If you’re a big name business, developing a mobile application is probably a no brainer. Why not cover all your bases? A company like Amazon or Walmart is trying to reach millions of people, across different age groups and locations. They’ve also got a huge team and lots of resources to dedicate to multiple marketing channels. Frankly, consumers would be surprised if they didn’t have some kind of mobile app presence.
But if you’re a small business or a start-up where the budget is tight – you might not be so sure about having an app. Maybe you’re working with a small team who has plenty of work on their plate. Or in order to afford an application, you might have to allocate money from another part of the existing budget. Here’s how to can decide if a mobile application is right for your business:
Consider Your Audience
Think about your dream customer. How old are they? What kind of things do they do for fun? The biggest age group using mobile apps are ages 25-34, followed closely by 25-34. Also, women are spending more time within apps then men. There are also certain types of applications that are more popular – with games and social media apps as the categories that users spend the most time with. The categories of Music and Health and Fitness are currently seeing the fastest growth. Do any of these sound like your customer? If the answer is no, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an app. But if the answer is YES, hopefully you’re seriously considering it already.
What Makes Apps Unique
You might already have a website that is optimized for the mobile experience, and be asking yourself what an app could possibly offer. So let’s look at the potential of mobile applications. A good mobile app isn’t just going to be a re-work of your website. A good mobile application is going to take full advantage of mobile technology – including geo-locating, phone camera integration, and push notifications. You can also integrate specialized ads and analytics unique for this platform.
How Much Time Can You Invest
This is a vastly different question than how much you can spend. You want users to keep returning to your application. Think of it like joining a new social media side. Even if you have a Twitter, is anyone going to keep interacting with your brand if you aren’t frequently tweeting? Probably not. The same concept applies here. If you want loyal customers on your mobile application, you need to be creating fresh content and keeping up with any reported bugs.
What Your Company Goals Are
If you know your audience, you hopefully also know your number one source of new customers – whether that word of mouth, search engine discovery, responding to digital advertisements or promotions, etc. Does a mobile application align with your lead generation? Also consider how people interact with your website. Would an application help with purchasing items or consuming content?
Investing in the development of a mobile application is not a split second decision. You have to consider the up-front costs, ongoing maintenance, and time spent monitoring usage and creating content. Every dollar and every minute matters. But if anything in this post about your audience, unique opportunities, or company goals stood out to you...it might be time to take the leap and develop a mobile app!