Mobile Apps: Are They Right For Your Business?	Visited: 1433 5.0/5.0 (2 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Shannon Suetos March 31, 2010

With the popularity of the iPhone and Android based phones like the Droid and Nexus One, it is no surprise that mobile apps are becoming a must for businesses.  According to the research firm the Yankee Group, projected sales on apps for 2010 will be $1.6 billion dollars and will rise to $11 billion dollars by 2014.

A study done by AdMob also confirms smartphone use is on the rise, “In February 2010, smartphones accounted for 48% of AdMob’s worldwide traffic, up from 35% in February 2009.”  Between these two reports, it seems business owners should not ignore what mobile apps can do for their them.

So what can you do if you aren’t a mobile app programmer?  There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to producing a great mobile app for your business.

Research
Take into account what device/devices your target audience is using.  You don’t want to make apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry if your customers aren’t using those phones.  Make sure before you go full force with this project, that you find out where the majority of your customers are getting information.

You also need to find out why they would access and download your app.  What kind of information would they find useful? Many industries that are finding the best luck with apps are auto dealers, real estate agents and restaurants.  Many retailers and airlines are also seeing a boost in incorporating apps into their marketing strategy.

Hire a Programmer

With the popularity of the iPhone and Android platforms, there are now programmers out there who can write great apps for you.  When looking for a programmer there are a few things you should keep in mind.

One is how their style fits your company.  Just like with web design, many programmers have specialties.  Make sure your wants and needs meet their talents as well.  Looking at their portfolios is a great way to gauge their specialties and how it can work (or not work) for your company.

Also see if the programmer you are looking at can produce an app on multiple platforms.  Although the iPhone and Android based phones seem to take up much of the market share, you can’t count out other smart phone users like BlackBerry and Palm.  Because of this, more and more companies are looking into building apps on multiple platforms. 

“One of the main reasons we developed an application for multiple platforms is that you get a larger footprint of consumers,” says David Chang, VP of product at Where (a mobile search and recommendation service). “It’s more useful when you have other people who use the application. Friends and family members may be on different platforms. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever meet a family where everyone across the board uses the same phone.”

Do It Yourself Approach

If your budget doesn’t have room to hire a programmer there are options out there for you to be able to build an app on your own. Some popular sites are MobileAppLoader, Mobile Roadie, MyAppBuilder, Mother App and Sweb Apps. 

Some of these sites will allow you to build your own app and have it ready to go within the same day.  The biggest obstacle for the iPhone platform is getting approved by Apple before it goes live.  If you have a quality app, and it doesn’t seem to infringe on an app created by Apple, it shouldn’t be too hard to get approved.

In the end it doesn’t matter which approach you take, it is how it will benefit your business.  With the proper research you should be able to decide on the best plan of action for your company, and develop a great app your customers will enjoy.