How Mobile App Development Can Transform Your Businesses
The rise of mobile apps has changed the way consumers shop. You no longer have to go to a physical store to purchase goods and services. Instead, you can browse on your phone, select products from your favorite retailers, and complete transactions without leaving your home.
Mobile apps are becoming an integral part of every company’s marketing strategy. According to Statista, the mobile app development market globally is estimated to increase by 9.27% 40bn in 2026. This means businesses without a cellphone presence are missing out on potential customers.
This post covers the basics of developing mobile apps for small businesses
Why You Need an App for Small Business
Mobile apps are very useful tools for almost any business. It helps reduce wait times, engage users with push notifications, give customers a personalized experience, and respond quickly to customer needs.
The app allows you to get in touch with your clients directly, even from the other world. Apps let you reach customers you may never meet in person. It also motivates customers to make physical purchases by allowing them to shop and research online.
Applications can also be a marketing tool, as many buyers discover new products and services by browsing app stores. App Store Optimization makes your app stand out by optimizing it for App Store search.
Implementing apps for small businesses has three main aspects of for business.
- Your app should complement your business
- Make it easy to become a customer
- Business shouldn’t be complicated
Nine Ways Mobile App Development Can Help You To Transform Your Brand
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Create Goals
Before you start developing your app, you should know what your users want. You can also consider why you need the app. Do you need an application to help your customers achieve something, or do you need an app to drive sales?
Small business applications should include features such as notifying customers of services, facilitating customer payments, creating catalogs of products and services, and creating two-way communications with audiences.
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Make it Simple and Relevant
People won’t use your app unless it offers something better than what they’re used to. Frictionless means the user should be happy with experience. Applications should be easy to use and provide added value.
Apps aren’t everything. It’s not a leap in business performance. You should focus on why your customers choose you over other companies. Customers want apps that are fit and easy to use. They like simple interfaces and don’t want anything too complicated.
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Focus on UX
Mobile App User Interface (UI) design is the most important part of any mobile application. User experience (UX) should also be considered when designing mobile applications. Simply put, UI is how your app “looks,” and UX is how it “feels.”
Unlike websites, mobile apps are designed for use on the go and on small screens. Websites are basically designed to be viewed on a computer. A mobile app should be faster and easier to use than a website. Apps are better suited for brands than websites because they allow users to easily pay, get updates, and share information online from anywhere. Another research says the total number of mobile application downloads globally has increased rapidly, up to the 204 billion downloads in 2019.
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Planning Your App
Before you start developing your application, you need to make sure you have a proper idea in your mind of what you want your app to do. Brainstorming helps generate ideas. Your development team, whether it’s an in-house team or a mobile app development company, should have a clear understanding of how your app works.
Businesses should consider how much they can afford to spend on an app before starting to develop it. Features such as push notifications, geolocation, and map integration should be considered early as they can be more complex to implement.
The more functionality you add to your app, the more expensive it can be to develop (and the longer it can take to develop).
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Research Your Customers and Competitors
Know your target audience before starting a project. Know what they want and how you should help them. As mentioned above, competitors’ products should also be considered.
As with any marketing effort, it’s important to communicate with your customers before you start building, so you don’t waste time and money building something nobody wants.
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Make Sure Your Business App Matches Your Branding
Small brands should focus on building strong brands. Branding is important because it helps people trust you. Consistent branding across different platforms creates a strong brand. Apps should be designed to ensure that all pieces of branding are consistent.
Let our outside experts help you develop your logo, slogan, and corporate identity. These elements of branding help differentiate your business.
For example, if you’ve established yourself as a service-first company that isn’t always the cheapest, don’t focus on app discounts or low prices. Customers should get the same impression from your app that they get from your website or a static location.
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First Vote MVP
Lowest-value products are apps with useful and simple functionality. It provides the bare minimum functionality to achieve your goals. For example, for a business looking to offer products online, basic product listings and cart/payment processing are the minimum requirements. Don’t worry about extra features to get started.
MVP is a very simple app that doesn’t take much time or effort to create. You can use these apps to test valid hypotheses and get feedback from your customers. Investors can be found using MVP. Otherwise, developers may waste years convincing themselves that their assumptions are wrong before releasing a more complex version of their app.
Key Features to Add To Online Business Apps
- Login Pages with Social Login
- About us page
- Contact form and/or live messaging
- Pricing Page
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Other Marketing Mediums vs Benefits of Mobile App Marketing
People usually have around 27 apps installed. That means that your app is competing with millions of other apps for attention and recognition. But don’t be deterred! Just think about how many web pages you’re competing with online. This is just further reason to make sure you are providing a valuable and engaging experience in your app.
Building a mobile app is not necessarily a marketing strategy in of itself. App store optimization aside, apps are a great complement to other channels, as we’ve already discussed.
Conclusion
Easier said than done! Still, there are ways to increase the likelihood that each and effort will be made to deliver a product that meets your specific needs when choosing an app development company. Check testimonials first, then check reviews on third-party sites like Clutch. Interview the manager himself to ensure that the information has not been tampered with. If you are looking for the mobile application developers at a reasonable cost, get in touch with App Development Pros.
