The concept of being connected has taken on greater proportions with the growth of smart phone users. There’s no denying that a majority of users reach for their phones the first thing in the morning. Several studies corroborate the fact that users are increasingly browsing on their smart phones rather than the desktops; using several apps, thus, forms a part of their daily routine. Not having a mobile app for your brand in such a scenario makes you vulnerable to losing out to the competitors and missing on a great opportunity to connect with your customers.
Read on for a detailed reasoning of why we think an app should definitely be a part of your brand strategy in 2016.
- A unique experience
If users are using their phones to purchase products, even a mobile website should make the cut, right? Wrong! Consumers, these days, look for a great purchasing experience that is customized and relevant rather than a generalized one. Mobile websites cannot achieve what a well-designed and developed App can. Examples like that of Uber prove that with innovation and technology a single company can change the rules of the game and charter a future course for an entire industry to follow. In this case, the innovation meant storming an erstwhile ‘website only’ industry with a powerful, user-friendly, and a highly functional App.
- A wider reach
Since there is a huge customer base that uses Apps, a company that does not invest in a mobile App is slated to lose out on the opportunity to capitalize on customer behavioral data. An app provides further insights as to how a consumer engages with a brand. Since the call-to-action is quicker, it is easier to understand what strategies work and what doesn’t. Since feedback is instant, bouquets and brickbats are faster, allowing for the fail fast strategy to work. The brand can capitalize on ideas that worked well while fine-tuning and innovating the ones that did not meet the desired results.
- Highly customizable
It is human nature to possess something that’s better and different from the neighbor’s. This translates to App behavior too as users flit from one app to another, looking for a better and richer experience. A mobile App allows you to closely shadow customer behavior and provide relevant and timely offers based on their location and interest. For instance:
- Geo-targeting: Sends offers to customers based on the location-based attributes, like offers on winter wear in cooler climes or region-specific festival offers on products.
- Relevant, real-time recommendations: Recommends similar products or triggering a chain reaction to a particular purchase, pushing more products.
- Personalized campaigns: Sends personalized message or run a special campaign to prompt an action, increasing conversion rate.
- Building brand image
A mobile app can be viewed as a canvas to paint an attractive picture of the brand. You can design the app to signify whatever you want your brand to stand out for. An app can speak the language of the brand, so you can incorporate the features that your customers want while defining the brand for the values it believes. A brand needs to be seen more frequently to get recognized and registered in the customer’s mind. An app can amplify the chances of the customers interacting with the brand more often than a mobile website. Mobile Ads are reported to be 4-5 times more effective than online ones.
- Engage more and better
An app can combine the various digital platforms used by an average user and provide a unified experience. This will help the brand to engage with the user in all possible manners, through the medium chosen by the user: be it through Facebook likes, or tweets or a sponsored review on a blog, the possibilities are endless. The increased connection provides a two-way benefit. A) The customers are able to interact with the brand better and share their views instantly. B) The brand is able to respond faster to the customer queries, complaints and feedback. This provides a personal touch to customer engagement and they are likely to stick around more since their needs are heard and placed above everything else.
We hope the above reasons are enough to convince you to get that app functional and running, if not already. If you have an app story or experience to share, please feel free to let us know.
To know more about our expertise in mobile app development, please write to us at services@
suyati.com.