You’ve done it! Your business is on the go, and you’ve finally got an engaged audience. Yes, paying members or customers, recognising value in your business offering.
Wow. Feels good, right?
But now’s not the time to get comfortable. No. Now’s the time to leverage that audience and take your business to the next level.
The competition is rife, and you need to keep fighting to stand out from the rest.
How? Well by ‘app-etizing’, of course. (See what I did there?)
Sure, it seems like a strange choice of words. But what we’re talking about is actually something quite simple and familiar. We’re talking about launching your very own business app.
The Current Climate Is Begging for Your App
Take a moment to think about a day in your own life. Let’s take a hypothetical Monday.
Alarm goes off (on your phone) and the first thing you do is pick up your iPhone to check Facebook for any posts or questions on your business page.
How do you do this? Not by opening your web browser, but by quickly checking the Facebook app for any notifications.
Then you wonder what to wear, so you check the weather. By flipping open your laptop and Googling temperatures in your city? Of course not. You open your phone again and check the weather app. Sunny but cold.
On your way to work you pop on your headphones and catch up on your favourite The Teacherpreneur podcast, via an app.
The first part of the day flies by, but you manage to find a dinner recipe in between class breaks. Again, you use the app on your phone, because this is the quickest and easiest way to find what you’re looking for in the limited time you have available.
Finally, home time. You cook that dinner you’ve been looking forward to. The recipe was a success, because there were no leftovers and your guests were very complimentary.
Just before closing your eyes you do a quick read through of the news from the day… using a great, new free app that you downloaded on your phone.
And, the day is done. Your only regret as you start to fall asleep is that you didn’t get to the gym, which means that you might not make your weekly goal on that exercise app you like to use to keep motivated.
You’re starting to see the point of this story, aren’t you?
You’ll probably agree that you make use of your phone, and apps on your phone, even more often than in the scenario above. And this is no different for your audience.
Life is hectic, days are short, and convenience is key to claiming a slice of people’s precious time. And apps – are convenient.
The Game Changer For Your Business
The Merrymaker Sisters and SuperFastBusiness are two great examples of how mobile apps can change the game for online business by widening, deepening and strengthening the connection with an audience.
In fact, SuperFastBusiness pageviews, forum sessions and users all increased by 20% to 30% after the introduction of their app for online business coaching.
Apps make your business offering more convenient, more accessible, and more visible. That bright little icon sitting on your customer’s screen says “I’m here, and I’m ready at the touch of your fingertip”.
This not only meets your busy customer’s need for convenience, but it also strengthens their perception, their recognition, and their identification of your brand. And this, in turn, leads to other good business outcomes.
Leads to memberships, online purchases, and positive word-of-mouth are all benefits of a quality app that offers added value to your audience. And using push notifications can further enhance these benefits.
It’s estimated that over 45% of app users have paid for their apps. Even more attractive is the prediction that $77 billion will be generated from the use and purchase of apps in 2017.
And it’s not that difficult to do. Actually, the process for app development can be relatively quick, simple, and affordable (as little as $500 for a decent quality app).
But You’re No Programmer…
Not a problem. Ask me, I’d know.
I’ve developed around 100 apps for teachers across the world, and I haven’t coded one of them myself.
As the entrepreneur, what you need is a unique and refined idea, and an audience that you already have stakes in.
Whether you choose to use an existing app template and modify it for your audience (like I did with Loop It), or create a whole new app, the trick is to understand your audience and their needs.
Make sure that your app serves your audience, and is presented in a way that suits your audience.
Also, keep in mind that successful apps usually serve a single purpose. Your app should add value for your customer by being a simple, focused, and easy-to-use piece of your bigger business.
And then, use that creativity and customer understanding to work with a coder or programmer to make your app come to life. They will transform your idea into a working app, and keep it updated too.
Affordable programmers can be found on freelance platforms like UpWork. But make sure that you find someone reliable, and with evidence of past work that you’re impressed by.
Need A Little Help Getting Started?
Creating and launching your first app can be scary. But that’s why we’re here.
Check out the Teacherpreneur App Match services where we help you refine your app idea, manage the development process, and launch your app to success.