Signs your business needs a mobile app

Whether you’re an accountant or a golf club, a hair salon or a restaurant, you might be wondering if your business could benefit from a mobile app? If you already have a website and are doing well with your social media, this could seem like a tricky decision to make but, you can also see your competitors are launching their own apps too and you want in. So, what are the signs that your business should launch its own mobile app?

#1 Your site isn’t ranking well in mobile search

Google has made a big deal of mobile search over the last 18 months as it has prepared to switch over to a new mobile index. That means competition for mobile rankings is fiercer than ever. If your website has been left behind and is being outperformed, a mobile app could be just the tool you need to ramp up your mobile visibility.

#2 You want to make a bigger feature of your customer loyalty programme

Regardless of the nature of your business, having a customer loyalty programme is usually a great marketing tool – it’s a way to reward repeat customers (say with a free round of golf, a free drink or a free treatment) and encourages them to keep coming back for more. An app can help make your loyalty programme a bigger selling point and get more customers signed up, especially if it offers exclusive features or content– which can help you to build a loyal customer base.

#3 You can use your app to solve a problem or make life more convenient for customers

Very few of us spend much of the day far away from our smartphones, so a clever app design can tap into this and make light work of a common problem or, make life more convenient for your customers. If you do run a salon or restaurant for example, you could offer appointment or table bookings via your app – that’s much quicker and more convenient than having to call up. A travel company could offer exclusive destination guides, currency conversion or helpful packing lists for example. Features like this give a better impression of your brand because they elevate your customer experience.

#4 Your competitors have one

Just because your competitors have an app is not reason enough on its own to go ahead and have one developed but if several competitors do, it’s certainly well worth your time exploring having an app designed for you. Take time o study what they do well and what common features are and speak with your app developer about what you can offer that is different or better. Conversely, if no one in your industry has an app, and you can create one that adds value to your customers, use that to stand out from the crowd.