Many small businesses have joined larger ones in developing a mobile app for their customers, but there are still many holding out, with several small businesses not getting connecting with their customers on a mobile level. A recent study showed that more than half of small businesses don’t even have a website, much less a mobile app.
The mobile app industry isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so all small businesses should consider engaging their customers with a mobile app, otherwise they will lose out on some serious business.
But what’s holding small businesses back from going mobile? Why are some small businesses finding it so hard to develop a mobile app or even a mobile optimized website?
Experts say it can be a combination of factors that can be easily avoided. We’ve detailed five of the biggest myths that might be holding SMBs back when it comes to mobile apps.
1. Developing a mobile app is too hard.
Developing and creating a mobile app hasn’t always been as easy as today, but these you can build a mobile app in minutes using platforms. The problem is, many SMBs don’t realize that technology has changed, and that developing an app is actually really simple.
2. Mobile apps aren’t really necessary.
Many SMBs make the mistake of thinking that they are well-known enough among their customers, and that a mobile app is just a waste of time and money. They mistakenly believe that an app, while helpful to some, won’t really drum up any new business for them. To the contrary, if you don’t have a mobile app to increase repeat business, or at the very least, a mobile optimized website, you are losing out on a huge chunk of revenue.
3. Social media presence is good enough.
Small business owners often make the mistake of thinking that if they are on Twitter or Facebook, that they are getting through to all their customers. This isn’t completely the case – Facebook filters out posts from “fan” pages and business pages, so your customers only see a tiny percentage of the things you post. And with Twitter’s massive feeds, the sheer number of posts people see every day mean that your updates might get lost in the shuffle or buried under other tweets. Push notifications on the other hand arrive directly on a customer’s phone, which can be hard to miss.
4. Mobile Apps don’t provide enough functionality.
Business owners mistakenly believe that apps can’t really do much other than offer some information that’s already out there anyway, but that’s not the case. Mobile apps are built to engage your customers and encourage loyal customers to come back through in depth functionality. For example, you can message specific customers based on location or interest, interact with customers, providing them answers to emails and queries no matter where you are, rewards programs, loyalty programs, incentives, promotions, coupons, contests and other sales-generating marketing strategies, and so much more.
5. Mobile apps are way too time consuming.
Mobile apps are designed specifically to not take up too much of your time. In fact, they can often save you time, by doing things for you like updating your content, keeping data organized, providing customers with helpful information, automatic updates, etc. In addition, features like mobile food ordering or mobile reservations can reduce time spent talking with customers on the phone for their orders, automating the whole process, which is good business for everyone.
So there you have it. If you run a small business, you owe it to yourself to develop an app to interact with your customers and tap into the mobile marketing opportunity. Creating a mobile app is easy, convenient, and shows a high return on investment.
