A website is a great way to provide information and build a customer base, but today’s online consumer wants more. They want the same experience they have on their phone or tablet on their computer as well. Your website needs an app that can provide all those online experiences from anywhere you are.
With social media now taking up so much time of people’s day, they expect to be able to check your Facebook page from the convenience of their laptop at work or browse through your Pinterest boards while waiting in line at the grocery store. Instead of going online with one device and then having to change screens with another, people want it all in one place – just like their own personal smartphone – only, this time it’s on their computer.
Your website should be able to provide that for them, but if you’re like most business owners, there are probably things you don’t know about apps. It can be confusing trying to understand why an app is important and how it will help your company grow online. Not to worry, though – here are the top five reasons why your website needs an app so you can better understand your customer or client base and give them what they want.
1) Apps Make Your Company More Competitive
The good news is everyone has a smart phone these days. The bad news is there are now over one million apps in the Android market alone, making it more difficult than ever to stand out from the crowd. If your business doesn’t have a mobile app, that means you’re leaving money on the table as competitors who do have an app will gain a competitive advantage.
According to android app developers, In order to be successful in today’s market, apps are necessary. Your website needs an app that can provide all those online experiences from anywhere you are, making your company more visible and more relevant than any of your competitors – and therefore more attractive for future clientele and business deals.
2) Apps Are Necessary for SEO Rankings
Google recently announced they would be using mobile friendliness as a ranking factor for websites – so if your site isn’t mobile friendly, you will fall behind competing businesses who do have apps. Additionally, apps provide the opportunity for your original website to become even more searchable than ever.
For example, let’s say you have a company that manufactures and sells golf bags. If people want to find out how much one of those golf bags costs or where they can buy it, your website will come up as the top result on Google and Bing. And so will other companies selling similar products. However, if you have an app, there is a good chance your website could show up as well as an individual company page within the app itself – which means you would be getting two chances at seeing someone click through to your site instead of another business who doesn’t have an app.
3) Apps Provide Better Customer Service
Everyone has had a time where they needed reliable customer service but couldn’t find it online. Maybe their email was down or no one could be reached at the moment to take care of their request for help, and so they were left hanging until someone got back to them. Apps solve this problem and provide customers and clients with direct access to your company 24/7 – even if there is no one physically there to answer the phone, customers can get in contact with you via the app itself.
A prime example of an app that makes customer service possible is Facebook Messenger. If people want to get in touch with you on Facebook, chances are they will use Messenger because it’s quick and easy. You don’t have to be an active participant in the conversation, either. They can type their request and send it to you while you sit back and watch the messages roll in.
The bottom line is if people can’t get in touch with you when they need help, your business will lose them as customers or clients. But an app that’s always accessible ensures your company is there for them whenever they need something.
4) Apps Provide More Opportunities for Marketing Your Company
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on marketing campaigns if you already have one at your fingertips. Everyone has a mobile device these days, so getting the word out about your company through an app takes no effort whatsoever because people are constantly surfing through different apps on a daily basis. You can let them know about your company and what you have to offer with a push notification, for example.
For instance, let’s say you have a restaurant business in the local area that people would love to find out more information about. First, you would need an app that not only lets them get in touch with you but also provides them with all the important online content they’re looking for from your business. Including menus, hours of operation, current specials and anything else related to what is going on at your location. Then once they download your app it’s very simple to send a push notification when a special event or holiday is coming up for businesses in the area so they think of you before anyone else.
5) Apps Can Be Integrated with Other Social Media Platforms
Many companies who make use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for marketing their company products and services already know the immense power these platforms have to reach a ton of potential customers. Especially if you can get them to follow or like your brand’s page. However, apps take this process one step further and allow you to interact directly with those people through the app itself. For example, let’s say you have an app that deals with sports scores for local teams. Not only can users see the results right from their phone but they also have the option to click a button that will share those results on any other social media sites they may be connected to so their friends can check them out too.
Apps are extremely valuable in the sense that they bring together several social media platforms to make interaction with your customers much easier for everyone involved, and this example is only one of many ways you could go about it.
Either way, incorporating your business’s app into other social media platforms allows you to extend the reach of everything you’re doing, making it far more likely for people to find out about what you have to offer. And when people want something but can’t find what they need at your location or company website, an app makes it very easy for them to get in contact with someone who knows all there is to know about your product or service so they don’t have to resort to somewhere.
