by Sam Furr, founder & Head of Product Strategy of Tappable
Businesses, no matter the shape and size, flourish by spotting new opportunities to solve problems. However, this doesn’t mean funding will be handed over to anyone with a bold idea. In fact, one of the most difficult obstacles for most businesses is convincing the main power houses (board members, directors, investors) to sign off on the budget needed to fully explore these opportunities; especially when it comes to investing in mobile technology, i.e. mobile app development.
Mobile app dependency has certainly grown in the world of business. From offering a better customer experience to streamlining internal operations, they have never been more crucial to satisfying the mobile-first customer and workforce. The world has gone mobile, and there is no turning back.
However, many businesses are still reluctant to make the first step into mobile apps. If you aren’t positioning your solution quite right, getting the final go-ahead from those in charge becomes almost impossible, stopping your idea in its tracks.
Yes, change is daunting, but the right change, partnered with experience of credible suppliers and partners, can help unlock the potential of mobile apps. From funded start-ups to large corporations, transforming a mobile app from a concept into a genuine product is just as achievable as building a website.
We’ll talk you through exactly how to identify a strong mobile app opportunity and make it irresistible to your company’s decision makers.
How Will Your Mobile App Opportunity Benefit the Business?
Opportunities in the business world originate from many places. Whether it’s streamlining in-house processes, new marketing possibilities, overcoming challenges or resolving pain points, all have one main purpose – to maximise revenue. Mobile apps can help you sell, improve communication channels, generate insightful metrics, or collect and process data more reliably than people could, the list of ways apps can contribute to your bottom line is endless.
For example, did you know 86% buyers are likely to pay more for a first-class customer experience? Well, introducing a mobile-first experience could maximise your chances of upselling to existing clients. This way, you’re getting true value out of your existing customer base.
In our (Tappable’s) experience, failing to establish this causal effect is one of, if not the biggest killer, for mobile app innovation. We’re not saying you can’t be emotionally invested in your opportunity, but you need to focus on exactly how it’ll benefit the business.
Researching Your Mobile App Opportunity.
To impress your company’s decision makers, how do you make sure your pitch is objective and professional? This is where your research comes in.
Start collating feedback from those who will actually be using the mobile app, i.e. customers or internal teams, so you know exactly what they struggle with. You could obtain this information by analysing support emails, reviewing live chats or conducting over-the-phone interviews. You might be shocked by the challenges and obstacles your audience has, and a mobile app could be the very solution to these problems.
You might find it particularly useful to focus on three core elements:
- The scale of a problem/opportunity
- The negative implications of not making a change
- The positive results that could be achieved in the opportunity is seized, now and in the future
Focus on the Benefits Instead of Cost.
If your opportunity is thoroughly researched, and you can express the true rewards it could have for the business, cost shouldn’t matter to the board. Cost should only matter when it comes to calculating ROI. For example, if your mobile app opportunity will cost £1million, but the return is £10million, it’s merely a cash flow matter.
Remember, ROI (return on investment), appears in many forms, not just raw profit. Perhaps your mobile app opportunity could provide ROI in one of these ways:
Employee Retention.
95% of employees say a mobile-first workplace is vital for improving employee retention rates. A mobile app could not only reduce overheads by enabling employees to work remotely, but also ensure the mobile workforce is just as efficient and productive as if they were in the office.
Cost Saving by Automation.
Fewer resources needed for tasks, e.g. eliminating administrative tasks that are repetitive or tedious for employees, so they can concentrate on exactly what they’re employed to do, instead of what could be easily automated.
Subscription Savings.
Based on research by Adobe on the growth of enterprise mobile apps, 69% of company departments are using between two and five enterprise mobile apps, while 27% are even using six or more. Look at how much your company is spending on third party subscriptions and compare it to the up-front cost of developing a mobile app. With its long-term rewards that can meet your business’ needs as it grows, creating a mobile app should come out on top. This will also generate enterprise value through adding a new IP.
Data & Insight.
Your mobile app could be used to gather customer feedback. Staff behavioural trends from back-end processes can be monitored to guarantee everyone is performing at their optimum level. These metrics will make a significant difference, as new opportunities could be identified from data trends that were previously unknown.
Convincing your company’s main powerhouses to invest in your mobile app opportunity isn’t always a walk in the park. However, if you research and correctly identify how your opportunity can provide solutions to existing business problems, your listeners will find it difficult to object.
Sam Furr,founder & Head of Product Strategy of Tappable, has been developing apps for over 10 years and founded a successful award winning, international digital app development & product design agency; Tappable. Whether you’re after a commercial, enterprise or consumer facing product, Tappable will help turn your opportunity into a mobile-first solution that delivers.
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Contributor, Khareem Sudlow
