The internet has enabled businesses to expand their customer base significantly and globalize their products and services. In recent years, mobile phones and tablet devices have become the norm, allowing access to the internet on the go, and making your customers more reachable than ever.
Mobile apps are one of the best ways to communicate and engage your customer base. Apps can provide customers with information, easy access to your brand, and special offers, but doing it wrong can damage your company’s reputation. In fact, 65 percent of users say a poor mobile experience negatively impacts their opinion of the brand.
Getting it right doesn’t need to be complicated. A good idea needs a solid, secure app foundation to protect customer data and an easy-to-use interface.
Build For Your Customers
Make sure your app is built for your customers. User feedback is essential when building an app for general release. When 44 percent of in-app defects are found by the user, it’s a no-brainer to listen to your customer base and adjust to their needs.
Customers will use your application for its intended use if it makes their life easier. If there is another faster or easier-to-use application, don’t be surprised if your numbers start to dwindle.
Positive interactions with your brand paired with open, two-way communications channels will mean your customers will associate your brand with a good experience and will likely return.
Outsource Your Development
The best decision you could make for your company is to outsource your mobile app development.
It’s easy to create an app with a bare shell and simple idea, but the app will not be business worthy and could actually do damage to your brand.
Outsourcing your mobile app development will ensure your app complies with regulatory and legislative requirements while ensuring it’s secure enough for your customer data.
Rather than paying an entire team of experts to achieve this in-house, hire an external company to bring their experience working with apps to the table. Your team won’t be starting at square one, but go straight to the tried and tested solutions known to work within your industry.
Then, with a team supporting and maintaining the app, your team can focus on quality content rather than stressing the difference between front-end and back-end!
Review Frequently
Finally, and maybe most importantly, you must review your app regularly. Take on your customers’ feedback, check for bugs and holes in the code often, and update the app with new features when possible.
Actions speak louder than words! Your users are more likely to see an improvement in the interface than your development team. This article has already mentioned taking on board your customer feedback, whether from the app store or direct feedback. So acting on that feedback is an integral part of two-way communication.
So our advice in a nutshell? Get your app to the minimum viable product (MVP) using an app development company, send it out to your customers and act on the feedback they returned.
