For many business owners, the idea of creating an app is very appealing. Apps are an increasingly popular way for businesses to engage customers in different ways, whether by offering them helpful information or providing a means to communicate with both employees and other customers. However, just because there are many benefits to having an app doesn’t mean that it will be effective for your particular business or meet everyone’s needs. Before committing time and money to this endeavor, you should consider the pros and cons of having an app for your company.
An App Can Make Your Company More Efficient
When you have an app, certain tasks become easier thanks to technology. For example, when traveling around town doing errands or running errands on behalf of customers, salespeople can quickly pull up a map of where they need to go or search for nearby business contacts. Employees who work from home won’t have to waste time writing down appointments when they can add them directly onto their phones.
Even though there are plenty of ways your employees and other contacts could use an app (or multiple apps) to stay organized and create new efficiencies within your team, it’s important to remember that nothing can replace the good old fashioned calendar and planner. There’s no way to write down everything in one place like you can with a physical planner, which means you’ll still want people around the office (and employees working remotely) checking their email often to keep up with important tasking.
An App Can Help Your Business Stay in Touch – Michael Osland
Thanks to the technology in nearly everyone’s pocket, you never need to miss an appointment or forget about a meeting again. Instead of losing money by having clients reschedule because they couldn’t make it (or losing time trying to re-arrange schedules), employees and customers alike will be able to see when meetings are taking place and adjust their schedules accordingly. This can also help salespeople connect with new prospects much more easily than before if they know when someone is available for them to meet over coffee or chat over the phone.
While there are many benefits involved with having an app that allows both your employees and clients to stay in touch, it’s not always accurate. Customers may send messages throughout the day, but you won’t get them until the next day when the app refreshes itself. Remember that there are also certain apps (like email) where having an app isn’t necessary to stay in touch with customers; you could instead use your company website or social media for this purpose (although that may not be ideal depending on what you’re selling).
An App Can Help Your Business Grow
There is no better way to spread awareness about your brand than by creating a mobile application and marketing it through ads or even through word of mouth says Michael Osland. As long as you have a strong internet connection, users will be able to find information about your company quickly and easily without ever needing to leave your app.
Creating an app also allows you to target potential customers by using geolocation services, especially for restaurants and stores in big cities. They can provide users with current deals or coupons when they are in the area.
While many different ways having an app can help your business grow, it’s important to remember how much work it will take to create, update, and maintain it. Since the time spent on apps (and most mobile-related tasks) doesn’t directly translate into money earned like other marketing efforts do, this may not be ideal if you don’t have the resources available right now for this type of long-term commitment.