Considering a mobile app as part of your digital strategy? The rise of mobile apps and our collective addiction to having our phones with us at all times make this a very appealing strategy. A mobile app can absolutely be a powerful way to connect with your customers.
Here are a few questions you should ask if you’re considering creating a mobile app:
How will a mobile app uniquely meet my customers' needs? How is it different than other tools and channels?
Be articulate about the unique value you expect to provide to your customers through a mobile app. Be clear about how that is different than the experience they have in other channels – especially your website – currently. Are you able to use the phone’s hardware to make something easier (think document scanning with my phone camera), or location to remove steps (think searching for doctors or services near me), or location to remind me of something (think location-based to dos), or social integration to enable sharing (think status updates to share something you’ve learned)? To create a compelling reason to download your app, you must offer a unique experience that provides value to your customers.
How will my customers know about the app?
Remember, a mobile app is rarely an “if you build it, they will come” project. Consider that the average phone user uses about 27 apps in a given month. A good chunk of those are already allotted to the crowd favorites; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the latest game apps. Once you have your compelling reason to download, you need a plan to ensure that your customers know about the app. Review all of your marketing touch points, from your website and email, to billing stuffers, to printed newsletters, to in-store or in-office signage. Create a comprehensive, integrated plan to promote the use of your app.
Am I prepared to invest in improvements?
Think beyond your initial mobile app development investment and consider the potential life cycle of your app. Are you prepared to make updates and enhancements from user feedback? Are you prepared to seize new opportunities to connect with your mobile app users as technology evolves? As you budget for the project, consider not only the initial mobile app development and launch, but continued investment as well.
If you’re ready to consider a mobile app, we can help turn your idea into a reality. Our mobile app developers have built a variety of mobile apps on all major platforms. Get in touch with us today to get started.
This blog was written by Kirsten Jensen, former Director of Digital Marketing at Onsharp.
