With about 85% of Americans being smartphone owners, we are well into the mobile era. This offers a range of branding opportunities for modern businesses. With that said, your business needs to have a mobile presence if you are going to take advantage of this fact.
Having a mobile-friendly website was enough for most businesses just a few years ago, but mobile apps are increasing in importance. If you are a new business working with a startup branding agency, they might even recommend focusing more of your efforts on the app instead of your website.
One of the reasons for this is that more customers are starting to say they prefer mobile apps to other options. Beyond that, mobile apps offer a variety of advantages that are not available from mobile websites.
Offline Capabilities
One advantage is that mobile apps still have the ability to function offline. Users might need an internet connection to access the most important features, but an app can still offer basic functionality even when the phone is offline. This can be great for providing at least a limited experience to consumers no matter where they are and it can also help a brand maintain a connection to the consumer.
New Branding Opportunities
Having an app offers a new array of branding opportunities. With an app, you now have more ways to deliver content to users. It can also offer a way to experiment with new branding strategies. Even when customers don’t open the app, it is also always there on their phones. That not only gives your brand a presence on their device, but the app icon is always there to remind customers of your brand.
Increased Personalization
Today’s consumer expects a personalized experience when they interact with a brand. This can be achieved with a website, but an app can take it to the next level. The app can start by having the user select preferences during the onboarding stage of setting the app up. From there, the app can track engagement and user activity to deliver precise personalization for every user.
Using Device Features
Mobile devices have all sorts of hardware and software features that can improve the experience for users. With a mobile app, you can connect with things like location services, cameras, microphones, the accelerometer and more. Newer browsers can connect with some of these features, but developers have more options when working with phone features in an app. The experience also tends to be a little more reliable when accessing phone features from an app.
Apps Get More Attention
Mobile phone users spend more time using apps. According to eMarketer, the average smartphone user spends about 90% of their time using apps compared to 10% in browsers. That 90% might be divided between several apps, but that is still better than 10% of the time being split between all of the possible websites a user might visit.
Notifications
App notifications can be a powerful tool for increasing engagement and keeping customers connected to your brand. Between using push notifications and in-app notifications, brands have a lot of opportunities to send content and messages to users. When compared to options like email, app notifications offer better engagement and click rates.
A New Channel for Conversions
Mobile apps can also be great for increasing conversions. Once you attract customers to using your app, there is a good chance they will make purchases. Apps are also good at building loyalty, so there is a good chance that the users will be repeat customers.
A good website can do a lot for your brand. With that said, mobile-first customers are becoming more common and they expect a good mobile experience. If you want to deliver on these expectations and maximize the value of your brand for mobile customers, you are going to need an app.