It can seem as though almost every business in the world has an app, which in turn can make you believe that your business needs one. However, one of the reasons why it seems there are so many business apps is that several are simply unnecessary. They clog up our home screens, promise to make our experience easier and smoother, but ultimately just end up frustrating us. So, if you’re struggling to decide whether your business really needs an app, let us help you out with some questions that you should be asking yourself.
Would Your Money Be Better Spent On Your Website?
The most important question you can ask yourself is, could the money needed to create an app be better spent on your website? If your website is already doing a great job, whether that’s answering frequently asked questions, helping people out through chatbots, enabling quick and effective sales, communicating your brand’s message, or a mixture of all of these things, then you could probably spend the app money better on just tweaking your website. A great way to bridge the gap between website and app is to make sure that your website is properly optimized for mobile browsing. A good mobile website can be just as effective as an app and will come at a fraction of the cost.
Will It Enhance The User Experience?
Next up, you need to think about the user. A good app should enhance the user experience in some way and you need to be realistic about whether your app will do this. For those operating in the gaming sector, having an app can be a new string to your business’ bow, but it takes an awful lot of time to compete with the best. For example, the best poker apps out there will have huge development teams behind them and even bigger budgets, yet the competition is still fierce. If you can’t afford to compete with your direct competitors then your money is still probably better spent on a properly optimized website. However, if you can afford to, then will it actually bring any benefits to your customers? Try downloading a selection of your competitors’ apps and compare their ease of use with their respective websites. If you’re finding only tiny differences then save your budget for something more important.
Can You Define a Purpose For Your App?
If you can’t summarize the purpose of your app in one simple sentence then you shouldn’t be making one. However, if you think that you might be able to, then keep reading. Your app should solve a purpose that’s unique and different from your website or mailing list. It might be that your app can work as an instant means of communication between you and your customer. It could store their birthday and send them vouchers on the big day, or connect them instantly to a member of customer service in a way that your website couldn’t. Once you’ve formed your goal then you need to consider if achieving your goal would be worth the likely budget. Remember that apps are expensive – at least, the good ones are. For startup businesses, an app can be a great investment, but it could also wipe out your working capital, which could be disastrous. Consider your finances carefully and proceed accordingly.