Todays Guest is Kevin Mitchell who some of you may know better as Mitchinator! He's a self confessed tech enthusiast, senior developer at Internet Strategies and builder of the Furryboots App.
I'll let him guide you through this minefield from the view of a developer.
Does your business need an 'App'?
There can be no doubt about the valid hype surrounding 'Apps' at the moment
with the successful penetration of smartphones into our everyday lives, mobile
technology evolving at a fierce rate and the expectations of mobile users ever
growing. Add to that the hundreds of thousands of Apps already available,
billions downloaded every year, the opportunity for business to expand into the
mobile platform is evident and perhaps even a necessity for many.
But is your business missing out? Do you already have or want an App? Does
my audience want an App?
To put it another way: Does my business need an App for
that?
It would be easy to say yes but unfortunately there isn't one simple answer
here. There are a few questions to ask to really understand if an App is the
right solution for your business. There are many reasons to have an App,
many types of Apps that can be developed and various platforms in App
Stores and online Web Apps that can deliver your App to your
clients/users. Where do you start?
With a lot to really think about, let's start with the most important
question of all…
Why?
Sales
This can be the primary driver for many business and a well built App can
seriously enhance the sales process. Be it subtly through engagement or direct
sales generation and commerce, building an App as part of your sales process is
a logical option. Further to this, Apps can be integrated into existing business
processes and applications to streamline and improve the entire process.
Would an App improve your sales process? Is there an opportunity to
streamline current process? Is your target clients/users likely to want to use
an App for this purpose?
Marketing
There is marketing value to the phrase 'App Now Available' that still draws
attention. Being the first amongst you competitors can also infer positive
messages.
Ask yourself: Should I allocate a portion of my marketing
spend? Do I have a smartphone audience who would/want to engage with an
App?
Revenue
Not only extending your sales process into an App but advertising can bring
additional revenue.
Ask yourself: Would the scale of sales bring additional
value? Do I have/want advertising partners to extend onto a mobile
platform?
Expectation
Having your contact details available in a directory is simply not good
enough. It is recognised that successful business of tomorrow are already
integrating new technology and social tactics into the DNA of their
organisation. If you don't don't start planning to met your user and client
expectations, your competitors will.
Ask yourself: Do I have tech savvy clients/users? Do
we meet our own/client expectation with this platform? Are we available to our
clients in all effective manors?
Engagement
Users and clients have ALWAYS wanted their engagement streamlined. Putting
your business or product into the palm of their hands and offering engagement
methods that they find easy and effective is a powerful way of encouraging users
to use you above your competitors.
Ask yourself: How do you engage with clients? Could we
improve engagement methods to build more awareness and loyalty? Where would this
engagement bring value?
Value
An incredibly important driver but make sure this goes both ways. Any App
you develop MUST be of value to the client/user AND return value to the
business. Value can come in many forms, just ensure value is the primary
driver in the why of your App. Also, by understanding your Apps
potential value you will help your business case and indicate potential
budgets.
Ask yourself: Where is the value driven in our business?
can we extend this to an App? Where would the value be in your App? .
Ok, Now what?
By answering those questions you should be able to ascertain
if and why your App should exist, the key areas of engagement and
value for your business and hopefully be excited about the potential the mobile
platform could deliver.
From here you can move forward, comfortable in the knowledge that you
are building an App with value and purpose and begin to answer and plan the next
stage.
Should we build a 'Native App', a 'Web App' or a 'Hybrid
App'?
A post for another day perhaps…
No comments:
Post a Comment