Building An App For Your Business

Apps are growing in popularity, giving people greater power with their smartphones. Businesses worldwide are embracing this technology. Take-away restaurants are using it create menu and delivery systems. Retail stores are using it to create digital catalogues. Other uses include training apps, digital loyalty cards, digital handbooks and surveys. If you think your business could benefit from an app, here are the things to consider.

Is it financially viable?

Building an app isn’t cheap. If you have coding knowledge you may able to cut costs by building one yourself. However, the majority of people will pay a company to build an app for them. Depending on the complexity the pricing can vary, sometimes costing thousands to produce. Determine whether this app will have a use that justifies its cost, either making life easier for your staff and speeding up workflow or making life easier for your customers and increasing sales.

Coming up with the concept

Plan out the functions that you want your app to have. You may want an app developer to help you with this in order to gage which functions are realistic within your budget and the realms of technology. Market research may also be useful to see if customers think it would be a good and useful concept.

Decide which platforms and operating systems your app will be available across. Will it be available on tablets as well as phones? Will it be available on both Apple and Android devices?

Building the app

Approach an app development company if you haven’t already and show them your design. You can then start building an app. This can take anything from a couple weeks to a couple months, depending on the complexity of the app. Keep in regular contact to see how the app is getting along.

If you’re building the app yourself you may need to familiarise yourself with either Objective-C or Java first. These are the languages of Apple and Android. It may be beneficial to hire a team to help you create the app to save time.

Marketing your app

Getting people to download your app is the hardest part. App store optimization services now exist to help businesses to market their apps and get them more visible on searches. Such as service could be worth investing in to get your app out there.

If your app is aimed at customers, let all your current clients know about it through emails, social media posts and poster advertisement on your premises. Encourage them to try and share it with their friends. Advertise it on your website and allow a download link leading to the app store.

In some cases you may be able to get local press involved. If you’re a takeaway restaurant with a new app, you may be able to get a small piece in a local newspaper, showing off the fact that you’re the first company in your area to use such technology. Local business and community groups are also great places to advertise your app.