So there are seven main reasons why every small, medium based business should have an app for the service that they’re providing. So when you understand these seven core reasons it makes it a lot easier when you are tweaking and testing the pitch that you’re going to make to these businesses to sell them a mobile app.
Reason One – Mobile Apps Give You High Visibility to Your Customers
So the number one reason is when someone installs a mobile app on their phone, they are visible to their customers at all times. I mean, the stats show on average, people spend more than two hours a day on their mobile devices. Now, granted there are probably only a few applications which make up the bulk of this total usage.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that a user has to scroll through on their phone to find apps that they want to use. So that being said, they’re still going to be scrolling past their company’s app icon. Now whether they open that app you or not is irrelevant, the fact that their logo and their branding is always within, sort of, their eye shot, subconsciously they’re aware of that and it helps to reinforce your brand.
Reason Two – Push Notifications Allow Direct Communication With Your App Users
Reason number two; it creates a direct form of marketing with the user. Inside the Zapable app builder you can add push notifications and communicate directly with your customers or potential customers in regards to your business. Now with an app you can have so many different options on it from general info about your business prices, booking forms, loyalty cards and coupons. If you also run a blog you can publish your latest blog feeds onto your app.
One of the biggest benefits of all is that you can contact your customers directly to their mobile phone, instantly with special promotions that you’re running, maybe coupons that you’ve created or a new loyalty card.
So with push notifications it actually just gives you an instant direct form of contact that can always be used as a little reminder to plant seeds in your customers’ minds about the products and services that business offers.
Reason Three – Leveraging Coupons And Loyalty Cards For Repeat Business
The next point, and reason number three, is it helps to provide added value to your customer base. I mean, there are countless businesses these days that run loyalty card programs that mail out, we’ll say snail mail, coupons in the post to people’s doors. And granted it’s still effective but I’ve lost count of how many of the cardboard loyalty cards I’ve lost. I’ve lost count of coupons which have come through my mail box which I want to use but I just forget about it.
I simply forget to bring the coupons with me to the shop. (I never forget to bring my phone out with me though) Now with an app you can digitalise all this by having the loyalty card within the app, you can have the coupons within the app. And not only that, by harnessing the power of push notifications you can send a message making people aware of this.
A push notification message to a user of your app when they enter a certain radius that will send them out a coupon to come into your store, and they’ll get 10% off; which is immensely powerful because you are marketing the people based on the location they are currently at. And if they’re near your store, and they’re thinking about going to another store to buy something which they could buy from yours. When they get a coupon through to their phone that makes it a very easy decision of where they want to go.
Reason Four – Your Mobile App Will Help To Build Your Brand
The next major point is point four and it’s to help you build branding recognition with your customers. So if you look at the whole branding concept you can make your app for this business whatever way you wish. You can use the company logo, you can take the company colours that they use and you can create then an app where customers have value out of having this app on their phone.
Now there are so many different sectors and businesses that you can build this app… like an app for. But… an example would be hair salon. They could take photos of some of their clients’ haircuts that they’ve just done and they can post it… post it onto the app. That becomes valuable because users want to go onto that app and they can see maybe ideas for the next haircut they want. And then it validates that hair salon is able to do the job that they want to do.
And then you have the recognition side of it and the more you can get customers seeing your app, using your app, looking at information in your app, the more they are going to be open to coming back to you for return business, because you’ve built up a level of trust with that customer.
Reason Five – Increase Customer Engagement
Point number five is to really improve customer engagement. It does not matter what you’re selling. You could be selling floors, physiotherapy, coffee, lunch menus and lunch deals at restaurants. And if users have a way to get the same end result without having to pick up the phone and call you, then it’s going to improve your business. Let’s say for example, they want to make a booking for a restaurant or they want to make a booking for a massage. Well, then, they can just open up the app on your phone, enter in their booking, select the date, select the time and then they can make that appointment, all without having to pick up the phone. So that’s the level of engagement that you want.
Maybe you’ve got some new product lines in; well, you can add them to your catalogue. People can open up your app, look at your catalogue and they can make an appointment to come in. Maybe you’ve got a real estate app and people are looking for properties in a certain area. Or you’ve got an auto car dealership or you sell parts for mountain biking, road biking. So that just creates a better level of engagement with your customer.
Reason Six – A Mobile App Will Help You Stand Apart From Your Competition
Point six is it helps you stand above the competition. People who ran offline businesses took a lot longer to get online than what they should have. And the ones who got online first actually got a big jump ahead of their competitors. The mobile apps base is exactly the same. Anyone who runs an offline business, and they’ve done so for a long time, or they’re aware of other people in that… in that particular space, they’ll know that they need a website. Nearly all offline businesses need a website and those that don’t are often being sold on getting a website built.
A mobile app is exactly the same concept and it’s growing. So now not only do businesses need a website they also need an app. It just gives you multiple channels to be able to communicate with your customer.
Reason Seven – Build Loyalty And Trust With Your Customers
And number seven, last but not least, it’s creating a loyalty with your customer. When you think about how much advertising the average person must see; whether it be TV advertising; or bill boards they drive past; it could even be advertising at bus shelters, on their Facebook news feed. When they search Google on websites they visit with banner ads; coupons that are posted through the door, I mean, emails they get sent. It’s a lot of space to compete with so when you try to advertise you’re going to slowly… unless you’re right on the ball, you’ll lose… you’ll begin to lose your impact with your customers.
Now if they have your app on their phone, you don’t need to compete with everyone else. You don’t need to compete with anyone else with Facebook ads; or adword ads because they have their own… you have your own little space on their phone, which is your app. You now have a nice little bit in their pocket where you’re able to communicate with them directly at any point. When you’re running an offer, rather than relying on them to look at your fan page or visit your website to see what offer it is you’re running. In future you can just send the push notification which will alert that user to that offer. So there’s no competing with anyone and that will help to build return business.
When you understand these benefits it will make it a lot easier for you to pitch a mobile app to a local business. Whatever reason they have for maybe not wanting one, you will have a counter reason for why they need to have one. The more you can answer their questions and their concerns, the easier it is for you to make a sale.
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