The use of smartphones and therefore mobile applications is increasing. Therefore, it is not without reason that application development is seen as an increasingly popular tool by companies to increase customer engagement. In fact, customer engagement can get a huge boost this way, without requiring an overly high marketing budget.
How is it that mobile applications increase customer engagement and thus sales? And what must be done to successfully develop a mobile application to achieve the goal of higher customer engagement? You can read the answers to these questions here.
Mobile applications as big revenue source for businesses
Mobile applications have emerged as big important revenue source for businesses in recent years. Companies and organizations such as Nike, Amazon and Domino’s Pizza are using applications as the means to reach new customers and increase sales from existing customers. The effectiveness of using applications as a marketing tool is evidenced by the revenue forecast of nearly $189 billion by 2020. This expectation is based on the current trend as seen in the U.S. market, but is typical of the popularity of mobile applications. The increasing revenue growth is therefore the reason why more and more companies are having customized apps developed to stay competitive in the future. By the way, this applies to all companies and organizations, both small and large.
Read what the trends are in mobile app development here
Mobile applications increase customer engagement and sales
Mobile applications can increase customer engagement and thus drive sales in several ways. First, an application increases the total time a consumer spends with a particular brand, increasing the likelihood of that consumer making a purchase. Partly for this reason, mobile e-commerce accounts for nearly 40 percent of total digital revenue.
In addition, mobile applications make a customer less likely to buy a product from a competitor. This is because consumers are less likely to look further for other options and alternatives once they use a particular company’s app. The moment a consumer has downloaded an application, is satisfied with it and thus uses it, they are less likely to switch to the competitor. For this reason, a personalized application for, say, a restaurant delivery service may work better than its connection to a platform such as Thuisbezorgd. When one looks at Thuisbezorgd, the barrier to switching to the competitor is very low. Thus, in the case of a personalized restaurant application, people are less likely to switch.
The above example can be seen in the increase in Domino’s Pizza’s sales results. The Domino’s App is estimated to have been downloaded as many as 10 million times, increasing total e-commerce sales by nearly 25 percent. Domino’s also revealed that app sales have overtaken desktop sales.
How to successfully develop a custom mobile application
To increase customer engagement using a mobile application, it is first important to know well who the target audience is. Using market research, try to build a profile of the current customer. Consider, for example, age, gender, geographic location and income. Once a basic profile is established, it is time to conduct further data analysis.
Data tracking and associated data analysis is an important part of online marketing. The more data is available from the target audience, the more responsive to their needs. After all, customers are more likely to use an app that meets their wants and needs than one that does not.
A good example of the successful application of data analytics is Amazon. The retail giant maintains an extensive database of all customer interactions, which can be used to predict which items are relevant to consumers and which are not. This manifests itself in showing relevant suggestions in the app, leading to more sales.
Focus on user design
The User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) are the keys to success when developing a mobile application. Simply because consumers only need a split second to form an opinion about an app. Moreover, people are more likely to uninstall an application again if it is not user-friendly or unattractive. In addition, it is important that a mobile application work at least as fast, if not faster, than a website.
A good example of a very successful user design is the application of the music streaming service Spotify. This app has a clean layout, easy navigation and seamless integration with the web app. It is no coincidence, then, that Spotify is the world’s most popular music streaming service.
Conclusion
Mobile applications are becoming an increasingly popular way for companies to increase customer engagement and thus drive long-term revenue and business growth, without requiring a huge marketing budget. In addition, the use of personal mobile applications opens multiple doors for companies in every industry. An app can make products and services many times more accessible, create a competitive advantage and drive business innovation. Moreover, mobile applications can not only increase customer engagement, but also help improve an organization’s products and services through targeted data analytics.
Developing an application sometimes proves difficult inpractice
The demand for mobile applications is rising, but the number of available software developers is limited. Therefore, it sometimes proves difficult for companies to have a custom mobile application developed. We at Brthrs can help your organization develop a custom mobile application. Would you like to have a mobile application developed in order to increase customer engagement and thus your company’s revenue? We develop custom iOS apps, Android apps and hybrid apps, among others, and, of course, with all our pleasure! Contact us to explore together how a custom mobile application can create impact for your organization or business.
