Mobile apps: Important for companies as corporate websites

Mobile apps have been around for some time and there is a lot of hype around the developing market. But how sustainable is this development, and where does it lead? Apps will eventually be as important for companies as web pages are today.

What are the reasons for this optimistic view? Here are just six reasons why we think that apps will become as important as Websites to companies in the next years:

1.     Ubiquity of smart phones: Smart phones will increasingly replace feature phones in stores. Nearly everyone will be able to use smart phone apps, not just – as of now – business people, social networkers and gamers.

2.     Manifoldness of possibilities: Smart phones are small computers which are becoming more and more powerful. They will be suitable for an increasing number of tasks which have previously been restricted to laptops or desktops. Today smart phone apps are used by companies to promote their brand or product, or to provide access to their existing products. In the future we will see a lot more use-cases, e.g. new products enabled by apps, mobile health, mobile selling, or apps which help to improve working efficiency within a company.

3.     Ubiquity of app stores: For the foreseeable future, Smart phones will always depend on the app store. If you have a smart phone or advanced feature phone you will have easy and convenient access to the world of apps.

4.     Unmatched user-experience: Apps offer a user-experience which mobile Websites or widgets are unable to provide.

5.     Proximity to customers: Mobile devices, especially Smart phones, are much more personal and intimate devices than a laptop or desktop device. For most users their phones are never further than 1 meter away 24/7. Imagine how attractive it is for consumer goods, food, and myriad other companies across the economy to be able to place their products and services so close to consumers.

6.     Better visibility: Although there is a lot of clamour about the discoverability of apps, especially in the Apple App Store, standing out among 140,000 apps is much easier than being found amongst millions of websites. In addition, these distribution platforms are stores, and unlike the web or its search engines, they are designed to sell and present products. Cross-selling and promotions are components of their core features. The new generation of app stores make it easier than ever before to be in the forefront of millions of potential customers' minds.

Aerizo Group – Mobile Application