Chris Griggs, Managing Director of Intelligent Mobile, a people first technology company, looks at the common question facing many organisations ‘Do I need an app?'
In part 1 of our 5 part series, we examine whether the advancement in mobile makes it an absolute necessity that businesses develop their own app.
Today, if you are not mobile you are nowhere.
This is especially true for how customers search and consume information and how they make purchases. As a result, having an app solely dedicated to your business is seen as taking your place at the top table of the digital revolution.
But, do all businesses really need an app? This post will examine the benefits of your organisation developing an app and also poses the questions you have to ask of your offering in order to determine whether it is the right decision.
Appsolutely Fabulous
Taking Google’s definition of an app as a starting point, ‘a self-contained programme or piece of software designed to fulfil a particular purpose’, then, broadly speaking, their benefits can be divided into three main categories.
1- Generate and Intensify Interest.
Apps are the perfect vehicle for social media integration, loyalty recognition, improving accessibility and increasing exposure across mobile devices. Once downloaded they offer a visible presence on a user’s home screen and buy into the ‘app store cred’ that comes with utilising this technology.
2- Assist in Promotion
Apps offer the push notifications capability that allows you to inform users of certain information whilst they are on the go. They can make full use of location services, generate repeat business, and give customers a wider access to inventory.
3- Offer a One Stop Shop
An apps ability to function offline, and its nature of being focused and specific means that information and support material will be far more readily available to users than a traditional website. Real time updates can also be achieved in a more effective way.
Apps allow all user data and profiles to be stored in one place, allowing you to marry the two and create a more personalised and direct offering. Apps also greatly simplify processes such as scheduling, offer a blank canvas for features such as widgets and they also eliminate the spam filters problem.
This is a non-exhaustive list and the benefits can overlap – but it shows that apps have the power to be incredibly useful for both businesses and their audience.
The next logical step must surely be getting started on developing an app? Not necessarily…
Below is a series of questions you must think about when deliberating developing an app for your business.
Is an App Crucial for Achieving Your Key Business Objectives?
This question is designed to make you think about who you are targeting as potential customers, what benefit your app will serve to your customers and ultimately why would they go to the app store to download your app?
An app has to have a clear use and objective. It also has to make your user’s life, and yours, easier. Otherwise your app represents a poorly utilised and unnecessary resource.
An app may be a nice to have it is not always necessary for every offering. An app can accelerate and enhance the efficacy of some goals and ambitions but not others. For instance an app is perfect for consumer flight companies like Ryanair and EasyJet and they both have successfully delivered one with added value for their customers. Booking a flight, checking in online, downloading your boarding pass can all be done simply via their smartphone app allowing tickets to be stored in one place on a device accessible for people in transit.
If you have a specific, niche and quantifiable way of working or a specific goal to be achieved out with your existing responsive website then an app may very well be a great direction for your business to pursue.
If your purpose is to educate, discuss, share, create, to explore areas and subjects that are broader in scope, then a responsive website which gives the owner a greater immediacy and reach than an app – as well as being compatible with all browsers, is likely to be more suitable.
Am I Willing to Seek Outside Help?
Whilst it may be true that no one knows your business better than you, external perspective and expertise are essential when augmenting a highly specialised piece of software for your organisation. Going outside eliminates any bias or selective sharing of information giving your project the best possible start.
Consulting allows for a budget to be formulated, if it has not been before and, crucially, allows that budget to be contextualised. With apps, you get what you pay for and their advantages are only truly realised when you have the app you need rather than the one you could afford at the time.
Are All Other Resources Optimised?
An app requires diligent monitoring and refreshing. It is important that all your current outlets, such as social media, desktop website and analytics tools etc. are firing on all cylinders, before committing to anything new. Apps can take businesses to the next level but they can’t do this in a vacuum. They need to be added to a well-oiled, consistent machine.
And you never know, if you ensure all other outlets are optimised, results that you thought only an app would bring may start coming about.
Do I Have the Time/Resources to Maintain My App?
Once an app is downloaded, you have successfully reached your user’s inner sanctum. This is where the hard works starts – not ends. Having achieved a visible presence on a particular device you then have to deliver what your user expects and it has to delight them. If you fail to do so, your app will be quickly deleted. There is a lot of dross out there and whilst the mobile revolution represents a gild edged opportunity – it has also made customers attention spans that little bit shorter.
The onus is also on your business to keep your app updated and engaging, ensuring your customers use your app time and time again. It is an ongoing commitment and if you can’t commit fully to it, then it is unlikely you will be given a second chance.
In short, whether businesses need an app or not should be assessed on a case by case basis.
And that is where we come in.
At IM we specialise in helping your organisation identify key areas for digital development. We have extensive experience in creating tailor made apps, responsive website and other digital products such as SMS dashboards and video hosting platforms.
Get in touch today and we will help you answer this most modern of questions.
By Chris Griggs, Managing Director of Intelligent Mobile
