Does Your Business App Really Help Your Customers?

A lot of people don’t know it, but we do app creation for businesses, too. If you own or run a business and don’t have an app yet, it would be a great idea to take notice of how many other businesses have apps. More and more businesses are now using apps to reach out and interact with their customers.

But are those apps really helping their customers? Or are business owners and managers falling far short of their clients’ expectations?

Most customers have smartphones that have a lot of capabilities. Their phones have more capacity than the first four generations of personal computers. Businesses are failing their customers in epic fashion failing to provide their customers the experience they expect with today’s technology.

When mobile business apps first became popular, a lot of businesses slapped together elementary apps just to put their hats in the ring. Unfortunately for many businesses, just having an app that does nothing but take orders and give a brief description of their business is not enough anymore.

Some businesses have gone so far as to think the mere virtue of having an app will “hold their customers hostage” and keep them from using their browsers to seek out other businesses. In case they haven’t noticed, their competitors all have apps, too.

The #1 Rule of Business App Creation

The biggest problem with business apps is that businesses have forgotten who the app is for. They think the app is for their business, but it never was. The #1 rule of business app creation: the app is for the customer. I will repeat this and italicise it because it is important: the app is for the customer.

If you are putting your app out there on the front line for your customers, that app is going to determine how your customers interact with your business. It is also going to be the sole arbiter of how your customer perceives your business. Your app is going to determine whether your customers stay with you or do business with someone else.

Your business app is there for one purpose and one purpose only: to create repeat customers. Another way of looking at this is that your app is there to foster customer retention. According to a business statistics provider called SumAll, an increase of 30% in repeat customers can make or break a business. If you have 40% repeat customers, you will generate 50% more revenue than you would with 10% repeat customers.

What it Means for App Creation

If you have a business app that hasn’t been performing the way you want it to, it’s probably time to take a serious look at why it isn’t performing. Is your app too simple? Does it enhance your customer’s experience? Does it offer your customer anything they couldn’t get over the phone?

When we do app creation for a business that already has an app, here are some of the things we look at. What does the app tell your customer about your business? Does it tell your customer you are just like everyone else? Does it do the bare minimum that you would expect an app to do? What does your app do for your customers that everyone else’s doesn’t do?

When we look at what some business apps are doing, it’s like having a Maserati and only putting the pedal a quarter of the way to the floor. In this day and age, if you have a business app that doesn’t offer more than the other ten apps he or she has on their smartphone, you would be better off spending your money at the racetrack on a horse with 1,000 to 1 odds.

The bottom line: make your app better for the customer than your competition is. Give your customer the best experience they will ever get on a smartphone. Make it easy for your customer to learn all about your product. Make it even easier to buy.

We can help you. Use the “contact us” link on the navigation bar at the top or the “say hello” link on our homepage. It’s time for your app to tell the world how great your business is.