There are numerous things a business can do to improve its standing with existing customers as well as to attract new ones into the fold. This could be boosting their marketing efforts, updating product and service quality, offering discounts and incentives to remain loyal, or all of the above. However, one interesting option that many brands are opting for is to design and create a mobile application that allows them to achieve all of these things while keeping them relevant to modern audiences. In this post, we will explore exactly what a custom app could do for your brand and hopefully convince you that the initial expense is well worth it when you look at things from a long-term perspective.
Boost Brand Loyalty With Unique Features
First and foremost, developing a high-quality application can massively boost your customers’ loyalty to your brand. By selecting the correct app development solutions and incorporating a number of different programs into the system, you will help grab their attention and keep them shopping at your business for longer than they might otherwise have at your website. From loyalty programs to having channels where customers can offer unbiased feedback, you will have something that enables you to connect directly with the people who make your business function.
Loyalty Programs
Perhaps the most exciting way an app can help is by offering them ways to become loyal customers who stick around and are always willing to spend their money at your company rather than your competitors. The best example of this might be by offering them a way to build up loyalty points for each purchase that they can use to save money against another item they buy with you. This has a two-fold effect: showing them that you care about their patronage and making it so they use their built-up points at your shop. An app makes it far easier as they will already have an account, and you can set things up so that after each purchase, they receive a certain number of points that they can see in their personal account section.
Exclusive Offers
As we will cover later, push notifications can allow your customers to find exclusive offers in a personalized manner. This is a great way to make them feel special and to show them that you are targeting them specifically with these offers. It also allows you to shift more stock than usual, thanks to being able to discount them to more convincing levels.
Feedback Channels To Improve Your Service
Feedback is the lifeblood of any business that actually gives a damn about the service they’re offering. Although you have many options open to receive such feedback, there is nothing quite as efficient as reviving it via an app. Social media is great, but it can be visible to others (which isn’t great if the feedback is negative). Instead, using a dedicated feedback solution baked into the app, you will receive lots of valuable advice from real-world customers that you can use to improve your service even further.
Improve User Experience And Engagement
Keeping customers engaged can be challenging when you’re competing against a myriad of other companies, all vying for the same things. An application allows you to interact with your customers in ways that might not be possible without it.
Personalized Interactions
Because your app should collect user data as they navigate around it, you can use that information to nudge them toward products they might be more interested in.
This will enable you to sell and upsell more stuff without seeming overly pushy or aggressive.
Push Notifications
As mentioned earlier, push notifications can be used for a variety of thighs, not least of which is to notify people of new products or discounts they can use to save money. These notifications also allow you to keep your brand fresh in the minds of your customers, particularly during shopping seasons like Black Friday or other holidays.
Streamlined Operations With Your Customers
Making things as frictionless as possible is the name of the game when it comes to making an application, and when done correctly, you can make the entire experience seamless and efficient.
Efficient Communication
Communication with your customers used to involve legacy options like email or modern ones such as social media. Both are still certainly relevant, especially for longer communication, such as email, or more informal contact, as with social media. However, in-app communication channels can be a fantastic way to solve customer complaints, upsell items, or really a raft of things, all via one simple interface that you can operate with real people (or, as is increasingly the case, via a chatbot).
Simplified Processes
Apps enable you to automate tasks like appointment scheduling, order tracking, payment processing, and a host of others, saving you an inordinate amount of time and effort.
As long as you employ a high-quality developer to create your application, you can integrate almost anything you require to make the lives of you, your employees, and, most critically, your customers as straightforward as possible.
How To Ensure You Create A Quality App
Creating an app isn’t as simple as contacting the first development agency you find online and telling them to get cracking. It involves a hands-on approach as well as a well-thought-out approach to the process. Before you end up with the app of your dreams, you must consider the following points:
- Research your needs before committing: There is no point in going through the expense and time if you don’t know what you want to achieve or you don’t really need one in the first place. Enough time spent in this state will go a long way in ensuring you end up with a great app that strengthens your brand rather than sitting in the app store collecting dust.
- Create a clear branding strategy that aligns with your existing strategy: Any application you design must sync up with your existing brand strategy and style. If it is too dissimilar from your existing branding, your customers will become confused and disassociate it from your business.
- Gather feedback for continuous improvement: Nothing is ever perfect in business, and without collecting feedback from users, you will never be able to improve your product and convince them to bother downloading it. You can collect this data either directly from users via the app or in the background, as it collects data on how it is being used or if there are any gremlins in the system causing issues.
- Remember to promote it properly: your job doesn’t end when the app is created. You must also do the legwork to promote it to all your existing customers and try to convince new ones to download it.
There are numerous ways in which a mobile application can enhance your brand, from developing existing customers into loyal ones to collecting data that allows you to continually improve your offerings. As long as you know why you want the app and are able to find a developer to integrate your ideas and make them come to fruition, you will help your customers enjoy the shopping experience even further.
