Feb
20
The Need for a Mobile App
Wed Feb, 2013 by Laura Kirchner
In the last five years mobile devices have rocked our world, and with them have evolved our dependency, fascination and love of mobile apps. Steve Jobs ingeniously created delicious “must have” new technologies which spawned countless new industries and markets. Mobile apps are a perfect example. There is always a new app, a free app, “an app for that” … always a “must have” app. What did we do before our apps? The ubiquity and obsession makes nearly every marketer and C-level think, “We need an app!”
Photo by Ed Yourdon
There is no question, the staggering statistics perpetuate the “must have” feeling. The mobile app selection is expanding exponentially, traveling zero to over a million in just five years. When apps hit 10,000 in 2008, it was considered huge news. Little did we know it was just the beginning! The website 148apps.biz features up-to-date mobile app metrics and estimates that today there are currently nearly 800,000 apps available in the app store, more than 200,000 publishers, and over 800 apps submitted for approval in January alone! As of today, the average price of an app is $1.58; and according to engadget.com, app store downloads hit 40 million in January 2013 with nearly half of the count being accumulated in 2012. Starting to feel like your mobile strategy is behind?
Diving into mobile app development requires thoughtful consideration followed by comprehensive strategy. As a digital marketer, we go through this discussion regularly with clients. There are a few basic questions you can ask yourself before you decide to take the next step:
1. Do you need a responsive website, a dedicated mobile site or a mobile app? There are reasons good reasons for each. Adobe does a good job of layout out the differences between mobile sites and mobile apps. Once you have decided if you actually need (rather than just want) a mobile app, then comes the fun part. The ideas and strategy!
2. What will the mobile app do? The world is your oyster! There are templates to utilize or an invention can be born. Maybe it serves a specific purpose for your organization or maybe it could be repurposed and benefit your industry as a whole. It should fulfill (create) a need or provide a worthwhile service. This will help it become a “must have” app.
Of course there are a lot more questions and answers that lead to a successful mobile strategy. The good news is if you are reading this, then you are thinking about mobile, which means you are on the right path! If you are not sure of your next step, ask for help with your mobile strategy.
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