With 60% of internet traffic coming from mobile devices, globally – you’d need your head in the St Ouen sand if your marketing team wasn’t considering how your business interacts with your customers via their mobile devices.
Yes, it’s pretty standard now for websites to be totally responsive to different screen sizes but with digital advancement accelerating dramatically since we were all forced to work from home, many businesses are making strategic decisions to take their business exclusively online. And in some cases, businesses are now questioning whether they should look at using a business website or mobile app to serve their business better.
At Blue Llama we would argue that each has a different operational value for your business. At face value, mobile apps and websites can look very similar. But the backend, User Experience (UX), functionality and benefits to each are in fact very different, so they can each play a different role for your business, depending on your needs.
Why consider an app?
As we’ve said before, when working with our clients the first thing we want to discuss is their target audience. Who are they? What do they need from you? What expectations do they have from you? How can you facilitate their needs? What is their call-to-action?
If you have google analytics setup on your website it’s easy to track how many visitors are coming onto your site whilst using a mobile device vs a desktop. If you notice a large percentage of these visitors are coming via mobile, you could have a strong case to explore the possibility of an app. We typically see this more with B2C companies rather than B2B.
What does an app do that a website doesn’t?
A website is effectively your shop window and often the first interaction your customer will have with your business. You want their UX to be seamless, efficient and impactful with clear call-to-actions that keep everyone happy. Once that customer is through the door and engaged with your business, whether it be through on or off-line services, an app gives you the opportunity to further build a meaningful relationship with that customer to increase loyalty and the possibility of repeat business.
Here’s our breakdown of what your website could/should be doing and how this can then be further enhanced through an app:
Website:
- Developed to inform visitors
- Your business is easily accessible 24/7
- It’s a powerful marketing tool in it’s own right
- It acts as your shopfront and can facilitate transactions or leads
- It helps to establish trust and credibility
- Enables you to gain more customers and increase your reachability outside of your geographical locations
- Increases your visibility
- Can accelerate your growth
- Can be the cost effective option
App:
- Developed to interact and nurture relationships with your customers or stakeholders
- Doesn’t need to be connected to the web but does need to be downloaded by users
- Can provide direct push notifications to your customer’s phone
- Easily scalable with your business
- Delivers personalized UX (customer’s can create a profile)
- Can leverage device capabilities like camera, media, GPS etc.
- Can handle complex tasks easily
Throughout all of this, you are able to manage meaningful relationships with your customers whilst gathering incredibly powerful data that can help you adjust your business to improve efficiency, products and services and reduce spend.
Hybrid
OK, so here’s a brucey bonus. Progressive web apps (PWAs) are a new kid on the block and sit on a domain like a website but can interact with your customer like an app. While they do have some limitations over a native Android or iOS app their cross-platform interoperability makes them easier and cheaper to develop. Win:Win!
Would you like to discuss which would be best for your business? Get in touch.
