Over the course of the last few years, the mobile app market has experienced a meteoric rise. Apple launched its first iPhone in 2007, and since then over 100 billion apps have been downloaded.
Today, every business must have one to seem fully functional, successful and relevant, and a growing amount of sales are secured through mobile devices and their accompanying apps. This should come as no surprise to the tech-savvy, as there are now more mobile phones on earth than there are people, making them a lucrative source of revenue when properly taken advantage of.
In the words of Nic Newman, a specialist in the field: “Having a mobile strategy as a ‘nice to have’ is not enough for businesses to succeed globally in the years to come. Businesses need a solid mobile-first strategy as this is the first place consumers will interact with a brand.”
So where do you start?
Does My Company Need an App?
A lot of people may not think that their company lends itself well to evolution into an app. Most of those people would be wrong. Consumers access so much data through their mobile phones, and have so many companies to choose from, that if they can’t access your services in the way that they want, they’ll find a competitor who’s more obliging. Thus, the more platforms available for consumers to access your brand from, the more you increase your chances of success.
Nic Newman explains that: “If you have a new business idea, traditionally you would think about SEO and digital.
“But if you’re forward-thinking, you might miss out a website altogether. People are using smartphones more and more, and in the future I expect many businesses to go mobile-first, even before a website.”
The answer, then: the only businesses that don’t need an app are the ones looking to fail.
If you have a law firm, I recommend you to use the Perfect Portal mobile app for your business. It enables your clients to complete all onboarding tasks in one place.
How Do I Develop an App?
There are two ways to design apps: either at the hands of an in-house team or through outsourcing.
The first is a significant endeavor, and should only really be considered by larger businesses with the resources to hire a team with the skills they need, or those well versed in the art of software. Getting the right team in place is a huge undertaking, and will require hiring a designer, systems architect and mobile app development team at the very least.
Smaller businesses will almost always be better to outsource and use a company such as Evolve. The best way to ensure that you pick the right people for the job is to spend time comparing the portfolios of a number of enterprises within your budget before making your final decision.
If you have a limited budget, ready-made apps are also available. However, these will not be produced to the same standard, and the chance to customise them to your needs will be much more limited.
How will you design yours?