11th September 2020 back to blog

At the time of writing this blog post, the world is currently amidst a global pandemic. Whilst this doesn’t directly affect the topic in question, it has highlighted the importance of a number of aspects surrounding a business. By this point, most companies will have some sort of an online presence to allow them to continue to trade through this period, whether that be a basic holding page with contact details on, or a fully-fledged E-Commerce shop. However, an often-overlooked area of presence are Mobile Apps, and the aim of this post is to explain why these are key to have, as a standalone, or as well as a regular website.

Before we go into looking at why a mobile app might be perfect for your business, lets take a look at mobile apps in a more general way.

According to eMarketer from 2018, people will be spending on average 2 hours and 22 minutes on Mobile Apps. That sounds like quite a lot, and especially when compared to the amount of time spent browsing the web on their phone; just 12 minutes on average. For people who love percentages like we do, that’s over 90% to Mobile Apps, and only 10% Browser based. This is all according to a study done two years ago, the results today could be even higher and will only be continuing to rise going forward. It is estimated by Statista that worldwide app downloads in 2022 will be over 250 Billion. Yes, that’s with a ‘B’. This would mark a 25% increase over just a 4-year period from 2018.

So, what makes a mobile app better than a website?

• On the go content. Almost everyone carries their phone constantly throughout the day, so the functionality of the app comes along too, unlike their often-complex desktop software cousins
• Apps in general are far more convenient; with the exact content you want being just a click away unlike navigate a web search filled with distractions
• Depending on the app, the ability to use more of a phones functions is available, giving a more fully fledged experience
• Thanks to being downloaded prior to opening, loading times are much quicker, especially for content rich app, or ones that use high quality imagery
• The UI of the app has been designed to suit mobile devices in particular, unlike some websites which don’t even have a mobile version
• Branding is always forefront. Even though it’s a small logo, that icon remains on the main screen of the device, remind the user of your brand at all times

What types of business would benefit from an app?

That is by no means an exhaustive list of the merits about apps, rather some conventional examples. Between businesses, there can be added benefits depending on the sector, so we will look at some of the ones that would benefit from a mobile app the most.

Shops – An app allows a business to have a more interactive experience with their customers. Loyalty is also key and because apps have less general upkeep costs compared to websites, coupons or app only offers are a great way to entice and retain customers. While apps work better for companies that stock a wider variety of products, it can work just as well for even those very niche industries. High quality images or even 3D Augmented Reality viewers using the phones’ camera to see what they products would be like in real life are just a couple of ways a business with a more specific product line could make good use from an app.

Membership Organisations – With people living more and more ‘on the go’ these days, why not make it even easier to sign up to be a member of something. This can be done through a mobile app, and often shares exactly the same database of records as the website. Seeing your membership statistics, making changes to your profile or subscription or just having easy access to your documents all makes for an appealing prospect for members.

Business2Business – There are a couple of variations of app that would work for B2B. One popular chose is for wholesalers to have an app whereby their clients can browse and place stock orders. These apps don’t necessarily have to be on the Google Play or iOS Store if app use is needed to be limited. Instead they can be downloaded separately from a website or via a custom file location which can make both creation and installation easier as they don’t have to meet the very exacting standards of the common App Stores. However, that’s not to say that the apps couldn’t be made available on the App store as well. Using a custom login area would allow for limited access to only specifically approved customers. In a similar vein, another B2B app would be for within one company where employers and employees can convene on projects, sales pitches and ideas all in one grouped place.

Does that mean you should get an app?

We didn’t include all the sectors above that can find value from having an app, there are many more out there. A lot of businesses have had apps work great for them, and to find out if yours would be one, get in touch with Bespoke Cloud Software and we will be happy to discuss it with you. We work closely with our clients to ensure we have a strong understanding of your business and the way it works so that we can plan and build the perfect solution for you. Even if that isn’t an app at this stage, we have much more we can offer, so contact us today to learn more.