A Business Focus: Mobile App or Website Strategy?
As smart-phone and tablet use has grown, mobile apps have become more prolific; however business consensus regarding website vs. mobile app remains undefined. Many businesses struggle to appreciate the power that mobile apps can bring a business; they can provide more to your consumer than just a gaming platform. In fact surveys (Apple iStore) have recorded travel, lifestyle, utilities and educational apps as amongst the most popular apps currently downloaded. There are a variety of ways that a mobile app can enhance any business.
Push notifications provide an excellent customer base information tool. Push notifications allow you to inform customers of new events, products, services, and promotions or to finalise a transaction. Emergency alerts, for example, can inform your clients of schedule alterations, appointment cancellation or temporary premises closure. A mobile app allows your business to instantly advise its customer base of relevant information, whereas information posted via a website requires the customer to spend time searching. Push notification also provides a geo-locational feature, allowing your business to target nearby customers with an invitational notification to pop in.
Clearly websites and mobile apps can operate in different strands of the electronic environment. Whilst both share similar attributes, is it possible that an app may provide clearer cut business opportunities. With regard to sales, for example, both provide the customer with 24-hour coverage and marketing possibilities. Employing a mobile app means that you can inform customer with time, day or season specific notifications. Some seasonal businesses may look to employ this on weekends, bank holidays or school holidays, others, like restaurants or nightclubs might send lunch and dinner or evening notifications respectively. In this context the mobile app appears to function more like a marketing rapier as opposed to a website’s blunter, one size fits all approach.
Without looking to undermine the importance of a business website, a mobile app does carry more functionality. It cannot replace the content and web status that a professional website can bring to your business however, certainly not whilst many operators are offering great services like free domain registration for your business website. Many websites now offer customers a free mobile app upon visiting their website, a simple one click process, which enhances a website and user experience. A combination of both a website and mobile app can allow your business to really enhance its marketing credentials and secure more future business.
