Here’s What Customers Want Your Mobile App to Do (Infographic)

Dear Small Business Trends,

All right already, I get it. 2016 is the year that small businesses must develop mobile apps and going mobile is more important and affordable than ever.

So, I’m gonna build a mobile app for my small business because I want to reap the benefits and keep up with my competitors, but before I start, I have just one question: what should it do?

Thanks in advance for your reply,

Small Business Owner

Great question Small Business Owner! The pressure to build an app for your small business is as great today as the pressure to build a website was back in 2005.

While you can find a lot of information about the ‘Why’ and the ‘How’ of mobile business apps online, it’s harder to find information on the ‘What’. In other words, what should your small business app do?

How to Make Apps That Your Customers Will Love

We took to the web to dig up the information you need to figure that out and put our findings into the infographic below. Also, make sure to look underneath the infographic for more details.

Click here to download a larger version of the infographic…

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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/08/make-apps-customers-want.html"><img style="border:none;width:100%;" src="https://smallbiztrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/here-s-what-customers-want-your-mobile-app-to-do-small.png" alt="Here’s What Customers Want Your Mobile App to Do" /></a></p><p style="font-weight:bold; font-style: italic; text-align:center;">This infographic first appeared in <a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/08/make-apps-customers-want.html" target="_blank">Small Business Trends</a>.</p>

How do Business Needs Align with Customer Desire?

One interesting detail we uncovered while researching the infographic was this chart from Clutch:

So, how closely did the top three reasons in the chart above align with what small business customers want your app to do? Are there ways to make both sides happy?

As the statistics in both the infographic above and the table below demonstrate, there sure are!

Reason Businesses Created a Mobile App	What Your Customers Want Your Mobile App to Do
Increase Sales	40.4% of branded retail app users bought more of the store’s products and services (source) One loyalty program member spends up to 13% more than two non-members (source) 51% are more likely to buy something in-store if they receive a coupon on their mobile device while near a store (including 63% of 18-34 year-olds, 43% of 35+) (source)
Improve Customer Experience	Two of the top reasons customers use restaurant apps are: order food online (30%) and make a reservation (23.8%) (source) Clients book appointments when it’s convenient for them, 35% scheduled when the business was closed (source)
Become Competitive in the Market	64% of affluent app users say they view brands with mobile apps more favorably (source) 60% of mobile coupon users say they will “gladly switch brands to use a coupon” (source) Out of branded retail app users: 45.8% visited the store more often, 35.8% told a friend about their shopping experience, and 30.8% encouraged friends to visit the store (source)