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3 Questions to Ask Before Building an Ecommerce Mobile App

Today every business needs to have a mobile app to stay connected to its users who are increasingly using mobile to shop online. But building a mobile store can be an extensive and expensive affair, right? Well, not anymore. If you have built your store on popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, you’ll be happy to know that building a mobile app for your store is not just easy, but extremely affordable too. But before you go ahead with the process of building your mobile store, here are 3 things you might be thinking about. 1] How much would my app cost? If you are on the lookout to build an app at a reasonable price, then a DIY platform can be the right solution. With DIY platforms, you can build an app for as low as $99! What’s more, you get the Preview App absolutely free, which allows you to experience the look and feel of your app even before you pay for it to go live! 2] How much time would it take to build my mobile store? If you have a web store that is integrated with the Shopify platform, you can develop and publish your app in 5 min. No jokes there! Click on the link below to explore how you can build your mobile app store quickly and easily using our platform. https://apps.shopify.com/plobalapps-mobile-application 3] Who would create my app? App creation process with DIY platforms is extremely simple and requires no technical knowledge or expertise. In other words, anyone can use the platform to create an app in a few simple steps by providing basic details of the existing Shopify store. Click here to get started with building your Preview App with our platform!

4 Stats to Convince you to go Mobile with your Online Store

We are currently experiencing a mobile revolution and everyone is jumping on the mobile bandwagon. If you are a business owner who is considering to go mobile with a mobile app for your business, then here are a few statistics that will help you make an informed decision. So, let’s have a look! 1] There are 1.2 billion people accessing the web from mobile devices… … and the number is increasing with every passing minute! Needless to say, mobile is BIG and your business needs to go mobile in order to connect to the mobile savvy users. 2] 61% of people said they would have a better opinion of a brand if they offered an amazing mobile experience… … which means mobile presence is crucial to building brand awareness and value for your brand. However, having just another mobile app isn’t enough. In the highly competitive world of ecommerce, it is all about providing the user with the ultimate user experience. 3] Smartphone and tablet users are 3 times more likely to shop online than those who browse the web via a desktop… … because millennials and people in their 20s and 30s are most likely to shop online more frequently. The young people love everything on the go and shopping is no exception. People from the previous generation, who mostly browse the web on desktops, are less likely to buy a product just by viewing it online. 4] Nearly twice as many smartphone users prefer to use an app as compared to a mobile website… … because of the many benefits of an app over the traditional website and even mobile websites. A personalized shopping experience, security, and faster loading time, are just a few of the many advantages of apps. So, you see that a mobile app is something your business simply can’t do without. With our DIY mobile app development platform, you can get your mobile app created from your Shopify store in minutes and too at a price that makes you happy! Just click on the link below to get started with building your Preview app that allows you to experience the look and feel of your app even before you go ahead and publish it! [The link comes here]

Benefits of DIY App Development

We are currently witnessing the mobile revolution with the number of smartphone users ever on the rise. In such a scenario, when your users are switching from desktop to mobile, it is only logical for you to decide to get a mobile app for your business in order to reach a wider user base. But developing a native mobile app that works on a specific platform can be expensive to begin with and the cost can go up depending on whether you want an app for Android or iOS or both. Thankfully, the DIY app development platform can come to your rescue as it provides you an app development solution that is not just fast but also cost-effective. So, you get an app for your business real fast and that too at an extremely affordable price! Wondering if a DIY platform is indeed the right solution for your business app instead of a team of developers working on it? Well, DIY platforms indeed have a lot to offer and can be a great choice if you are looking to build an app that comes with all the latest features and adds to your brand image. Let’s have a look at why DIY platforms are simply the coolest thing on the block. 1] No Coding Skills Required One of the biggest benefits of using a DIY platform is that anyone can use it to build an app. You need not to be a developer to use the platform. In fact, even if you can’t write a single line of code, you can build an app in a few simple steps in a matter of a few minutes. Can it get better than this? 2] Saves time and money Outsourcing the app to a team of developers can be more than just expensive – it usually takes a lot of time as the developers need to write the code from scratch. The DIY platform has the code ready and all you have to do is select from a list of layouts and features and voila! You get your app in a matter of minutes. Developers usually charge you on the basis of the number of hours they put in and so getting an app built from scratch can be a really expensive affair. The DIY platform, on the other hand, is not just faster but also saves you quite a lot of money. 3] Ease of Use The apps created through the DIY platform have a simple and intuitive User Interface (UI) and are designed keeping the user convenience in mind. This means anybody can use your app and make the most out of it. 4] Quick Testing Developing an app from scratch can involve complex coding and this creates the possibility of issues and bugs cropping up. Testing the app for all prospective bugs can be a time-consuming process and even after several rounds of testing, there can be a possibility of undetected bugs. The DIY platform, on the other hand, is thoroughly tested before it is available for users and so the chances of finding a bug are almost next to zero. 5] No need to explain stuff to developers When you start off with building an app and decide to outsource it to a developer team, you are required to explain the entire concept of the app to the developers before they can start working on it. This is essential as the developers would give you an estimate of the total expenses and the time required based on this information. A DIY app development platform can save you time as you don’t need to explain stuff to anyone. Instead, you can just start building the app and improvise as you move ahead. 6] Quick Submission Submission of a DIY app to the App Store and the Play Store is the easiest as the DIY platform is already registered with the respective app marketplaces and the app you build is published on their account. This allows you to get the app published in no time. However, should you wish to publish the app with your own registered account, you can always do that later once your account is ready. 7] App Updates Made Easy DIY platforms allow you to install updates on your app easily and at regular intervals. Updates allow you to keep your users posted of all that’s new, including the latest offers, deals, and promotions. The latest apps have made posting updates and notifications possible with the click of a button. 8] Access to App Usage Analytics The apps built using DIY app development platforms enable you to track app usage analytics that help you get an idea of the users that download your app and their behavior. In other words, it helps you get an idea of how your users make use to your apps. The only probable limitation of the DIY platform is that you can’t use it to create a custom-made app. However, that is too small a drawback compared to all the amazing benefits that the platform has to offer. One of the fastest growing and most promising M-commerce startups in India, Plobal Apps provides just the right solution with unique features that cater to the needs of the current market. We also have a channel partner program available to enable advertising agencies, digital marketing agencies and social media agencies to create fully native apps on both Android and iOS Mobile Platforms for their clients using the company platform. Recently, we have launched a Shopify Setup Expert Partnership Program which already has 50+ Setup Experts who are successfully using our e-commerce app building platform to build apps for their Shopify Clients E-Commerce Stores in a cost-efficient manner.

Native Apps: Everything You Should Know

If you’re a business owner, you must have come across terms such as ‘native apps’, ‘hybrid apps’, etc. While you’ll find many an example of popular apps under each app type, more than 50% of all the mobile apps are native apps. Here we shall learn more about native apps and what makes them so popular and widespread. Native Apps – The Basics • Native apps are applications that are platform specific, which means they are developed to run on a specific mobile platform (Android, iOS, Windows, or Blackberry). • Native apps are built using platform-specific programming languages, such as objective-C or Swift for iOS and Java for Android, unlike web apps that are created using tools used to create web pages, including HTML5. • Native apps need to be downloaded and installed on the mobile device, unlike web apps that can be accessed via the mobile’s web browser and need not be installed in the mobile device. They are available for download from the Play Store and the App Store. Advantages of Native Apps: Why do most business owners choose to invest in native apps in spite of the fact that native apps are the most expensive mobile apps to build? It’s because of the many advantages native apps have to offer. 1] Visibility • Native apps are available for download on the respective application stores, which makes them easy to discover by people who are looking for an app for a specific function. • It’s easy for native apps to acquire a substantial number of users in a short period of time. 2] Maximum Access to OS-Specific Features • Native apps can easily access and utilize the built-in capabilities of the device as they are developed for a specific platform. • These apps have the maximum access to the operating system specific features and other software installed on the device and can take the maximum advantage of the platform by interacting with the latest technologies available, such as GPS, camera, recorder, etc. • Native apps also have access to the data in the device, such as the calendar, contact list, etc., which can be a major advantage. 3] Offline Accessibility • Native apps are not run by a browser, and hence can function offline. • These apps can work offline as the content is already downloaded and stored in the app. • This offline access can be a major advantage and makes native apps the primary choice for gaming apps as it enables the user to play the game without being connected to the internet every time. 4] User friendly design and interface • Native apps are developed following strict technical and user experience guidelines of the respective platforms, which means their look and feel is similar to other apps on the platform. • The “familiar” user interface makes it easy for the user to learn to navigate the app and use it to its optimum potential. 5] High Efficiency • Native apps are faster than web or hybrid apps as they are developed with the programming languages and tools that are specific to the platform. • Native apps are more responsive • Native Apps have a huge positive impact on customer engagement as they sit there right on the user’s home screen. This is of utmost benefit to ecommerce apps where increased customer engagement can lead to increased sales. 6] Safe and Secure • Native apps win hands down when it comes to mobile app security, and this is due to the strict guidelines to upload an app to the app stores. • Native apps need to live up to the specific requirements set by the respective stores, such as Google Play and the Apple App Store, for their approval. • The developers need to register for a developer account and also pay an amount to get their apps published. While the entire process can take up a lot of time, it makes the app more safe and trustworthy. • The payment methods on native apps are highly safe and secure. Disadvantages of Native Apps In spite of all the amazing things about native apps, there are a few shortcomings about these apps that one must take into consideration before going ahead with the decision to build a native app for one’s business. Let’s have a look: • Native apps are expensive and time-consuming to build and maintain • Every new update requires approval from the respective app store • Some apps consume substantial storage space So, you see that a native mobile app can be a great solution for your business. However, before you go ahead, just take into account the needs of your business and that of your target audience. We at Plobal Apps can help you build a powerful native app for your ecommerce store in a matter of minutes and at a price that makes you happy. Learn more about our platform to discover the fastest way to make your business go mobile!

Plobal Apps helps SMBs go the App Way!

Mobile apps are the future of business today and every business, big or small, just cannot afford to ignore the benefits a mobile app can bring to their business. The phenomenal rise in the number of smartphones across the globe is the reason behind the mobile boom. It has revolutionized the concept of marketing and today, more and more business owners are queuing up to find ways to connect with their customers through the mobile app. As business owners realized that people were more likely to look at ads on a mobile app than anywhere else, the mobile app emerged as the most effective tool for marketing. But with almost 2000 apps added to the app stores everyday, it is getting more and more difficult to locate an app. This was bad news as business owners began to doubt if investing in developing an app was worth the money if, at the end of the day, their app would be lost amidst the countless others apps out there. However, the recent breakthrough update from Google has Proved to be a game changer. It says that the search engine giant is all set to introduce app indexing in its search results with the aim to “close the gap between app and Web content to make mobile interaction more seamless”. According to this update, the content of apps are all set to feature above all else in the Google search results, which means businesses without an app would lose out on rankings. This has made it all the more essential for businesses to go ahead and get an app. However, building an app can be expensive. While the big players can hire a skilled developer to do the job, it is the small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) who are finding it hard to shell out a fortune to get a mobile app. They are losing out on a wonderful opportunity to connect to their customers and as a result, losing out on business. The implications of this are huge and today SMBs who were earlier happy with a mobile website alone, are forced to invest in building an app. Considering the fact that 78% of SMBs do not have an app yet, it can be safely assumed that the demand for mobile apps is all set to witness a boom like never before. This is where a DIY mobile app development platform can come into the picture to help the SMBs develop effective and highly functional apps at an affordable price. At Plobal Apps, it is our vision to help SMBs overcome the technological barrier through an easy-to-use, highly scalable DIY app development platform. Our platform offers total control to the users as they can build highly customized apps as per their business needs with zero coding skills. We also have a channel partner program available to enable advertising agencies, digital marketing agencies, social media agencies, website and mobile development companies to create fully native apps on both Android and iOS Mobile Platforms for their clients using the company platform.

Ideal Design for an Ecommerce Mobile App

85% of smartphone users would rather use a mobile app instead of a mobile website. That’s huge, isn’t it? The popularity of mobile apps, coupled with the ever increasing number of smartphone users, presents a scenario where we just cannot ignore the significance of mobile apps anymore. It comes hardly as a surprise then that every small and big business today has invested or is planning to invest in a high quality mobile app to cater to mobile savvy users who browse the internet on smartphones and tablets. Everyone is chasing the idea of a mobile app that will work like magic! So, what defines an ecommerce mobile app that will appeal to shoppers and engage them with a shopping experience that makes them come back for more? Well, the ideal ecommerce mobile app is one that is high on functionality and successfully creates an amazing experience for buyers with a visually appealing interface, the highest levels of security, and easy navigation.

Elements that Make up the Ideal Ecommerce App

While functionality is an aspect you cannot ignore, your app should be visually appealing to strike a note with your users and capture their imagination. We at Plobal Apps have compiled a list of 10 design features that we feel can take your app to the next level as far as the visual appeal is concerned. 1] Multi-Faceted Navigation One of the key features of an optimally designed app is a multi-faceted navigation that allows users to find the products they are looking for as quickly as possible. In other words, an ecommerce app should have a navigation system that leads the user to his prospective purchase in the shortest possible time. 2] Clear and Consistent User Interface 1. The home page should be free from clutter and should have minimal content, which includes banners that draw the users’ attention to your biggest promotions (both current and upcoming), a fully functional search bar, and links to the broadest product categories. 2. The product display needs a different approach for mobile as compared to the traditional websites because the relatively smaller screen size demands that products be displayed differently to make browsing an enriching experience on mobile. 3. The menu and the layout should be consistent throughout the app to avoid confusion to the users and make it easy for them to find what they are looking for. 3] Simple On-boarding process A simple sign-up form that asks for the very basic details, is recommended. This will help you derive insights into the shopping behaviours of the individual users and their preferences. You can also send them newsletters informing them about the latest deals but always be careful not to end up spamming their inbox. 4] The Call to Action Buttons There are no standards for the size and style of the ‘Call to Action’ buttons to use but you should test a few and settle with the one that works best for your app. The rule of thumb is to place your ‘Call to Action’ buttons such that they can be easily discovered by your users. In fact, your ‘Call to Action’ buttons should be the first thing that your users notice when they browse through your app. Using hero images is yet another tactic used by ecommerce sites to get more clicks and you can consider how you can use these highly scalable images to work in your favour. 5] Customization Customization can be a great tool that can work in your favour. Let your user play around with fonts, number of products displayed per page, the size of displayed images, and more, to help him create a customized view that most appeals to him. This way, he is likely to spend more time browsing through the different categories which automatically increases the chance of a sale. 6] The ‘Thumb Friendly Zone’ The concept of the ‘Thumb-friendly zone’ can be a good idea to incorporate in your app design. The thumb-friendly zone is the one that is within the easy reach of the thumb of the right hand. Since a majority of the world’s population (70-90%) is right-handed, placing the key ‘Call to action’ buttons in this zone contributes to user convenience which leads to more sales. 7] Hassle-free Shopping Experience 1. The entire process of making a purchase should be accomplished in as few clicks as possible and should require minimum amount of data from your users. 2. Annoying pop-ups during the shopping process is a strict no-no as users prefer a seamless shopping experience without distractions and that’s exactly what you should aim to offer them. 3. Allow your users to login via social networks or even make a purchase as a guest. 4. Offer to store user information that would make it easier to make any future purchases on your app. 5. The checkout process should be as short as possible as a lengthy one can drive your users away. 6. Make sure the ‘Add to Cart’ button is there on all your product pages and can be easily located by the users. 8] Product Descriptions Your customers need to know all about your product before they make a purchase and this is where the content comes in. Make sure your product descriptions tell your customers all about the product and more. If yours is a fashion and lifestyle store, make sure you provide all that the customer might need to make an informed buying decision: sizes, colours, dimensions, etc. For garments, your should include a size chart to help the users know which size is the best fit, along with the cut and fit of the item, washing and care instructions, and the occasion it is perfect for. Make sure to leave out jargons and put it all in simple terms for your users to understand. 9] Quick Search Make it easy for your users to find a product. Make sure your ecommerce app has a built-in search engine that allows users to search for the most relevant products using keywords. Once they see the list of products, they should be able to sort the products based on the standard criteria, such as most popular, new arrivals, lowest and highest price, etc. 10] The Progress Bar If your checkout process becomes longer than usual, make sure you provide a progress bar to let your users know exactly how many steps they need to go through to get done with the process. This gives your users an idea about how long they will have to wait for the process to complete. Even numbering the steps as 1, 2, 3, ….. is cool as the user gets an idea regarding how many more steps he has to go through. 11] Adding to Favourites An ‘Add to Cart’ button alone is not enough. Your users might not be in a mood to make a purchase at that instance so all they would do is add stuff to the cart and move on, leading to cart abandonment. Instead, a ‘Favourites’ button can do the trick as it allows your users to shortlist products, making them want to come back for more. Here are a few other pointers to keep in mind to create that ideal ecommerce app 1. Allow users to click on the product images for an enlarged view of the products. Also, include images of the product from every angle to help the user get a 360 degree view of the product. 2. A great idea is to allow your users to add a product to the cart without ever having to leave the product page. This way, your users get to enjoy a seamless shopping experience and might even tend to buy more 3. Showcasing related products on the product page can be a great idea to boost sales as users who do not find a specific product in their size might end up buying a related product instead. Make sure your users can find your contact information on the app easily.ve little patience and so your interface should eliminate unnecessary steps for checking out.

4 Reasons Mcommerce is Important

What is M-commerce? For starters, it is a term coined to define a business model that allows a firm to conduct business through mobile handheld devices such as the mobile phone and tablet. It is an extension of e-commerce that was synonymous with the desktop computers and laptops. M-commerce is the future of shopping and if you’re a business owner, taking your business to where your customers are is the next logical step. Here are a few reasons m-commerce is the Next Big Thing. Have a look! 1] People Love an Amazing Experience! Yes, you have heard it right! It’s only natural for us to expect the best out of everything and browsing on the mobile is no different. In fact, around 71% of global mobile users expect websites to load as quickly on their mobile phone screens as they do on their desktops or laptops, if not faster. Not just that, a staggering 61% of mobile users even tends to form opinions about a brand on the basis of the experience offered by it. Non-optimized and cluttered websites can never provide the hassle free shopping experience of a mobile site or even better, a mobile app.

2] It’s the Need of the Hour! Currently, 15% of the total Internet traffic globally is through mobile! With approximately 1 out of every 4 people in the world today owning a smartphone (and the number is on the rise even as you read this!!), mobile browsing is becoming the norm. It is estimated that more than 1.2 billion people access the Internet from their mobile devices on a regular basis. It comes as no surprise then that online shopping is going mobile and FAST. With mCommerce emerging as the way people shop, it is not about whether businesses should take the big step towards going mobile – instead it is largely about how they should go about it. In other words, mcommerce is the need of the hour and not just an option anymore. 3] Offers Greater Opportunity for Revenue Generation It’s not just the users who are loving the idea of going mobile but the businesses too, the latter due to the increased opportunities of revenue generation that m-commerce has to offer. It works in two primary ways: a] Retargeting, the activity of tracking the online behavior of the visitors on your mobile website or app to remind them of the items they had expressed interest in or left in their cart, on the mobile platform can also be more effective as the smaller screen size makes it easy for the banner ads to draw the desired user attention. What’s more, even the click through rate on mobile is greater than that on the traditional desktop browsers. So, when you get 2-5% on mobile display ads, all you get is just 1% on the desktop browser platform, which makes the mobile a power tool for advertising. b] The simple fact that the advertising on mobile still allows for cost-per-click advertising, which means your business pays only when someone clicks on the ad, and you have another good reason to choose the mobile platform as the preferred medium of advertising for your business. Interestingly, a research conducted by the leading international research firm Latitude, shows that close to 88% of people surveyed believed that the real time information that a mobile app provides makes it easier for them to make spontaneous shopping decisions. 4] It Caters to the Mobile Users’ Habits Taking a look at the trends prevalent today, one can easily come to the conclusion that more and more people prefer to browse the Internet on the go and through their mobile devices. According to the results of a global survey conducted by the search engine giant Google, almost 90% of people switch between devices, including their desktops, laptops, tablets, mobiles and even smart TVs. Thus, each device and the experience it provides is crucial in the purchasing process. No wonder mobile shopping is catching up fast with consumers and it’s time businesses caught up with the trend too. You should go mobile to enhance the experience of the shoppers who land up on your website by making the entire process of browsing through the categories, selecting a product and making a purchase, more convenient for them.

7 Questions You Should Ask When Selecting a Developer for your Mobile App

If you are a business owner who is toying with the idea of a mobile application for your business, then it is highly likely that you must have thought of hiring an app developer for the job. While it is easy to find a developer, especially with so many freelance portals on the web, it is difficult to find a developer with the right skills to design an app just the way you want it to. While you can never be quite sure if the developer you’re working with will provide you with results that make you happy, asking the right questions before you go ahead with the contract can go a long way in saving you a lot of trouble later on. So, what questions do you ask? Here we have a few questions for you to get started.? 1] What are the platforms you work on? Not all app developers work on all platforms and hence you should consider this when choosing whom to work with on the app development project for your business. While you might require an app for Android and iOS platforms at the beginning, you might want to create apps for the Blackberry and Windows platforms later on to broaden your reach. In such a scenario, it becomes much easier if you can continue working with the same developer. Hence, choosing an app developing company that works across all platforms is probably the best bet. 2] Can you give me the reference of past clients you have worked for? An app has no credentials attached to it and more often than not, it becomes very difficult to find out who the developer is. Hence, just because someone comes and tells you he has built an app, you can’t be sure. This makes it important to speak to past clients. You should make it a point to ask a prospective developer for the contact details of a few of his past clients. Speaking to his past clients helps you verify his claims and know if he is reliable, responsible, competent and able to meet deadlines. If you are looking for someone who is indeed committed to his job and is willing to give his best, make an effort to make sure you’ve found the right person. 3] What are your payment terms? Some app developers will charge a flat fee while others will charge an hourly fee. Most of them choose the latter, but it is important to be clear about the payment terms before getting started. Also, developers ask for a certain amount as advance (usually 50% of the total estimated amount) before taking up the assignment and accept the remaining amount after completion. To prevent complications later, ensure you have a written agreement for the same. 4] Who owns the app once it is launched? If you’re paying for an app, you must own the app and no one else. When you decide to hire the services of an app developer, you should ask this question to prevent any confusion later on. Not just the app but everything from the idea, the design, the content and all the rights to the app should be yours under all circumstances. To ensure this, you should go for a legal contract that states that you paid to build the app and its copyright rests with you alone. 5] Can you give me names of apps you developed? Before you hire a developer for the all-important job of building a mobile app for your business, it helps to have a look at some of his past works. This way you can get an idea if his skills are at par with what you’re looking for and whether he has experience of building an app with a similar concept as yours and how good he is at what he does. So, go ahead and ask him to provide you with the links to a few of the apps he has worked on, on various platforms (Google Play Store, Apple Store, etc.) if applicable, and you’ll thank yourself for that. 6] How will you communicate during the process of building the app? During the process of app development, communication is key and hence it is important to clarify how often your app developing company would communicate with you during the entire process and by what means (face-to-face meets, calls, email, Skype, etc.). Choose a method of communication that you are comfortable with as you would have to speak quite often. Also, ask them how often they are going to update you on the status of the app and its progress. 7] What features can you create for my app? The modern app is all about the coolest features and the developer you choose to work with should be able to incorporate not just those features but also any other feature that you wish to add to your app. Offline access, customization, augmented reality, GPS check-ins, etc. are some such features that your developer should be familiar with. Once you find a satisfactory answer to these questions, you can go ahead and hire the developer and start on the journey to create your mobile app. Do you feel there are any questions that we have missed out? Do let us know. Have a great time creating a mobile app that helps in attracting more customers to your business and keeping existing ones!

6 Myths about Mobile Apps for Small Businesses (and the truth behind them!)

With the number of mobile users increasing by the hour, it is of little surprise that mobile apps are the need of the hour. Big businesses and a few medium and small businesses are waking up to the necessity of building a good mobile app to stay connected to their customer base and promote their brand big time. However, most medium and small businesses are holding back from going all out to create a mobile app. Interestingly, research indicates that most of them don’t even have a mobile website to begin with. So, what’s stopping these business owners to take the big leap towards going mobile and reaping the benefits of connectivity and the immense marketing opportunities that an app has on offer. 1] Myth 1: It’s too difficult to develop a mobile app and I don’t know anything about codes! Truth: Creating a mobile app today has become easier than ever and it’s possible for just anyone to create a fully functional app and that too without writing even a single line of code. Yes, you’ve read it right! The advent of DIY platforms like PlobalApps, helps you create a mobile app for your business in less than 10 minutes and in a few very simple steps. What business owners need to realize is that technology has changed over the years and creating an app is no longer the tedious process it used to be. 2] Myth 2: Mobile apps are too time-consuming Truth: Mobile apps are designed to make your life easier and save you time. Most business owners are of the opinion that keeping a mobile app updated would take up too much of their time. The truth is that it takes just a few minutes to update your mobile app on a regular basis and the benefits you get out of your customers having an updated version of your app on their smartphones are truly worth it. After all, don’t you find time to update your social network profiles? Then why not take a few minutes to update an app that can work wonders for your business? Moreover, a well-designed mobile app caters to customer queries to a large extent and saves you the effort of attending to calls each day. This way you get time to devote to more important activities, such as brainstorming on strategies for your business. 3] Myth 3: A mobile app will only allow customers to know my contact details and little else! Truth: There is no end to the list of what a mobile app can do for you! Yes, it’s true. A mobile app does more for you than just serving as a passive platform for your customers to know more about your business! What most business owners fail to realize is that a mobile app is a powerful interactive tool that can redefine the way you engage your customers through a plethora of cool options that can literally keep your user base hooked and help you build and add to a loyal customer base. With a mobile app, you can announce upcoming events, contests and deals, share media, send coupons, introduce rewards and loyalty programs, generate QR codes, reply to mails, send out push notifications, allow for online bookings and reservations, and much much more. 4] Myth 4: I don’t need a mobile app when my business has a strong presence on social media Truth: Your updates don’t always reach your customers on social media. Most small and medium business owners believe that a strong social media presence is reason enough to not switch to a mobile app. While one cannot deny the importance of social media in promoting a business, the fact is that a mobile app only adds to the interactions you have with your users by providing seamless integration among all the social media channels. What’s more, it ensures that your customers don’t miss out on a single update through push notifications that are directly visible on the users’ smartphones. This way, you can be sure your posts are not lost amidst the countless other posts on Facebook and Twitter. Add to that the fact that social media sites use filters for their posts and updates only means that your posts are unlikely to reach your target audience even! 5] Myth 5: A mobile app provides the same features as a mobile website does Truth: A mobile app can do a lot more for your business than a website can. Most business owners believe that if your business has a website, you don’t require a mobile app because they serve the same purpose. However, one needs to be aware that GPS features, push notifications, customized offers and deals, are just some of the features that most mobile apps offer but are seldom available on a website. This is because a mobile app is a small piece of software which when installed on the user’s smartphone, keeps a record of the users’ internet search patterns and uses it to offer a customized list of products to the user. This increases the odds of the user buying a product. The website, with its general approach, could never help achieve this. 6] Myth 6: Mobile apps are too heavy. Most people will prefer to stay away from them. Truth: If a customer loves your business, he would be glad to get your mobile app Most apps are small in size but offer a lot in terms of functionality. If you offer your customers enough reasons to keep your app on his phone, such as app-only deals, coupons, promo codes, special discounts, or just anything innovative you can come up with, rest assured your customers will be hooked. Use your mobile app to make your customers feel privileged and you’ll soon have a loyal customer base. Sounds easy, isn’t it? So, you see that all the myths that prevent small and medium business owners from taking the leap towards going mobile with their business are just that – MYTHS!! If you are a business owner who has been pondering over the decision to create a mobile app , we would suggest you go ahead and experience the power of the mobile app and what it can do for your business. Here’s wishing you luck!

Plobal Apps Helps SMBs Ride the Mobile App Wave!

Mobile apps are the future of business today and every business, big or small, just cannot afford to ignore the benefits a mobile app can bring to their business. The phenomenal rise in the number of smartphones across the globe is the reason behind the mobile boom. It has revolutionized the concept of marketing and today, more and more business owners are queuing up to find ways to connect with their customers through the mobile app.

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7 Reasons Your Business Needs a Mobile App

If you are an entrepreneur who owns a successful business, you must be wondering if you need to invest in a mobile app. So, should you? Well, it appears that you should indeed because a website, even if it’s optimized for the mobile user, is not enough to work wonders for your business. Not convinced? Here are a few amazing ways you can use the mobile app to revolutionize your business. Have a look!

1] Promote Your Brand Like Never Before!

Promoting your brand is one of the biggest benefits offered by the mobile app. While deals and coupons are the most common ways to promote one’s brand using the app, you can truly get innovative when it comes to powerful brand promotion. You can use features such as geo-tagging to send location-centric notifications to grab the attention of a specific customer base. For example, you can use push notifications to announce a special discount to all those who are within a kilometer radius of your boutique so that it’s easy for them to come down and pay a visit.

2] Discover an Amazing Source of Revenue

A mobile app is mostly designed as a source of revenue and there are different ways in which you can earn money through your app. If it’s a free app, you can earn through embedded ads and even through in-app purchases. Apps for small businesses, however, are mostly not money making tools in themselves but serve the purpose of promoting the business and reaching out to a wider customer base. Your app is a success if it can build your brand and make your business grow.

3] Retain your Customers by Making them Happy

A mobile app does more for your business than just increasing brand visibility and attracting new customers – it makes it a lot easier to retain your existing customers by keeping them happy in more ways than one, loyalty programs being one of them. When done right, app loyalty programs can be highly effective due to the amount of personalization an app can offer. Who doesn’t love to feel special? With a mobile app, it becomes a lot easier to make your loyal patrons happy and want them to stay associated with your brand and even throw a few recommendations!!

4] Experience the Wonders of Direct Marketing

Perhaps the biggest gift of a mobile app to your business is the incredible window of direct marketing that it provides. With the mobile app, you can ensure that your customers are never far away from the all the latest that you have to offer – including information about the upcoming promotions, events, exclusive deals, and much more. In fact, there are no limits to what you can do with your app to keep your customers in the loop about the latest scoop. With push notifications, that send notifications directly to your customers’ smartphones, things are only getting better in terms of increasing brand visibility.

5] Delight your Customers with Seamless Customer Service

Gone are the days when customer service was all about speaking to executives who were trained to help the customers and resolve their queries. In today’s instant age, mobile apps have introduced us to seamless customer service like never before. The Flipkart app is a good example as it allows the customers to not just cancel orders in a jiffy but the way they have streamlined their returns process is truly admirable.

6] Pave the Way for Higher Sales with Customer Engagement

While building a mobile app for your business is a brilliant idea in itself, the fact that building an app alone is not enough!! Statistics show that close to 80% of the total apps downloaded are never opened more than once!! Thus, just because people have downloaded your app, doesn’t mean they will come back to it time and again. So, engaging your customers is important and you can achieve this by tweaking the features in the app. A good example is the Limeroad app, an online fashion store, which encourages users to bring out the hidden stylist within by creating unique looks using products from the site. Other users can like the looks and even click to get to products used to create each look.

7] Be Unique Among your Competitors

Mobile apps are slowly gaining ground, but it is still rare for a small business to have a native app of its own. Most small businesses are happy with a mobile responsive website and have still not taken the leap towards the app. In such a scenario, an easy way to stay ahead of the competition is to get an effective mobile app for your business and surprise your customers with your foresight!!

So, you see that the mobile app is THE need of the hour and any business owner who dreams big just can’t afford to miss out on this. Do you need more reasons to jump on the app bandwagon? R�h�STx#

#mobileappsforbusiness #reasonstogetmobileapp #whymobileappforbusiness #smbsandmobileapp

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