www.agc.org Contact Us Archives/Subscribe Advertise IT Forum IT Forum Steering Committee

Does Your Business Really Need An App for That?

By David M. Mastovich, MASSolutions, Inc.

Smart phones account for 27 percent of the mobile phone market, led by nearly 50 million iPhone or Android users worldwide. Those seemingly smart consumers want to communicate, buy and enjoy whatever they want, whenever they want. As a result, more than 400,000 mobile applications or apps have been developed in the last three years.

So does your business need a mobile app right now?

The most used mobile apps are for playing games, catching up on news, sports and weather, social networking and listening to music. But there are a number of successful business apps, too.

When it comes to food, apps are a natural fit. In its first three months, the Domino’s Pizza app generated more than $2 million in orders. The app made it easy and fast to order and engaged customers with opportunities to win prizes. Restaurants can feature menus and allow users to make reservations. Other apps help people find restaurants and some even show photos of dishes people have uploaded.

Nike Training Club is targeted at women and designed to be a full-body training app with workouts and drills focusing on strength, cardio and core training. Local fitness centers post the workout of the day to motivate members. Health and fitness club "finder apps" help travelers locate a gym and get a workout in while on the road.

Entertainment, music, books, magazines and even birthday, anniversary and holiday gift shopping are increasingly done via mobile. It’s estimated the value of digital and physical goods people buy with their mobile phones will reach $200 billion globally by 2012. Amazon’s app compares prices from local retailers for more than a million products sold on Amazon.com.

These examples show how apps can help companies achieve the following:

1. Brand – Many of the "first-to-app" companies were famous brands like Nike, Coke and Domino’s. Apple pretty much created the app space. As a result, there’s a cutting-edge or coolness factor associated with having an app. If your company creates an app and markets it via multiple channels, the opportunity exists to enhance your brand.

2. Please – Consumers want convenience. You can make or keep customers happy by making their lives easier. If they can learn about and buy from your company quickly and easily, you can please them. When you provide them with valuable, timely information, you keep them happy and your company and app become a part of their routine.

3. Connect – Think in terms of those health & fitness apps. The user has an ongoing positive connection with the company. You have an opportunity to achieve regular marketing touches in a non-marketing manner through feel good connections.

4. T.O. – No, not the football player/reality show guy. Track & optimize. When customers use your app, you have information to track and trend. Plus, your mobile app helps with search engine marketing in that your company name is online one more time.

But before you jump on the mobile app bandwagon, you still need to consider options.
Today’s smart phones have capabilities nearly to the level of desktops and support both regular websites and mobile versions. As a result, you might be able to achieve your goals in a more cost-effective way by creating a mobile version of your website.

Some companies require more capabilities for mobile than their regular website offers. In those instances, a mobile app and the cost associated with it make sense. But for many others, simply developing the mobile version of the website will suffice or be even better than the app. For example, Wikipedia’s mobile site is tailored to fit the size of the screen it is viewed on and seems more user friendly than the app.

If you have weighed benefits vs. overhead costs of developing the app and decided it’s time to move forward, remember to make it about them – your existing and potential customers:

Begin by identifying the "who," as in who is the target market for the app and why they would use or need it.
Provide fresh, updated content that adds value for users. The more time-sensitive, the better. Announce specials and provide new information.
Remember it is about convenience for them. Make their lives easier and become part of their routine as much as possible. Build an app for each mobile phone platform so it is available for anyone that wants to use it.
Make sure the app does something and isn’t just a mobile website. Otherwise, why make the bigger investment?
Get the word out about the app. Tell existing and potential customers about it and give them a compelling reason to use it. Utilize multiple mediums like email, text, Twitter, your website and others to reach them.

Your business may or may not need a mobile app today. But you definitely need to analyze the opportunity and enhance your mobile presence now and in the future.

About the Author
David M. Mastovich, MBA, is president of MASSolutions, Inc. For more information, please visit massolutions.biz.