How to decide if your business needs a mobile App?

It is a tough decision to make by website owners whether they should design a responsive website that works across devices or focus exclusively on building a native mobile app.

Mobile-vs-Web

The key to smart management of any business in today’s world is to control the flow of information in regards to its products in a clear, concise and efficient way. However, with the increased usage of mobile devices, this task becomes quite challenging since people are as likely to find the information they are looking for on a social networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc., as they are on the website of the business. This puts businesses in a bit of a quandary. Should the business create a dedicated mobile App to advertise, feature and facilitate its products? Or should it simply resort to creating a responsive, mobile-friendly website?

Mobile-vs-Web

Here is a breakdown of that decision making process.

So, first things first; does your business require you to build an App to provide information on your products? Before you jump the gun on this trending path and make ill-informed decisions, there are a few things to consider.

  • How does your customer base access information regarding your business?

Take a moment to step back and evaluate exactly how your customer base accesses information. This does not necessarily have to be information regarding your business alone. Do most of your customers prefer a mobile device in order to surf for information and social networking? If the answer to that question is yes, then a mobile App will certainly further the value of your business.

Apart from the above mentioned approach, a business must also consider how a mobile App will change the way they interact with their customer base. Will your App simply give the customers a new method of accessing your product information, or will it offer other valuable features that make every-day life more convenient for them? For example, popular mobile service provider, Airtel now has an App that lets its customer’s access website information while at the same time, providing the customers with an easy way to manage their services like bill payment, recharges, etc. In such cases, a mobile App may just be a valuable asset to invest in for a tech savvy customer base.

  • Will a mobile App benefit your customers and your business at the same time?

Yet another question to ask before considering a mobile App is, will the App actually benefit my business while also benefiting customers? Does the App facilitate my employees by saving time? Will the App benefit my customers in a way that makes their transactions more convenient? If the answer to both or either of these questions is no, then a mobile App is not the best course of action for you. In such cases, it is better to go for a less expensive and more informative method such as a responsive mobile website.

  • Will a mobile App help facilitate your customer service?

Good customer service is often the key to improving your standing with your existing customer base. So, in that light, yet another question to ask yourself is – will a mobile App benefit customers by providing information and answers to questions and queries that your customers frequently have? An example of this would be an App that allows your customers to gather all the information about your products while at the same time providing answers to their Frequently Asked Questions. As a matter of fact, such an App could be taken to the next level by providing customers with a way to submit service requests and have a chat with an online service representative for their queries.

Mobile-vs-Web

Now, you’ve asked yourself all the important questions and have either decided to use an App for your business, or have decided that a responsive website is more suited to your goals. Fantastic! It’s now time to implement the decisions you have taken. In order to achieve this, you may utilize a person in your IT department to develop an App for you. However, a major drawback to this option is that, while your IT guy may know how to develop an App for you; will that person be able to develop the perfect App that suits your business needs? Or rather, what if you don’t have a person with those capabilities at your disposal?

Fear not; that’s where outside consultants come in. One such solutions provider is Konstant Infosolutions. The greatest advantage to hiring an outside consultant or developer is their wide range of experience and perspective. Such consultants can furnish you with details on whether or not your App is original in its design and idea. Apart from that, solutions pioneers like Konstant can also give you an idea of the kind of App implementations that are undertaken by other businesses in your sector. This provides you with valuable feedback and lets you develop further ideas to improve the quality of your own App’s design and idea. IT solutions experts like Konstant Infosolutions undertake mobile App services like:

  • Windows Mobile (5.5, 6.0, 6.1, 6.5) Development
  • Mobile Website Development
  • J2EE, JAVA, J2ME based Mobile Application Development
  • Android – Google Mobile Development
  • BlackBerry Mobile Application Development
  • iPhone application development
  • iPad application development
  • iPhoneGap application development

If on the other hand, you have decided that you would be better off with a responsive website, rather than an App, Konstant Infosolutions also provides the following services:

  • Create custom search engines
  • Form web based chat rooms
  • Develop online store and catalogs
  • Limit unwanted access to sensitive areas of your website
  • Create forum and bulletin boards
  • Interactive programming solutions
  • Click-able image maps
  • Custom interactive programming
  • Integration of database

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About Author
Manish Jain

Manish Jain

Manish Jain is the co-founder and Managing Director at Konstant Infosolutions. He is responsible for the overall operations of the company and has played a major role in bringing Konstant up from its humble beginnings and, with his immense energy and drive, transforming it into a globally trusted name in IT solutions.

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