An effective mobile marketing approach includes more than just optimizing your website to work well on mobile devices. More and more businesses are also investing in mobile apps to engage with customers on the go.

What you will learn

People interact with businesses through both mobile websites and mobile apps. Mobile-friendly websites are now a necessity, and many businesses can also benefit from a mobile app. In this article, you’ll learn:

• The difference between mobile websites and mobile apps
• The benefits unique to mobile apps
• How to determine whether an app is right for you.

What purposes do mobile apps serve? And how do you know if creating one can benefit your business?

The Differences between Mobile websites and Mobile Apps

Mobile Websites	Mobile Websites
Your mobile website is a simpler version of your main site.	Mobile apps are applications that can be downloaded and installed onto a mobile device.
Mobile-friendly sites offer most of the same things as your main site but are just built to work well on smaller screens.	The apps typically provide a specific function that’s not as easily accomplished on a web browser.
Visitors/Customers access a mobile site on a mobile web browser, just as they would on a full-size computer browser.	Customers can access your business from the app on their phone which can be installed on the Google play store for Android phone users and the Apple store for IOS users.
Mobile sites are mostly visited by potential customers	Mobile Apps are mostly downloaded by converted leads.
They are often integrated with features like Call or GPS.	They are often integrated with common smartphone features, like the camera, call, or GPS.

Read: Social media advertising: How it works

The benefits unique to Mobile apps

There are so many ways that apps can directly benefit your business. Let’s look at some examples. Imagine you own an independent movie theater. And you’ve decided to create an app to help drive ticket sales.

1. Ease Communication: Apps can be used to send messages to a person’s mobile, even when they’re not using the app. These are called “push notifications”. You could use them to send your customers reminders, maybe when you have a special offer for them. 
   For the movie theater example, you can use the App to announce special discounted showtimes.
2. Enhance Customer Loyalty: Your app could also power a new loyalty program. Your customers could earn a point when they log in daily or use the app to complete a transaction. The points here must be beneficial to your customers. Let’s say maybe they can convert the earned points into cash or use it to offset other transaction charges they make on the app.
   For our movie theater example, your customers could use the app to earn points for every movie they see in your theater, and for popcorn purchased at the concession stand.
3. Easy Purchase and simplified Checkout: With mobile Apps, your customers are just a click away from purchasing whatever you have to offer and Mobile apps also provide secure Simplified checkout for users
   For our movie theater example, your app could allow customers to purchase movie tickets in just a few clicks. 
4. Provide Direction using GPS: your app can use their mobile’s GPS to share directions to the theater.

With so many possibilities for your business, you may decide to develop your own app.

Read also: The evolution of mobile device

How do I know if a Mobile App is right for my business? 

You probably have Mobile Apps on your mobile phone, and as you have seen and read, you now know Mobile Apps help customers think about your business anytime they see your Apps on their phone.

However, to build a mobile App you have to first figure out what you would like visitors to accomplish on a mobile.

Perhaps you can achieve all these things on your mobile website. But you might identify a specific business goal that would be better served by an app. This might be your next step towards online success.

Conclusion

A mobile app can complement your mobile website, helping your customers accomplish specific, useful goals.

An app for your business can help increase customer loyalty. You can actively communicate with customers and help them make purchases easily on their mobile devices.

Can’t wait to get started? Well, you’ve got a couple of options. You can find a professional app developer like O’Bounce Technologies to work with. Or, check out one of the self-service tools out there, such as Appy Pie, Build Fire, or Como.