Why Does an App Make Sense for Companies?

The obvious reason for an app is that we all spend a lot of time (several hours a day) using our mobile phones. 80% of all mobile phones are smartphones. There are more customers who use apps instead of the normal internet access. The mobile sector is indispensable for customer relations management. The second reason is that apps are becoming increasingly important for corporate sales. In 2018, the industry expects a sales volume of just under EUR 1.6 billion. These figures alone speak in favour of developing an app for your company.

However, an app offers numerous other advantages:

• Flexibility: You can design and define the content of your app. The content and focus of the app can be changed and edited at any time. Push messages can be created, i.e. you can send messages directly to your customers about offers and actions.
• Apps are very effective: Customers worldwide can install the app. This promotes both customer loyalty and the acquisition of new customers. An app opens up good branding opportunities for you: the customer connects certain associations with your brand (quickly accessible, super-practical, always there for me). An app is also crucial for Crossmedia: the customer comes into contact with the product via many touchpoints (web, print, QR code). Here, an app is an independent channel that is ideal for communicating with the customer.
• Smooth operation in case of slow or no Internet connection – with one-time installation and updates, the application downloads resources that are used many times (graphics, multimedia, interface, etc…) to achieve such an effect on websites is much more difficult or impossible. It is the so-called possibility of working in offline mode.
• Convenience – research shows that applications are more popular than similar websites for a very simple reason – they are more convenient to use. In addition, mobile applications provide users with a better experience (they load the view faster, are usually easier to use, because they are optimized for a specific screen size).
• Customized and engaging features – push notifications, increase customer loyalty and can better influence their behavior.
• Personalization and settings options – in mobile applications it is much easier to give users the possibility to change preferences and settings than in a standard mobile or responsive website.
• Consistent design with the operating system – compared to multi-platform (e.g. web) solutions.
• Greater security – placing an application in iStore or Google Play is associated with compliance with several additional security rules, which do not need to be met in the case of websites. This may protect against most threats such as viruses or unwanted advertisements.
• Greater opportunities to earn and accept micropayments – sales in mobile applications is easy because we have mobile payment systems at our fingertips. Paid mobile applications have a greater potential for earning money than a website offering paid access to a premium account.

Important for app development

The app must offer added value for the user. Searching for, downloading and launching an app is an effort for the user that must be worthwhile. In the course of an app development, one should – despite all the enthusiasm – first concentrate on the core of the product. If the user accepts the app well, the app can – as mentioned above – be expanded as desired and adapted to special customer requirements.

An app that concentrates on the essentials can be developed on a relatively small budget and – very important for start-ups – the app is very quickly on the market.