The app development market is growing each year, and this is no surprise since modern consumers can’t imagine spending a day without their smartphones. In this climate, it’s only natural that organizations are deploying a growing number of apps to create stronger interactions with partners and clients.
Even brands that aren’t directly focused on offering mobile applications can benefit from creating customer-facing solutions. Mobile apps have become an essential part of the media and software landscape since they were launched.
In other words, offering user-facing apps is more important than ever but developing one isn’t so simple. Creating a substandard solution will only damage your organization and make your brand look unreliable.
The customer-facing concept isn’t just tied to apps. It’s a way of communication or interaction with clients, and you can do it in person as well. These apps can also serve customer support and take the role of a website.
All the apps that can be accessed directly by users are user-facing. These apps have all kinds of purposes, including product returns, resolving disputes, vendor integration, content management systems, etc.
Customer-facing apps are front-end solutions, but they work together with back-end products to provide the best possible experience to users.
User-facing applications make perfect sense for B2B companies like Walmart or B2C platforms like Facebook. They are super-convenient for customers and allow them to access your brand while on the go, no matter where they might be.
If you’re offering a broker, agent, vendor, or customer portal, it’s possible to customize all segments to deliver the best experience possible. One of the most significant advantages of these apps is that they provide instant access, leading to revenue growth, especially when using these solutions for customer service.
The app store also lets you find potential clients passively. On the other hand, it’s easy to find competing apps and create ads focusing on their users. It’s a good way of staying competitive, especially if your app offers something new.
Having an app shows that your business is professional and willing to invest in new things to promote growth. It’s vital in the B2B industry, where potential partners are likely to thoroughly research a company before engaging.
In reality, it’s not about your business at all. It’s about consumers being used to their mobile devices and interacting through them. Many people simply prefer native apps with smooth interfaces and ease of use to engage with brands.
Talk about functions and what kind of interface would work best for them. Test out your options and see what your customers are focused on. If not, you might end up investing a lot of time and money in creating an app that your customers won’t use.
Companies want to offer the latest solutions and adopt technologies that will enable them to put forward those solutions quickly. More importantly, companies need to get connectivity at a low price. SD-WAN is one of the latest hits in connectivity, and it optimizes WAN technology for more affordable, flexible, and faster connectivity.
If possible, get at least one developer from outside your business. It’s generally a good idea to have someone involved in the project without subjective bias. When looking for the right person, make sure that you have good communication that’s open and full of mutual understanding.
Consult with developers about prototyping and discuss all of the essential details. After all, you are the one who has to decide if an app is ready for launch, so you need to know what it wants to do and how.
If you are behind on your schedule finishing the app and don’t have the resources to extend the whole process, consider cutting your losses and removing some less essential features.
Even brands that aren’t directly focused on offering mobile applications can benefit from creating customer-facing solutions. Mobile apps have become an essential part of the media and software landscape since they were launched.
In other words, offering user-facing apps is more important than ever but developing one isn’t so simple. Creating a substandard solution will only damage your organization and make your brand look unreliable.
Defining customer-facing applications
Customer-facing applications are connected to all business systems, and they let customers directly interact with a business. User-facing functions have a lot of value, and they help you understand consumer needs or provide solutions to a variety of problems.The customer-facing concept isn’t just tied to apps. It’s a way of communication or interaction with clients, and you can do it in person as well. These apps can also serve customer support and take the role of a website.
All the apps that can be accessed directly by users are user-facing. These apps have all kinds of purposes, including product returns, resolving disputes, vendor integration, content management systems, etc.
Customer-facing apps are front-end solutions, but they work together with back-end products to provide the best possible experience to users.
How customer-facing apps help your business
User-focused approaches and apps add a lot of value to your business and help create meaningful relationships with customers that last for a long time. These services can be focused on applications and hardware interactions with clients, but they aren’t limited to these things.User-facing applications make perfect sense for B2B companies like Walmart or B2C platforms like Facebook. They are super-convenient for customers and allow them to access your brand while on the go, no matter where they might be.
If you’re offering a broker, agent, vendor, or customer portal, it’s possible to customize all segments to deliver the best experience possible. One of the most significant advantages of these apps is that they provide instant access, leading to revenue growth, especially when using these solutions for customer service.
More people can learn about your brand
The app store is an excellent place to market a business. App store search optimization and different forms of advertisement can be powerful tools for spreading brand awareness. Yes, there’s a lot of competition on app stores, but lower compared to the Google search engine.The app store also lets you find potential clients passively. On the other hand, it’s easy to find competing apps and create ads focusing on their users. It’s a good way of staying competitive, especially if your app offers something new.
Consumers are going mobile
Over six billion people globally use mobile phones, and that number keeps growing. It’s clear that mobile is the present but also the future. No business can neglect this fact and ignore millions of potential customers regardless of the industry.Having an app shows that your business is professional and willing to invest in new things to promote growth. It’s vital in the B2B industry, where potential partners are likely to thoroughly research a company before engaging.
Another customer channel
Lots of businesses don’t feel investing in an app is worthwhile. They have other channels that operate similarly and think customers wouldn’t mind trying them out.In reality, it’s not about your business at all. It’s about consumers being used to their mobile devices and interacting through them. Many people simply prefer native apps with smooth interfaces and ease of use to engage with brands.
The recipe for a successful customer-facing app
Five essential factors contribute to the overall success of your solution. They are all equally important, so don’t neglecting any of them.Reliable speed
Speed is a crucial factor for all apps, including customer-facing ones. First of all, make sure to provide a good download time – it all starts from there. However, it also needs to work fast when used. If your app takes too long to perform an action, users will probably get frustrated because they’re used to certain standards in terms of speed.Intuitive navigation
Everyone owns a smartphone today. People use apps daily, and they have a variety of apps on their devices at any given moment. Consumers don’t have the time to learn how to use an app, and they will instantly switch to another one. The goal is to create an intuitive app that people can start using right away.Offer clear value
It might sound obvious, but many apps today don’t offer real value to customers. Your app needs to give consumers some relevant information they can’t find anywhere or provide a service there’s a need for. You must also align your app with your marketing materials on different platforms because consistent branding speaks volumes about your company.No bugs
Bugs are one of the most annoying things. In fact, a recent survey showed that 88% of app users would give up on using an app if it had bugs. A reliable system goes a long way, and apart from keeping your customers loyal, it can also build trust in your brand. Invest time in testing your app rigorously before launching it.Compatibility with platforms
You should offer versions of your app for both key demographics – iOS and Android users. Launch your app both on Apple Store and Google Play and work on optimizing it for both devices.Tips on creating a successful app
Now that we’ve mentioned the key ingredients for a great app let’s see how you can achieve them. We’ll talk about some of the more "general" approaches that will affect these five ingredients directly or indirectly.Learn what your customers have to say
Developing a product for your customers without consulting them isn’t the right way to go. After all, they’re the ones who will be using it. Start by asking them about what they want from an app in terms of what value it brings to them.Talk about functions and what kind of interface would work best for them. Test out your options and see what your customers are focused on. If not, you might end up investing a lot of time and money in creating an app that your customers won’t use.
Use SD-WAN
Companies need to create user-facing applications, but they also need to make their products readily available. It’s important to invest in available connectivity combined with reliability as this is the lifeblood of modern business.Companies want to offer the latest solutions and adopt technologies that will enable them to put forward those solutions quickly. More importantly, companies need to get connectivity at a low price. SD-WAN is one of the latest hits in connectivity, and it optimizes WAN technology for more affordable, flexible, and faster connectivity.
Find good developers
You can’t settle for a subpar developer. We mentioned earlier that apps could have lots of bugs and other issues that might present themselves at one point. On the other hand, it’s essential to consider future updates and upgrades when developing an app and maintenance.If possible, get at least one developer from outside your business. It’s generally a good idea to have someone involved in the project without subjective bias. When looking for the right person, make sure that you have good communication that’s open and full of mutual understanding.
Invest in prototyping
In the past couple of years, UI prototyping has become crucial. Companies relied on basic sketches that simply couldn’t put all the elements together. A variety of prototyping tools available today can showcase what kind of user experience an app would provide even before it’s developed.Consult with developers about prototyping and discuss all of the essential details. After all, you are the one who has to decide if an app is ready for launch, so you need to know what it wants to do and how.
Conclusion
Developing highly effective software is not an easy task, but it’s possible. If you want to do this right, you must invest plenty of time and effort. Set your goals and stick to them. Remember that circumstances change pretty often in app development.If you are behind on your schedule finishing the app and don’t have the resources to extend the whole process, consider cutting your losses and removing some less essential features.