If your business isn’t mobile it will fall behind. That’s the simple truth. It is estimated that by 2017 the app marketplace will be worth $70billion per year. Every business big and small has an app of some description. Most of them are unfortunately poor at increasing sales significantly, but when a talented app designer and marketer creates a successful mobile application it can transform a business for the better.

But there’s more to it than simple sales; the reason so many businesses are releasing their own apps is because it builds brand loyalty – returning customers are the bedrock of a successful business model, and that’s just what an app provides.

Brand Loyalty and the Mobile Revolution

With a healthy number of loyal customers who trust your brand and will support it in the future, you have a steady stream of revenue. What’s more, when launching new products or services, your business will instantly receive a boost as those same consumers will come back to try your latest offering.

In the past brand loyalty was measured through “old” statistics – the number of return visits to a shop, the success of a reward card system, the breadth of products within a brand bought by one person etc. – but while these statistics can still be used, there is a much more powerful way to, not only measure brand loyalty, but to encourage it. That is, of course, through a mobile application.

Applications are increasingly becoming the main point of contact between existing customers and a brand. In the beginning apps were an afterthought with minimal functionality, but now businesses are realising that their apps can provide consumers with an enjoyable experience, advertising content, and a marketplace through which to buy products and services which can rival any retail unit or desktop website. Applications therefore create brand trust and impact via both their presentation and functionality.

In essence then, a customer’s entire experience of a brand can be formed by the design and efficacy of an associated app. If the experience is a positive one then brand loyalty will increase, if it is not, then it will wither.

Bringing Mobile Applications Together with Digital Marketing

A mistake which many companies make is to isolate their app development from other aspects of the business. The truth is that only when combining app development with a digital marketing campaign can real progress be made. By ensuring that an app takes into consideration advertising and promotional materials, your brand message, essential demographics, the marketplace, and other key facets of a successful digital marketing campaign; a business can produce an app which engages consumers correctly, promotes brand trust, funnels customers towards purchases, and, most importantly, creates a deep sense of brand loyalty.

For more information on how to develop a digital marketing campaign and a mobile application which will boost your sales significantly and nurture brand loyalty, please speak with one of our digital marketing experts who will be happy to assist you in any way they can.