is the first thing that a user sees before buying any products or services. Therefore, all companies focus on selling their brand more than the products. Also, to keep the users engaged, you will have to offer them in-app discounts and offers which they can’t refuse. This will help you build a brand image of your company.
• The marketing channel is direct: There are features like push notifications in the mobile apps that can be sent out to customers time and again to remind them of the products they could possibly be interested in buying. A company does not have to spend a fortune on appointing salesmen or middlemen to go from door to door, promoting or selling your products. All this work is done by the app itself now.
• Profits: Since everything is done on the app and the app owners can directly get an insight into the performance on the app, there is a high possibility of improvement and generating more revenue. Mobile users are mostly using their devices for almost everything. The fast-paced internet connection allows them to operate everyone on the web easily and apps are the best when it comes to browsing a retail outlet online or maybe looking for home services online. This brings a lot of people on this platform helping the businesses generate more profits.
• Accessibility: We all know the importance of mobile phones in each person’s life! No one can pass a moment without their phones being around them. So, you see the importance of apps here, they always stay with the users, no matter their location or what time it is, they can always access these apps. The exposure of these apps is at its maximum as you don’t have to concerned about its shelf life. These are always accessible and available to users. This helps the users keep themselves updated with the latest discounts being offered by the brands and companies.
• Handling customer grievances: Since these apps help the users get in direct contact with the customer-owners, they can explain their grievances, which can be addressed without any further ado. This helps the apps stay ahead of the others and earning the trust of their users.
• Personalization: Mobile applications allow users to personalize the app according to their preferences, which helps the app become more engaging for them. Apps might get a good word of mouth if the users like to use it, and it might help in spreading the word among the users.

Types of apps

So, what are the type of apps one can develop for their brand? Since every organization is different from each other in some way or the other, their apps and the features of the mobile apps also vary accordingly. One has to ensure to get only the best features integrated into the app to get more returns.

There are mainly three types of mobile applications:

• Native apps: This type of apps is native to one platform, meaning that they are developed only for that very platform and won’t be compatible with any other platforms. For instance, if an app is developed for iOS, it will work only on the application devices and will not be able to function on Android devices.
• Web Apps: The second type of mobile applications are the ones that are made specifically for the web. These can be opened on any device on the web browser. These are not standalone applications that will require a user to install them in their devices, rather, they can simply open these in the browser and start using it.
• Hybrid apps: And finally, the hybrid apps are developed keeping in mind that they function across platforms. These are quite similar to the native apps, but function on all platforms efficiently.

Hacks to develop successful apps

With a lot of competition in the app industry and everyone producing a feature-loaded app, it has become very important to focus on developing a user-friendly app. There is a lot of scope for the app developers going wrong in certain places while developing the app, therefore it is important for them to conduct a meeting with the app owners and understand their needs and requirements from the app before proceeding with the work.

If you are also one of the potential app owners, you must read further to know some basic hacks that are important to know for helping you make a successful app.

• Audience: The first and most basic thing that the app developers need to know is who it is being made for. The target audience should always be known so that their interests, likes, dislikes, age, gender, geographical location are all kept in consideration. If you are making an app for the children it will be different from that of grown-ups and the corporates. The functioning of all the apps is different and might attract a separate set of users, therefore, it is important to figure out the target audience of the app if one wants to sustain themselves in the competition and make their way in the industry.
• Competition: How many apps do you think exist in the app store or the play store? They are more than a million and are made for each industry, company, and category. You look up for something, and the app stores suggest you plenty of options to choose from. This is how you know there is a sky-high competition among apps and it has been like that for quite some time now. The app developers should follow these simple steps to outshine the others and stand out of the crowd:
• Follow the review of all the users on the competitor’s app and make sure not to go the same road and refrain from making the same mistakes.
• Developers should know how to reach out to the masses with the use of SEO optimization and using the right set of keywords.
• It is of extreme importance for any app to look after the security of the users and their details. These apps should ensure to safeguard their important details through encryption.
• Language of the app and framework: When it comes to developing content for the app, the developers should hire an editor who is able to write simple and understandable language that is easily comprehended by the users. Too many adjectives might confuse the users leading them to look out for other apps that are easy to understand.

Secondly, all apps are made on a framework, which should be selected keeping in mind the audience you are trying to reach. Either a native or a hybrid app should be made in their respective frameworks. If you are thinking of developing an MVP initially, a proper framework suitable for the app development should be selected so as to avoid any sort of confusion.

• Marketing: Promoting your app on a grand scale can put you in a win-win situation in the times of tough competition. You know there are a lot of apps offering the same services and products that your app is offering. So, why would the app users switch to your application? Well, the entire game is that of the strong marketing and promotional tactics, that help the app owners to make their mobile application reach the right audience. These marketing channels should be created in such a way that they convince the users fully, making them want to install the app in their devices. A catchy phrase, an appealing logo, or maybe a colorful home page can help you stand out from the crowd and make an app that gives others a run for their money.
• Reliability: One of the most important reasons which helps the apps sustain in the market. One should be able to develop an app that is reliable and offers the best services to the users. All apps are developed for a purpose, but what if it fails to serve that purpose and doesn’t live up to the expectations of the users? Simple, they will just uninstall it and look for other options available in the app store. In this case scenario, app developers should try to make apps that are more reliable and give users what they seek in an engaging manner. The app should be able to solve some purpose of the users, it should be a one-stop solution to their problems.
• Believing your idea: There is a lot of research that goes inside the development of the app, and even more when one starts thinking of creating an app. Once you have the idea in place and know how to proceed with it, you must be clear on all aspects and believe that your idea will act as a solution for many. You must believe in what you are offering to the users and the outcome of the same will be good. The things that you have to offer to the user should be properly defined.
• Costing: How about setting up a budget for your app? Would you want to wander off during the development phase and pay a hefty amount to the app development team? Well, to avoid any last-minute confusion and pay a large sum, you must set a budget in which you want to develop the app. This includes the personnel working on the team, the tech stack, etc. Once the app has been developed, you have to figure out the price you expect the users to pay to avail of its benefits and get access to its features. If you think the users will pay for using the app, then you can set the price accordingly, however, many times users do not like to pay for the apps and believe in downloading only free applications from the app store. This mindset of the users should also be kept in consideration while deciding the cost of the app. It is essential to know the price of the competitor’s apps before pricing your app. You can offer freemiums in the beginning as well, followed by a certain fee for accessing the additional features, which are not accessible in the free app.
• Competent approach: There are certain thumb rules to consider by all app owners in the initial phase of app development. There is a requirement of app owners at the beginning of the app developers who work on the entire process of development and prepare a finished product in the best form. You must consider the following things while hiring a team of experts to work on your project:
• The past experience of the app developers and since how many years they have been in the industry.
• Hire the personnel according to your budget, you might not want to overspend on them. You can either hire a team of developers on a regular salary basis or getting in touch with an app development company to provide you with experts who have worked on similar app development in the past.
• Check the portfolio of the developers and see how their performance has been in the past.
• Explain to them about your idea and tell them how you see the app to be.
• Time period: You must give ample time to the app developers to work on the project as any work done in a rush might just result in a negative outcome. You must know a suitable time to launch your app and when would the requirement be among the users. So, before launching the app, the app owners should decide about the time that will be spent on the development of the app and on the promotion in the later stage.
• Testing: All apps go through a testing phase before being launched in the app world. It is advised to hire experts to test your app and see if all features of the mobile application are functioning well. You would not want to offer a half baked app to the users, therefore, it is necessary to test the app according to the user’s perspective and adding or removing the features as per their choices.

Conclusion

Developing a mobile app is not a cakewalk, and developing a competitive and feature-loaded app might just be a hectic task. The app developers and owners should be aware of whom they are making the app so that they can get similar thought processes and make a valuable app for them which will outshine the others. The most important thing in all this to have the right people on board for the development process of the app as they create it according to the needs of the users and the app owners. It is the developers who put in their skill sets in work and bring the best on a platter.

Xpertyst is a Mobile app development company and is developing different types of mobile applications for the last few years and have extensive knowledge of domain features, if you are looking for app development services, write us at [email protected]