You may have been pondering whether or not it’s a good idea for your business to spend the time and money needed to develop and implement 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 an informed decision. Let’s look at some of what you need to know.
The Pros and Cons of developing 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
- Increases customer retention and loyalty, as the app is always in front of them
- Users spend more time on apps
- Usually load faster than mobile sites
- Available offline, though they would need to login to purchase, or perform any other action.
Cons:
- A mobile app needs to be made for each platform, iPhone, Android, Windows, or any other platform
- Mobile apps require ongoing care, both as regard fresh content as well as technology updates
- Not as easy to optimize as a mobile website
- Mobile ads may well serve the purpose
- Can be wildly expensive! While there are some Do It Yourself solutions, they are minimal in functionality and hard to update.
We all know that there are as many uses for an app than you could ever imagine, but some are better than others. Here is an example of how apps were developed in the health care market. Making sure your app is useful and not a mere novelty will go a long way toward helping you make your decision.
While it’s pretty much a given that you need a mobile version of your website, the question of whether or not you need to shell out what could be big bucks for an app is one you need to look at carefully.
Take the time to weigh the pros and cons for your business before you leap into developing a mobile app!