11 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Mobile App in 2021

It’s pretty much no secret that mobile apps are kind of like the hottest thing since sliced bread. The mobile app market is booming – to say the least. In fact, recent reports show that this particular market is expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue within the next two years alone.

Now, that may sound pretty insane, but when you think of it, the truth of the matter remains that app use is pretty much consistent with the data we see on smartphone use. Recent research has found that the average smartphone user uses around 9-10 apps daily.

There are countless benefits to having a mobile app for your company. So, if you’re interested in learning more, then you’re in luck. We’ve provided you with 11  reasons why your business needs a mobile app in 2021.

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1. Increased brand visibility and recognition

Let’s face it – we all want to believe that our brand is the coolest, best option out there on the market. And to be honest – you might be right. However, no one is going to know unless you take steps to expand brand awareness and recognition. Fortunately, investing in a mobile app is a great way to do this. According to recent news from Apple, the App Store alone is visited by over a half a billion individuals each week across 175 countries. Furthermore, Google Play has been reported to have over 1 billion active monthly users – and this is a conservative number. Investing in an app is definitely a solid way to help your company increase brand visibility and recognition.

2. Mobile apps increase engagement

Mobile apps are also a great way to help improve engagement levels when paired with a solid strategy. A recent study shared by Marketing Dive found that mobile ad engagement rose a whopping 15% during the pandemic. This is especially the case for women and users between the ages of 18-34. But, the truth of the matter is that mobile ad engagement numbers have always been higher than other traditional forms of advertising. In fact, data from MediaPost showed that mobile consumers interact with native ads up to 60% more than they do banner ads.

3. Mobile apps can help boost customer service

Looking for a way to improve your customer service strategy? Investing in a mobile app as an additional customer touch point is a great way to do this. Mobile apps help make communication efficient and straightforward. Furthermore, consumers want mobile communications.

According to SoftwareAdvice, more than 65% of consumers in the age range of 18-44 use their mobile devices to seek service more than once a month. Additional research by Forrester found that around 1/3 of customers surveyed reported having sent a mobile message to a company requesting assistance.

4. Higher customer loyalty

With a solid strategy in place, you can use your mobile app to help improve customer loyalty and retention. This is because your mobile app offers a direct channel to interact and engage with your customers on the channel they use the most. With the help of segmented targeting, personalized messaging, and unique offers, businesses have the ability to nurture and strengthen their relationship with their customers. And, as we all know, this is the key to improving long-term retention rates.

5. Mobile apps offer valuable insights

Perhaps one of the most notable benefits of investing in a mobile app lies in the vast amount of insights you can gain access to once implemented. When users log into your app, data gets collected at a more granular level which can then be used to drive decision making.

Not sure how to access these valuable insights? There are countless analytics tools such as Firebase and UXCam which can provide you with all of the metrics you need. Common metrics include daily, weekly, and monthly users, downloads and uninstalls, retention rates, and various demographic information.

Businesses can also use in-app surveys and ‘rate my app’ prompts to gain even further insight into their customer base and app performance. It really is a win-win situation.

6. Data-driven marketing with mobile apps

Business considering investing in a mobile app will also be happy to know that doing so can ultimately prove to be very beneficial to marketing efforts and ROI. This is primarily due to the wealth of insights that can be generated from your consumers. This data can then be leveraged in order to craft more strategic, targeted messaging to customers through the use of push notifications.

7. Improve user-friendliness

Looking for a way to simplify the checkout process? Mobile apps are definitely a catch when it comes to this particular issue. This is because they offer a much more seamless user experience when compared with other platforms such as desktop. Think about it – mobile apps tend to offer more simplified, streamlined versions of your website. As a result, you have the ability to create a more efficient version of the checkout process. And, when you take steps to make internal fulfilment easier on the consumer, you boost user-friendliness. This in turn benefits everything from conversions to your customer service experience, brand value, and retention rates.

8. Easy social media integration

There are currently over 3.78 billion social media users around the world. This equates to roughly half of the entire world’s population.  Even more interesting is the fact that according recent research conducted by DataReportal, the average individual spends around 2.25 hours daily on social media. With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why social media marketing has skyrocketed in recent years.

One of the really great benefits of having a mobile app is that they offer easy integration with social media. Social media integration makes your app more accessible to various social media platforms so that users are able to easily share and download your app on their accounts. Not only is it simple with a mobile app — it’s an absolute must.

9. A mobile app can help expand your customer base

Investing in a mobile app is also a great way to expand your customer base to include younger demographics. Millennials in particular love their mobile apps. This is the I want it, and I want it now generation. We’re talking seamless integrations, personalization, on-demand customer service, simple returns, and streamlined checkout processes.

Like it or not, younger demographics are simply much more high maintenance – and for good reason. But, they’re also some of the most well-informed, technically savvy individuals out there and they grew up in a world full of instant gratification.  

Recent reports have shown that this demographic, along with Gen Zers are most likely to use mobile apps (especially for financial services).  Furthermore,  Millennials also by far tend to be much more comfortable paying for apps than other demographics. In fact, according to recent research cited by comScore, 64% of 18-34 year-olds paid to download an app in the last year and around 20% of those individuals pay to download an app at least once every month.

If you want to expand your customer base and you’re looking for a way to appeal to younger demographics, a mobile app is definitely a great place to get started.

10. Increase your brand value with a mobile app

Offering a mobile app to your consumers is a great way to increase brand value. Today’s businesses must continually take steps to remain innovative, not just because it provides a competitive advantage, but because consumers want it. When you invest in a mobile app, you are taking steps to increase brand awareness, recognition, value and boost the quality of your services. There are also other steps you can take such as by offering push notifications for rewards, offers, and loyalty programs. The key is not to meet your customers’ expectations, but to exceed them.

11. Competitive advantage

Mobile apps are pretty much turning into a standard for companies all over the globe. And we’re not just talking about the big shots. Recent research has shown that even small businesses are trending towards mobile app investment. Statista found that 42% of small businesses surveyed already have a mobile app. Of those who didn’t, 30% were planning on investing in one in the future. Let’s face it – if you’re looking to remain competitive in today’s landscape, then the truth of the matter is that you really can’t afford to not have a mobile app.

Conclusion

The mobile app market presents a valuable opportunity for businesses to take advantage of in order to drive business goals and increase revenue. However, it’s about so much more than just purchasing investing in an app. After all, your app can be built out to absolute perfection but the truth of the matter remains that if you’re not getting any traffic to it, then it’s going to fail. As a result, businesses interested in investing in mobile apps must take the time to develop a solid promotional/marketing strategy in order to ensure they’re set up for success.

Are you interested in taking the next step for your business by investing in a mobile app? VisioneerIT’s specialists have years of experience in helping companies through this very process. Schedule an appointment with us today to learn more.