Communication is a key pillar of human life. Mobile phones are the among the easiest, quickest, and most common mode of communication today. Simple tasks like shopping, finding soulmates, jobs, or even navigating new locations, are all made simple using mobile phone apps. Similarly, businesses are finding it harder to survive without a presence on mobile phones, hence the increase in business oriented apps in the app markets.
Big companies realized the influence both on marketing and public relations that mobile phones provided. They delved into the market and produced some of the first for-business apps. Steadily, small business app development is on the rise. This is because apps simplify life.
One great example of such small business app is LinkOkay which focuses on search engine optimization. SEO is a marketing technique that increase website’s traffic through search engines.
The first challenge for small businesses interested in mobile app development is assessing whether an app is necessary or beneficial to the business. An easy way to verify this is to check the customers online interaction with the company. For example, how many people view their website per day use their Facebook page or Twitter accounts?
There is no doubt that a well-developed mobile app is an essential investment for any small business. Developing an app for your customers enables them to interact with you 24/7, no matter where they are. Remember that there more than one million mobile apps out there, so you need to make sure that you develop an app which is not going to get lost in the crowd.
Your app needs to:
- Provide a unique solution with the app. Do not just duplicate your website design.
- Keep the app simple to use. Complicated navigation and use can deter people from using an app.
- Develop a cross-platform app for Apple & Android so that you optimise user numbers.
- Use responsive design that enables the app to adjust to different sized screens so that it can be viewed using all smartphones and tablets.
- Keep the app updated to reflect business changes.
Working with the team of digital marketing experts at Quikclicks helps you to develop the ideal mobile app for your business. They have more than fifteen years experience working with businesses of all sizes to optimise the success of their digital marketing strategies.
An app needs to solve a problem. Companies make the mistake of developing an app that is a miniaturized version of their websites that offer no solutions to any problems. These apps are often very heavy to use and have complex interfaces that put off the users. A good way to avoid this problem is to begin app development with the aim of solving specific problems.
Most small businesses rarely employ a developer onsite. They may have the I.T personnel; however, not many are specialized enough to develop an app from scratch. The next obstacle becomes finding a developer with the unique skillset required to build the app. Small companies often spend a lot of money hiring professional developers whose end products are very complex and offer too much functionality. There are mobile app developers who specialize in professional small business app development.
An important decision at this stage is which platform to use. There are two main mobile phone operating systems in play around the world today- Apple and Android. Depending on the type of device used by the majority of your clients, or the target market for the app, a company may need to find a developer for one of the platforms or both. Android app development for small business is better when considering low-income populations while iPhone app development for small business is best when the budget and timeframe are limited.
The small business app needs to be light; meaning that they should load quickly on the device. It should be extremely easy to use and have no basic bugs. The easiest and most effective method of introducing it to the market is simply by doing just that! Once completed, let a few users download, try it and give some feedback. Based on the feedback, release an update for the app. Keep the updates current and relevant. Some businesses make the mistake of never releasing updates, which results in old looking apps with bugs, which can put off the user.
Another important decision is whether to sell the app or make it free on whichever store you choose to distribute it from. Selling an app means the services offered by the app must be vital and necessary so much that the user is willing to pay for them.
Mobile app development for small business can change the face of small businesses or cost a fortune and give no returns. To understand the difference, the business must fully weigh the benefits and risks involved. The average cost for small business app development is $4,000 for simple apps and about $50,000 for normal business apps.
Apps are a great way for small businesses to grow and expand. Small businesses should consider app development in their expansion plans. In conclusion, small businesses must adopt mobile technology or face possible extinction.
If you are looking for experienced experts and upright business partners to help you grown and develop your software or app. Request For Proposal is a fundamental stage, which should lead you to effective cooperation with developers. Preparing an RFP can be daunting if you dont exactly know what it should contain. For this reason, we recommend using the rfp template for it project, with help you go through this beginning but very important process.
To help you secure app development project, you can use an NDA template for IT projects. Download the NDA template by completing the special form.