Look up from whatever you’re doing right now.
How many people are fiddling with their smartphones, entranced by a glowing
screen of content? If they’re not texting, they’re
preoccupied with either a mobile app or a mobile site. Can your small
business be found in either of these realms?
Differences
in Purpose
Mobile
sites and apps have very similar DNA. Both give your small
business:
- Extended marketing reach
- A fresh visibility on the essential mobile platform
- Smartphone-friendly information
- Customer interactivity
Apps
match sites function-for-function with one big difference; apps are essentially a piece of software for your smartphone. They
are native to your phone and dedicated to an explicit function, much like
Microsoft Word is housed in your PC for word processing.
Mobile sites and apps are virtually neck and
neck in functionality, but which does your small business bet on? Here’s a look
at both horses in this race.
Mobile
Sites in Small Business
Waves
of studies point to droves of people accessing mobile sites daily. They
prefer mobile browsing over apps for business searches and shopping .
If you present customers with a compelling mobile site, they have no need to
comb through an app store.
Mobilewebsites are universal and all-inclusive if optimized properly. Sites
will ideally be built to work on rival smartphone giants iPhone and Android, as
well as stragglers Windows and BlackBerry. Apps must be built individually for
one platform at a time. Unless you have the budget, potential customers may be
left out.
.
Finally, the simple, critical factor of cost
favors mobile sites, as they are considerably cheaper to develop than a mobile
app.
Mobile
Apps in Small Business
Smartphone
users spend more time on mobile apps than mobile sites. A
recent study found that 82 percent
of “mobile media minutes” are dedicated to apps over mobile browsing. Another survey indicated that most of this
time is divided between personal finance managers, calendars, GPS navigation
and social media.
An app’s ease of access factors in. Customers
click the app homescreen icon, and they’re in. Once the app is downloaded, they
don’t have to worry about spotty mobile web reception or password-protected
WiFi. The app icon will be laid out clearly and conveniently on their phone.
Apps give your small business a powerful
presence in the customer’s life. If you offer a useful
app, customers will dedicate valuable smartphone real estate and memory to your
small business.
Base
it on Your Business
Your
business should consider investing in a mobile presence.
Comparing the costs and considering the virtual functionality tie, start with a
mobile site. If you have the budget, go for an app or a full-blown site/app
mobile campaign. If you decide to dip your toe or dive right into the mobile
waters, you will be very happy with the results.
