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Seven Mistakes Harming Your Business’s Mobile Strategy
Lextech Global Services has developed mobile apps and strategies for businesses throughout the world, including several Fortune 500 businesses. Through his work with mobile technology, CEO and founder Alex Bratton has identified key areas where businesses can improve on current mobile strategies. Today, Bratton says, businesses are feeling so much pressure to develop apps, they may be destroying their own effectiveness. Bratton advises against simply creating a mobile version of your existing CRM or website.
“This hurried and incomplete approach leads to detrimental development mistakes, leaving businesses with a mobile presence that can hamper revenue growth, ROI and customer experience,” Bratton says. “This type of app wastes valuable IT resources and sets businesses up for failure.”
Bratton names seven specific mistakes businesses make when developing a mobile strategy.
- Creating a “Me Too” App. If the only reason your business is developing an app is to keep up with the competition, Bratton says you may be going into it for all the wrong reasons. ” Just because you’re afraid to fall behind in the market doesn’t mean it’s time to go mobile.” Determine whether or not there’s a real business benefit to developing an app.
- Lack of a Good Business Plan. Bratton has found many businesses leave specifics out of their business plan or, even worse, fail to develop a business plan at all. Careful planning can give your app direction, increasing your chance of having a ROA (return on app investment).
- Transferring Your Entire Website into Mobile. Bratton recommends the five percent rule: transfer only five percent of your web system’s typical content into your web app.
- Serving All Users with One App. Consider making a suite of apps, each tailored to a specific need of your end users. Bratton also recommends approaching app development on a task-level basis.
- Overlooking Offline Use. Your end users won’t be able to connect from everywhere. Consider creating an app that your end users can still access if they are unable to access wi-fi or cell phone towers.
- Only Testing In-House. If your technical team are the only ones testing the app, you may be missing feedback from those who matter most. Have end users test your app for the most valuable feedback.
- Trying Too Hard. Avoid excessive gimmicks to get users to download your app. “Instead, focus on the app’s professionalism, ease-of-use and value-added,” Bratton says.
Lextech focuses on creating apps that have professional, easy-to-use interfaces and integrate with a variety of platforms. Lextech’s apps have won the Bronze Edison award for Best New Technology Product of the Year, Coolest App and Most Monetized App from iOSDevCamp, and a Chicago Innovation Award. In addition to providing mobile web development and mobile planning, Lextech also focuses on customer support once an app has been deployed. Most recently, Sonic Automotive announced a partnership with Lextech to help take its online car-buying experience to the mobile format.
Ramon Ray, Editor & Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com
http://www.twitter.com/ramonray | http://www.facebook.com/smallbiztechnology
[email protected]
Small Business Technology Tour (Fall 2011)
http://www.smallbiztechtour.com
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2012-07-30 07:04:34
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