Any small business will attest to the fact that in those first few years of operation, every penny counts. It’s a myth that hard work equals instant success. In many cases, it will take several years of daily grind for your small business to take off as you’d imagined it to, regardless of your level of dedication to the cause.
Making an investment of any sort for your small business is something that should be carefully considered. You need to be sure – or at least have high hopes – that your investment will pay off in the end. Though there’s no guarantee that any investment will be worth it, one of the most popular and successful small business investments is to create their own dedicated app.
Here are just a few reasons why it’s worth creating an app for your small business:
- Brand building
One of the best things about mobile apps is that they can build a real awareness of your brand. Through communication with your customers, you can remind them that your business exists, which is especially important if you have a lot of local area competition. This communication is also essential for building trust; essential if you want your customers to return to your store time and time again.
- Customer convenience
Business is never one-sided. With your app, you can encourage your customers to become regulars by making their experience in your store more convenient. Perhaps if you’re a coffee shop, your coffee ordering app allows customers to make orders from their tables without having to get up and queue. Perhaps your clothing boutique enables customers to reserve items to try on in-store at a later date. Use your creativity to see how you can make your customers’ lives easier.
- Boosting profits
Sales has a lot to do with the way a customer feels about your brand or store as a whole. A report by Salesforce found that 70% of customers were influenced in a buying experience by the way they felt they were being treated. Having a mobile app that will provide real value and convenience to your customers will encourage them to continue to use your service, helping you to make more money in the long run.
- Better connection
We’ve already touched on communication for building your brand, but that’s not all it’s for. Being able to communicate with your customers via your app means that you can create an impression of your business to customers that may have only had one or two experiences with you. Providing you make sure you’re saying the right things at the right times, you’ll gain respect and appreciation through your communication alone.
As a takeaway, keep in mind that mobile apps can prove incredibly valuable marketing tools for a small business, but they need to have a clear goal and audience.
You’re not creating your app for the simple exposure it may bring. The whole point of an app is to provide a use to the user, so make sure your app is a handy tool for your customer to own. If it provides real value to those who have access to it, they are much more likely to make use of it – and your business should benefit as a result.