How do you decide whether or not to develop a mobile app for your business?
You may have been considering if it’s advisable for your business to spend the time and expense needed to develop and employ a mobile app for your business. Does a mobile app even make sense for your business? What would it cost? Who’s going to update it? These and many other questions need answers before you can really make a well informed decision. Let’s look at some of what you should know.
The Pros and Cons of creating a mobile app for your business
Pros:
- More than 50 percent of adult Americans are using smartphone technology
- Keeps your brand prominent in the marketplace
- A great tool to increase customer loyalty and retention
- App users typically spend much more time on apps than on mobile sites
- Mobile apps usually load faster than mobile sites
- Available offline, though they would have to login to buy, or perform any other action
Cons:
- A mobile app has to be made for each platform, iPhone, Android, Windows, or any other platform
- Mobile apps require perpetual care, both as regard fresh content as well as technology updates
- Mobile apps are not as easy to optimize as a mobile website
- Mobile ads may well serve the purpose
- Can be wildly expensive! While there are a few Do It Yourself solutions, they are minimal in functionality and difficult to update.
There are more apps than you can imagine, but some are more useful than others. Here is an example of how apps were developed in the health care market. Count the cost of making your app versus the usefulness and appeal. While we believe that you definitely need a mobile version of your site, the question of whether or not you need a mobile app is one you need to carefully consider.
