Going Mobile - An Introductory Guide Part 3 - Creating a Mobile App

In the last post of the “going mobile” series, I discussed the importance of businesses setting up mobile websites. A second opportunity for entering the mobile space that business should evaluate is if a mobile app is right for their brand and a fit within their business strategy. A mobile app differs from a mobile website in that it is a piece of operational software that is installed on the device and available offline. Whereas a mobile website is accessible through the mobile browser, the app is accessed generally by an icon specific to the app on the device desktop.
Recent studies show the average smartphone user is now spending more time throughout the day using apps than browsing the web through the mobile browser. So what types of apps are people using most? Game play represents the largest category, followed by weather, social networking, navigation, music, and news.
So, should your organization rush out to create an app? Maybe not. Before you rush into building a new app, determine how this really fits into your strategy – keeping in mind that a strategy reflects the needs and objectives of both the business and the customers. While every business would love to have customers that eagerly await their press releases, latest news, and carefully review the details of their business on a regular basis, this may not really equate to the customer’s needs and desires. “If you build it, they will come” may work for a baseball field in Iowa, but doesn’t hold true to an app for your business. Convincing people to first download your app, and then to use it regularly can be a difficult sell depending on the type of app you have to offer.
Don’t write off creating an app just yet, though. Although an app doesn’t fit into the strategic model for every business, it is equally fair to say that apps do represent a very significant successful contributor to the strategy of other organizations. Given the volume of time spent by consumers using apps, and the value consumers perceive in apps (spending an estimated $3.8 Billion in 2011 in app stores), it is certainly a worthwhile consideration if an app should be part of your strategic roadmap.
Does your business posses some kind of information, service, or other offering that customers will want to access often or when they are offline? Does this need correspond to a benefit to the business – to better serve the customer, drive additional revenue, attract new customers, or compete against competitors to maintain customers? If so, than perhaps an app is the right approach. Get creative. Be innovative. Engage industry experts to help identify how a mobile app approach fits into your business strategy. It comes down to a straightforward value comparison for both the business and consumer. For the consumer – does the app provide a benefit (time saver, entertainment, satisfy a need, etc.) that is more valuable than the time (and, depending on your model, price) of downloading AND using the app (don’t forget – downloading the app is only half the battle, there has to be a value to encourage the user to continually use the app)? For the business, does the value towards strategic goals generated from offering the app (revenue, customer service/loyalty, etc.) exceed the development and maintenance costs of the app? If the answer to both of these is yes – than an app represents a great opportunity for your business to meet its goals.
Once you’ve identified that an app is a fit for your strategy, the next step is determining your technical approach. Depending on the needs of the app, you may select to develop it using cross platform development tools, or native development. A cross-platform development technique allows a single application to be created for accessibility across different device categories (smartphones, tablets, etc.), device manufacturers, and operating systems (iOS, Android, etc.). Cross platform yields a larger market segment across devices at a lower cost, but you heavily trade a more “natural” experience specific to the device and the deep level of device integration. For simpler apps that are highly general information based, this may be a great approach. Native development is created in a programming language more specific to a particular operating system (iOS, Android, etc.). Native development yields apps that are highly customized to the specific device with a natural feel and a clean integration with all of the features of the device, but results in multiple implementations and a higher cost. Identifying your specific organization, customer, budget, and app needs can help determine the appropriate approach technique.
While determining your approach, you must also consider what types of devices to target. Should you target iOS, Android, or both? Should you target smartphones, tablets, or both? These are critical decisions that can be identified only through an evaluation of your customers, your business goals, and the specifics of your app.
Although the discussion on apps has been centered around a business launching a public facing distributed app, it is also important to quickly note that apps can also be highly effective towards meeting organization objectives as internal apps. Internal apps represent an opportunity for empowering efficiency within a mobilized workforce, as well as providing additional customer service opportunities through increased availability to systems and information from the field. Organizations may find opportunities to use third party mobile apps already built for their internal systems, or create new custom apps, to gain a significant competitive advantage with access and efficiency away from the desktop.

Going Mobile - An Introductory Guide Part 2 - Mobile Websites

Looking back 10 years, and perhaps even less, many businesses were saying “We don’t need a website”. The profound impact the Internet has had on commerce in the modern culture has made a clear and compelling case that every business has a need for a website, and few would argue the value of at least a minimal web presence today. In much the same way, the explosive growth in mobile consumer patterns shows a need for businesses to cater to the browsing experience on a mobile device.

This second installment of the four part “Going Mobile” blog series highlights mobile websites - one of the most basic, and most important, approaches a business or organization can take in establishing a mobile presence. Once an organization has determined their business strategy by evaluating customer needs and business goals, the mobile website can be an effective tactic in implementing their strategy and connecting with customers in the mobile space.

A mobile website can simply be thought of as a website that is formatted in content, design, and experience to work with a mobile browser. While mobile browsers are able to browse standard Internet websites, the smaller screen size, nature of the device, and limited functionality of the browser yield many websites either inoperable or challenging to view and navigate. Traditionally, mobile customers have been accepting of these limitations. However, as the novelty of these devices wavers and they become the norm, the acceptance of a less than optimal mobile experience will quickly fade, becoming a liability for businesses that ignore this need. Just as businesses have come to understand their website as the virtual face of their company, a poorly functioning mobile presence provides an undesirable image of the company to mobile users.

An effective mobile website is more than simply a translation of the current Internet website to fit the screen size. The user experience design is absolutely critical for your site. Identify and understand the needs and objectives of both your organization and your customers as it pertains to your overall strategy in the context of a mobile device. Using this understanding, create the navigation, flow, aesthetics, and content for the site. Avoid long text, extensive scrolling, and deep background details in favor of more situational-aware concise and current information.