Does your business really need a Mobile App?
Why build an app? Having a mobile application today is like having a credit card POS machine, every business has one, some actually have a business of apps. But really is that your only reason.
Every business needs to engage it’s customers to ensure repeat transactions happen. For new age start-ups having a website was not enough, the challenge has been to create an engaging channel of communication that informs, excites and attracts them back. Often it is seen that around 70% customers just do not return. But to what extent do mobile apps resolve this problem and what is an alternative?
Pros and cons off creating a mobile app for your business
You can be present where the customer is There is no certainty that the customer will notice you unless a notification is received
| Pros | Cons |
| The ability to send push notifications | Phone clutter, memory issue, most customers use a phone with less than 4gb memory |
| The ease of transaction | Relevance and need, not all business can carry an everyday engagement level required for apps. Say - event sites, hospitals, car rental etc |
| Detailed information about customer behaviour | High cost of acquisition |
| Stickiness assuming once in the phone app will stay | Resistance to upgrade Apps due to data consumption, space and time constraints |
Once you get an app created, you fall in the vicious cycle of getting the app downloaded via special offers, ensuring the app stays in the smartphone hence dole out another set of special discounts for app customers and so on. Hence further increasing your costs.
What if the key benefit of apps, sending notifications was possible through an alternative channel?
Yes browser push notification is that channel. Browser push notifications as the name suggest are short messages, sent to your web users to update and alert them of any new event on your website. Like app push notifications these are clickable and can be sent even when they are not on your site.
