Approximately half of web traffic worldwide comes from a mobile device. In the first quarter of 2020, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 51.92 percent of global website traffic. Since 2017 this number has remained stable around 50 percent; however, with many organizations currently accelerating digital initiatives, moving to digital models of business exclusively, the rollout of 5G, and increasing IoT devices, it's safe to assume that number will grow exponentially in coming years.
Take a look at the benefits of getting a Mobile Website converted into a Mobile App for your business: Works Offline – Even in the offline mode, your clients can browse the app content including products/service offerings, contact details, and various other features.
- If you're getting a tech company off the ground and your business doesn't directly relate to smartphone features (e.g. A smartphone's camera or microphone), it might make more sense to start developing your customer with a web-based MVP (Minimum Viable Product) — i.e. A ‘web app' hosted in a browser like Chrome or Safari. Believe it or not, these can actually reach more users than mobile apps — and as browsers become increasingly functional, their capabilities are growing fast.
- Benefit #3: Increase Search Engine Optimization. Google has already started linking websites to your mobile apps. In 2016, Google is expected to roll out its 'app first' rating. Having a mobile app will no longer be a nice to have, it will be a need to have.
It no longer is a question of whether your company needs a mobile app development strategy – because you undoubtedly do – but whether a mobile app or a responsive mobile website will serve your business better.
At face value, mobile websites and apps can look very similar; however, they are two very different mobile mediums. Deciding which medium serves your needs best depends on several factors, including target audiences, budget, and intent. To make it easier for you to determine where you need to focus your efforts, we've broken down how each option impacts the user experience.
Mobile Apps
Native mobile apps are for specific platforms, like iOS or Android. A user downloads and installs mobile apps on their device, and generally, native apps offer a faster and more responsive experience than mobile websites.
Impacts on User Experience
More Interactive Ways for the User to Engage
A mobile app allows you to offer your current clients/users value through a new channel for engagement. Rather than looking at the same text and images as a website, apps can integrate features that allow users to interact with the app's specific components. For example, Instagram users can view images on the website, but can't upload them without the app.
Customization
Mobile apps allow users to set up their preferences as soon as they are downloaded and customize it to suit their needs. Apps can also track user engagement, and use it to offer custom recommendations and updates, making the app more useful to the user. Apps also allow businesses to send tailored communication to users based on their interests, location, usage behavior, and more. According to Business of Apps, sending customized or 'dynamic' notifications to users had a positive impact on engagement, open-rate, and conversion rates. Customization allows the user to get the most out of the app. If you are interested in learning how to create an effective user-centric notification strategy, click here.
Ability to Work Offline
Mobile apps can run without an internet connection. Although many apps require internet connectivity to perform most of their tasks, they can still offer content and functionality to users while in offline mode. With this advantage, users can access information anytime, anywhere.
Intuitive Interface
Mobile apps generally offer users a more intuitive user interface, making it easy to complete tasks. This unique interface environment enables users to become more immersed in the mobile experience. Users of specific operating systems have also become accustomed to certain functionalities and characteristics, developing an app for particular platforms offers users the functionality they expect. Responsive websites can't always guarantee a standard of functionality users prefer.
Leverage Device Capabilities
Mobile apps can access and use built-in device features such as the camera, GPS, and location. Leveraging device capabilities leads to an enhanced, more convenient user experience. For example, the ability to automatically use GPS and location data allows retail apps to send users flyers with specials specific to their area.
Responsive Mobile Websites
Responsive mobile websites are websites that can accommodate different screen sizes. Essentially, a responsive website is a customized version of a regular website that is used correctly for mobile.
Impacts on User Experience
Available for all users
Unlike mobile apps which only function on specific platforms (iOS or Android), a responsive website can be accessed from any mobile device regardless of the operating system, as long as an internet connection is available. However, it is essential to remember that network access, quality, and speed are all factors that will impact the mobile web experience. Responsive websites also don't need to be downloaded or installed and are entirely free, unlike some apps available in app stores.
Users don't have to update
Again, unlike mobile apps, users won't have to spend time installing new versions and updates of your product to experience improvements on the website. Because websites are easy to update, fix bugs, and support, users most likely won't notice the update process and will be able to jump right into enjoying an enhanced experience.
Cost-Effective
Cost-effectiveness is more of a benefit for business rather than an impact on user experience; however, depending on complexity, a responsive mobile site can be more cost-effective than mobile app development. Cost is an essential factor to consider, especially if you want your app to have a presence on more than one platform.
Which Is The Better Option?
Statistically speaking, the numbers do favor mobile apps. A recent report from Sensor Tower revealed that consumer spending on mobile apps and app installs grew significantly during the first half of 2020, reaching $50.1 billion worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. While this growth was driven by COVID-19 and its impact on user behavior, this figure is up 23.4 percent from the first half of 2019 and set to continue to rise.
The same report also estimated there were 71.5 billion first-time app installs during the first half of 2020. That is an increase of 26.1 percent year-over-year, giving even more incentive for businesses to develop an app service.
However, the right choice depends on your business objectives. If your goal is to offer mobile-friendly content to a wide range of people, then a mobile website is probably the way to go. However, if you want to engage better, interact with, and communicate with your customers to drive customer loyalty, a mobile app presents itself as a better option.
In many cases, you may decide you need both a mobile website and a mobile app. If done correctly, both can be a strategic and valuable choice. So when it comes to your brand's mobile strategy, it's not a question of a mobile website or an app, but perhaps a two-pronged approach.
They're in all of our pockets now, aren't they?
I'm talking, of course, about mobile devices. And the core functionality of those devices (other than making phone calls, I've been told) is to run a whole host of applications that serve nearly every imaginable purpose.
Businesses from all corners of the world, offering a ridiculous range of products, have begun migrating from the physical world of handing out leaflets, printing advertisements, and hanging billboards, to the mobile realm. And you should too.
Now, I know what you might be thinking:
Our business doesn't need a mobile app to sell products to our loyal customers!
And maybe that's been the case in the past. But if you want to prepare for the future and start seeing the massive benefits right out the gate, you'll need a mobile app.
Not so easily convinced? Then here are 4 ways (and then some) that your business will reap the benefits of creating a mobile app for your customers.
1. Provide More Value to Your Customers
Business is all about reciprocation. You offer a product, the market opens their wallets with their demand, right?
Maybe you've sat down with your employees and tried to nail down the best way to encourage more of this wallet-opening engagement from your customers. You want to increase their interaction with your business to promote sales, of course, but you also want to provide a level of value for your customers that they can't get anywhere else.
One way to do this is create a loyalty program within your app. It would work like this:
The more customers interact with your business and product, the more points they collect, which can in turn be used for great deals on the products they already know they want.
Starbucks uses their mobile app to their advantage by offering rewards exclusively to app subscribers, which then motivates customers to buy coffee (And other delicious snacks) from them. They're even more ahead of the curve by allowing their users to pay directly from the app, speeding up the whole transaction process.
If you already have a program like this in place – great. You can incorporate it into your mobile app, digitizing the entire process, making data on their purchases available to you instantly. If you don't have one, get on it, fast.
And when your customers see their points adding up in real time (rather than having to send in points in the mail or wait until they can access your website to enter them manually), they'll be impressed and more enticed to follow up on their purchases in the future.
Build a profitable mobile app in less time and at a lower cost than traditional solutions with BuildFire
GET STARTED WITH BUILDFIRE
2. Build a Stronger Brand
One of the most important things a mobile app offers to consumers is awareness of and communication with your brand. And through that regular interaction with your target market, you're fostering trust.
Why You Should Make Your Website Into A Mobile App Free
The more your audience trusts you, the more likely they'll be to listen to later sales pitches and even commit to your brand. With an app, you'll demonstrate to your users why they should trust you by showing (rather than telling) what your brand stands for.
Businesses from all corners of the world, offering a ridiculous range of products, have begun migrating from the physical world of handing out leaflets, printing advertisements, and hanging billboards, to the mobile realm. And you should too.
Now, I know what you might be thinking:
Our business doesn't need a mobile app to sell products to our loyal customers!
And maybe that's been the case in the past. But if you want to prepare for the future and start seeing the massive benefits right out the gate, you'll need a mobile app.
Not so easily convinced? Then here are 4 ways (and then some) that your business will reap the benefits of creating a mobile app for your customers.
1. Provide More Value to Your Customers
Business is all about reciprocation. You offer a product, the market opens their wallets with their demand, right?
Maybe you've sat down with your employees and tried to nail down the best way to encourage more of this wallet-opening engagement from your customers. You want to increase their interaction with your business to promote sales, of course, but you also want to provide a level of value for your customers that they can't get anywhere else.
One way to do this is create a loyalty program within your app. It would work like this:
The more customers interact with your business and product, the more points they collect, which can in turn be used for great deals on the products they already know they want.
Starbucks uses their mobile app to their advantage by offering rewards exclusively to app subscribers, which then motivates customers to buy coffee (And other delicious snacks) from them. They're even more ahead of the curve by allowing their users to pay directly from the app, speeding up the whole transaction process.
If you already have a program like this in place – great. You can incorporate it into your mobile app, digitizing the entire process, making data on their purchases available to you instantly. If you don't have one, get on it, fast.
And when your customers see their points adding up in real time (rather than having to send in points in the mail or wait until they can access your website to enter them manually), they'll be impressed and more enticed to follow up on their purchases in the future.
Build a profitable mobile app in less time and at a lower cost than traditional solutions with BuildFire
GET STARTED WITH BUILDFIRE
2. Build a Stronger Brand
One of the most important things a mobile app offers to consumers is awareness of and communication with your brand. And through that regular interaction with your target market, you're fostering trust.
Why You Should Make Your Website Into A Mobile App Free
The more your audience trusts you, the more likely they'll be to listen to later sales pitches and even commit to your brand. With an app, you'll demonstrate to your users why they should trust you by showing (rather than telling) what your brand stands for.
In the same way as distributing fridge magnets, calendars, and other random memorabilia with your company logo on it has served in the past both as advertisement and assistance, mobile apps strengthen your brand and educate your customers.
That's why so many businesses across all the major sectors are developing strategies for mobile apps. Check out this data from the Red Hat Mobile Maturity Survey 2015:
This is more than you can shake a stick at. Everyone is getting on board.
3. Connect Better with Customers
Customer service isn't just about face to face communication between smiling sales associates and customers anymore.
Since 2.6 billion people now have high-powered mobile devices within arm's reach at all times, the true game-changer in customer service is now mobile apps.
Why?
Firstly, your app won't be merely a human being, subject to mood swings and poor performance.
And, through a solid mobile presence, you'll always know you're presenting to the customer the same face – an interface geared specifically to provide them with the best experience of studying and deciding whether they want to buy your product.
In fact, the vast majority of marketers see their apps as a means to primarily improve customer service.
Without sounding creepy, your business is always with your customer. (Okay, maybe there's no way around that one.)
But think about it. If a person hears about your app in the middle of the night and wants to get information ASAP, all they have to do is turn on their device and download your app. Later, when a thought pops into their head that they should buy your product, they can do it immediately, without having to wait for regular business hours when normal human beings are awake.
So, if customer service is one of your top priorities (like it should be), mobile apps are the answer to raising customer satisfaction across the board.
4. Boost Profits
When customer satisfaction increases, sales typically do too. In fact, according to SalesForce, 70 percent of buying experiences are influenced by how customers feel they're being treated.
The more interested and pleased people become with your product and your business, the greater consumer demand will grow. And let me assure you, if you have a product your customers can't wait to get their hands on, that demand is going to provide you with some serious returns.
That's where the mobile app comes in like none other. But it's important to keep costs low while you're developing it.
Sure, you should have a website with a responsible design that can adapt to any of the various mobile devices there are now. This eliminates the necessity of having a frustrating, secondary 'mobile' site to manage. But if you launch a mobile app in addition to your responsive website, you'll boost sales while enhancing the customer experience.
According to Techcrunch.com, 35.4 percent of Black Friday sales last year were completed on mobile devices. That's up from the 16 percent they were just a few years ago, according to 2012 IBM Holiday Benchmark Reports.
When Domino's Pizza created a mobile app for ordering delivery or in-store pickup of their food, they saw an ecommerce rise of 28 percent in half-year pre-tax profits in the UK alone. And I know I'd rather use their app than actually call the store.
In fact, mobile devices now account for 52 percent of their online orders.
Are you seeing a trend here? If you aren't using a mobile app that encourages more purchases while making it easier and more exciting for your customers to press the 'buy' button, you're missing out on a huge chunk of change from an ever-growing market.
Build a profitable mobile app in less time and at a lower cost than traditional solutions with BuildFire
GET STARTED WITH BUILDFIRE
Other Benefits of a Mobile App
If these points haven't solidified in your brain the necessity of a mobile app, there are still more reasons to consider adopting a mobile app strategy to encourage more customer engagement and satisfaction.
- Inform users of new products and offers
- Stand out from the competition
- Reach out to younger demographics
- Sync users' email and social media accounts
And if you structure it correctly, you can receive a ton of analytics on exactly how people interact with your app. These range from the average time a user spends looking at your app, to the amount of money you make from every purchase.
Another point to think about is location data. Apps are now, more than ever, providing their creators with location data on their users. If you were to apply this to your business, you could learn when and where people were purchasing your products most often, or which parts of the world are most interested in your business.
Once you finally decide to develop your app, it may simply start out as a portal to the same options you've made available on your company website. But it has room to evolve into so much more. Eventually, you might even rely on your app to inform you as to the new directions you can take your business to continue confidently into the future.
If your business were to continue operating without this functionality, you might be left in the dark on these data while your competition takes advantage of it to skyrocket their sales and expand their businesses.
The Bottom Line
90 percent of companies plan to increase investment in mobile apps in 2016. If you don't, there's a good chance you'll be left behind your competitors.
And no, a mobile app may not save your business, but it is a sure way of securing a strong presence in your industry. Instead of being some abstract concept of a brand your customers appreciate, that they imagine has a headquarters in some faraway city – you'll be right in their pockets. Your logo will be placed on their mobile phone screens by default.
Just make sure you promote your app after it launches.
Why You Should Make Your Website Into A Mobile App Without
The convenience factor coupled with the undeniably cool element of new, rapidly evolving technology will place your business on the forefront of your industry. And hey, don't you want to pull your device out of your pocket and play around on something you helped create?
Why You Should Make Your Website Into A Mobile Application
Does your business have a mobile app? Why or why not? Share your thoughts below in the comments section!
