Over the last five years, the startup culture has transformed enormously. Everything has changed from the primary business approach to promotional strategies like email marketing, app reviews, and social media promotion. In addition, the competition in the developed apps industry has also increased by multiple folds in startups.
So what’s next?
How can a startup stand out from the midst of hundreds and thousands of brands and build a name for itself in its respective industries? Well, a quick and short answer to this question is that by digitalizing its business!
Now, you might be wondering how one can truly digitalize one startup. Simple, initiate one of the most basic yet effective strategies, i.e., developing a mobile app for your startup.
To make this statement more clear, let’s start by covering some of the major segments, like the crucial reasons your startup needs to launch a mobile application:
Reasons You Need To Launch A Mobile App For Your Startup
Investing in a mobile app is worth a try if you want to provide some exposure to your business, which is still in its exploration stage. Below are some of the main reasons that make the option to build an app for your startup so appealing:
1. Service Promotion
According to various marketing research surveys, it has been concluded that end-users mainly recognize companies and brands by what their mobile applications have to offer. In other words, these mobile apps act as one of the primary gateways for startups to promote their digital products and services to the outside world.
A mobile application can make or break it for your startup business. Remember, you are here to build strong, beneficial, and long-term relationships with your target audience.
2. Building an Audience
Another major reason to opt for a mobile application is to build a specific audience for your online business’s products and services. Many marketing experts even suggest launching a mobile app to expand the target user base for a business.
This is because owning a traditional website is rapidly falling out of trend as mobile browsing and searching are now being treated by users. In a search report released by Ericsson, it was seen that mobile subscriptions alone would exceed 9 billion by the end of this year.
3. User Engagement
Mobile apps also give businesses a great opportunity to interact with their targeted audience and convert them into potential customers while increasing user engagement at the same time. All of this is done in real-time, where valuable user information about the location and other demographics are collected through user-profiles and accounts.
Let’s consider a finance and banking mobile app allowing customers to check their deposit funds into their accounts. This critical information is further saved along with the time and location. Now, app users can easily keep track of their balance and performance with the app’s help. Users can also get additional features like ATM finder, customer support, etc.
4. Boosting the ROI
Now that we have covered user engagement, it’s time to move on to why online businesses and emerging startups should pick mobile apps instead of going for a basic website, which is to maximize the ROI. An effective business app’s main aim is to create a customer that can provide long-term engagement to the platform. This process will eventually turn a potential lead into a loyal customer, i.e., a paying customer.
When maximizing ROI (Return on Investment), many people have concerns like ‘Is it something they can invest in,’ ‘Can they afford a mobile business app,’ etc. But these doubts can be easily cleared out with some statistics; for example, a report by Distimo, an application analytics organization, states that the average expense per device for building a mobile app is less than one percent of a business’s overall revenue.
5. Direct Marketing Channel
A mobile application covers various functions under it instead of just one. For instance, an application provides basic information about the business, the pricing range of products and services the brand offers, customer support or query forms, the option to search throughout the platform, user profiles, push notifications, text messenger, and so much more.
With these features’ help, mobile apps have the caliber to transform a business. In addition, one of the biggest advantages of owning a mobile app for your startup is that all necessary information can be conveyed to the targeted user base. For example, with the help of push notifications, your customers can know about the latest promotions and special discounts you offer on your products and services.
Along with the reasons mentioned above, startups should focus on building an app that is highly responsive because if an app doesn’t work properly, then having a responsive design website might be a better option. But remember, either option will allow you to engage more with customers, build your customer base, and drive sales.
Final Thoughts
It can often be seen that a ton of small businesses and startups who are just entering the market believe that mobile business apps are only beneficial for major corporations or renowned organizations. Along with this, there are other misconceptions about mobile apps being expensive and highly industry-specific.
But that is not the case, as almost any business from any industry vertical, from startups to established companies, can have their mobile app built. This mobile application will give them major online exposure on a budget, regardless of the business’s size.
In other words, we can say that a startup backed up by a powerful and efficient mobile app is more likely to succeed in the market than those still using a website. In the coming years, businesses without mobile apps will not have any chances to survive in the tough competition.
