Update Does the 21st century company need a mobile app? Yes – Here’s why

Mobile apps have automated a whole bunch of mundane and critical activities including banking, paying bills, managing one’s schedule and health among other things. As per data released by App analytics firm Flurry in 2015, 90% time spent on mobile devices is spent on using apps and only 10% on the browser.

Further, from a research of 300,000 apps they found the average time spent on mobile devices was around 2 hours and 38 minutes.

Some Vital Stats – Why you shouldn’t ignore mobile

Some of the vital stats pertaining to recent mobile app trends worldwide as presented in notable websites show that

• On an average, a smartphone user downloads 8.8 apps every month
• 47% internet traffic is generated by mobile apps as per a Comscore study
• Only 51% companies measure the app user engagement and ROI
• 78% companies use paid media for app marketing
• 6.4 billion users predicted to use smartphone by the year 2021
• 68% customer engagement is happening over mobile apps

Reasons for positive user response to mobile apps

The above stats speak loudly in support of the dominant presence of mobile applications. A compelling reason for this is that apps load faster and can be used instantly. Since they are present in the user’s personal device, it is personalized with their account details and open instantly.

Further, apps are enabled to perform specific tasks, hence the performance is optimum. So, the user does not have to wait for the website to load and be redirected to a specific page or log in to their account. All this together imply minimal taps and instant access to the exact functions that the user wants to access.

The ergonomic built of apps is easy to adapt and repeat use completes the orientation. The constant presence on the user’s home screen and the push notifications keeps the app on user’s mind.

Finally, there is minimum scope for errors and app operations can be conducted offline too as the data is stored locally on the user device.

Positive implication for companies

New age, a new definition of brand loyalty and more scope for personal interaction with end customer is a primary implication. Information has become transparent and easily accessible for people and when resources are easily accessed with few taps on an app, they increase the user ability to connect with the business and check information pertaining to them conveniently.

As more users adopt mobile devices, the internet is accessible to the greater number of people and the amount of time spent on the internet via mobile devices also increases.

This number is only going to grow, and will present the most viable window for directly interacting with customers and serving them in a personalized environment. Companies who become a part of customer’s mobile behavior will be able to effect direct interaction between customer and employee, leading to greater product differentiation.

Once companies understand how people use mobile devices and the functionalities they are seeking in mobile apps, they will be able to design engagement models that will help them gain an edge over competitors.

Does your business need a mobile app?

The purpose your app is being used for influences the need for an app for your business to a great extent. Internally, mobile apps are meaningful in the workplace for employees and externally it is useful in customer interaction. As per a Google report, there has been 91% growth in mobile use in B2B research and buying process. With its fluid ability to engage users, mobile apps present fresh avenues for customer engagement using tablets and smartphones.

As per a Digital Strategy Consulting report, 60% employees use apps for work-related activity and 71% employees spend over 2 hours a week to access company information on mobile. Another research by iPass states that an extra 240 hours of work is gained annually by companies through mobile applications. Apart from creating new opportunities through seamless communication channels, it also increases productivity, efficiency and helps in cutting costs.

Why not just opt for a mobile website?

A study by Nielsen on mobile media time shows that consumers prefer mobile apps 89% of the time and most commonly used are email, news apps, and social networking apps.

As businesses try to decide between responsive websites, native mobile apps or hybrid mobile apps, the 90% mobile users figure will always bring them round the circle to keep their mobile strategy at the center of their marketing plans.

Utility, games, messaging and social media apps deliver their best performance as mobile applications that will send push notifications and will update instantly.

Though browser volume is significant, it does not enjoy the same volume as mobile apps to in these categories.

The most popular native platforms for mobile app development continue to be Android’s Google Play and Apple’s App Store. By June 2015, 100 billion mobile apps had been downloaded from the App Store, and the number only continues to grow.

With IoT technologies linking most electronic appliances, this number is only set to grow further and a mobile app will become a necessity rather than an option for most businesses.