Few years back, it was extremely important for your business to have an online presence. Nowadays, it is extremely important for your brand to have a mobile strategy added to that. A large portion of this world’s people now use a smartphone, and they need to interact on their mobile phones with the brands they like. They need something responsive on their devices and something that can ease their communication with the business you own. Mobile apps (using apps that are developed in Android, iOS or others) are the solution above mobile websites, because they can get you closer to your customer. Why? First thoughts that come to mind are: Performance, Push notifications, Offline access, Presence on the appstores etc.
In the following lines, here are the pros of having a mobile app for your project over mobile websites:
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Online and Offline Access
It is probably the biggest difference between a mobile app and a mobile website. Information needs to be accessed quickly and without interferences like, for example… internet connection.
Loading content into your app after going offline is a mavrvelous time-saving feature of mobile apps, especially for users that are commuting to and from work via subways. Sure, mobile apps use the internet, too, but many of them can store the latest updates on the device, where they can be accessed easily. Mobile websites use caching when they are not connected to the internet, but they are limited in possibilities and they take longer to load from the browsers.
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Direct Marketing Channel
The information is right at your customers’ fingertips and can be brought to them by push notifications, getting them closer to your brand and making them aware of your latest special sales or special promotions, whenever you choose it’s best.
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Improved productivity
Studies show that using mobile apps on your devices has the following effect: producticity increases by almost 40%, creating more time for additional revenue and also additional business. They are also effective on manipulating complex data for reports, infographics or charts. When it comes to complex data, mobile websites are slower and harder to optimize, and that slows down productivity and workflows.
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Builds Recognition and Brand Awareness
A beautiful design that is branded with your logo is a wonderful combination when it comes to mobile apps. It greatly contributes to your awareness and you can customize freely, targeted on your audience. You can make this anyway you want it: informative, hip, very stylish or just functional. Keep in mind, though, it has to be packed with features your customers will surely love. Also, the more you get customers to use your app, they will be more convinced to buy your products or services.
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Improve Your Customer Engagement
No matter the product, your customers are in need of reaching you whenever and wherever. By using a support category on your app, you can make a huge difference when communicating with your clients, no matter what you are selling.
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Customer Loyalty
It’s just a “touch” away from your customers. One of the most important things you should achieve when developing an app is customer loyalty, keeping them engaged and at a fingertip away from reaching you. The world is already filled with flyers, posters, newspaper ads and so on. We slowly get to that time when you could lose your customers. It’s all about advertising that surrounds us all.
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Efficient Business Processes
At a click of the button, your customers can access key information. The apps can also offer instant support and information to customers everytime and everywhere needed, and it can result by pushing notifications to the customers. Mobile websites, though, they require logging and this process can be slower and much more difficult to work with.
Finally, choosing the right decision depends on your business. For a large number of businesses, the winner is a combination of mobile apps with mobile websites. For an online store, you should let visitors purchase on your app as well as your mobile website. Restaurants can offer special menus and different directions, and blogs or magazines can send notifications when new articles are published.
