Let Your App Do the Talking

Web and mobile apps are the technology of today. Rather than accepting static information, customers expect and appreciate interactive software. While custom software development provides many benefits, one of the key advantages for business owners is communication. Customer service is the key to return business and regular patronage, and the heart of customer service is good communication. It doesn’t take long for a growing business, however, to develop a customer base significantly larger than its customer service staff. A custom app can solve this difficulty. Custom software development services can create an app for your company that handles everything from estimates to feedback.

Estimates


Companies who must provide estimates for potential customers face a potential loss of time and resources with every query. While those losses are usually covered by successful sales, it’s possible to avoid much of those costs. Rather than keeping a knowledgeable employee chained to the phone, you can create an app. By and large, estimates are based on a series of regular criteria. A roofer, for instance, needs to know the size of a roof and the customer’s choice of roofing material in order to make a reasonable estimate. While most homeowners may not know the size of their roof, they probably know the approximate square footage of their homes. They can also recognize the style of their roof. It wouldn’t be difficult for custom software development services to create an app with a feature to help determine roof size. Obviously, serious customers would need a second estimate with an exact measurement. However, a multiple choice app could save a roofer serious money and labor by weeding out curious window shoppers. An app that provides estimates also provides introductory customer service, saves time and money, and seeds your company’s name in the minds of shoppers not yet ready to commit.

Demos


Some industries cannot have effective demos through an app. Skin care and beauty treatments are prime examples. However, a little creativity goes a long way, and you might be surprised how many companies use demos in their apps to help make a sale. Pizza delivery companies were among the first adapters to mobile software and app technology. They are true masters of the app. When customers order a pizza, the interactive software adds toppings to their virtual pizzas before their very eyes. It’s tantalizing and practical. It lets customers know how much of a topping they can expect. It allows them to play with their options. It makes the pizza seem real before the dough is even stretched. No one would have thought that food could have an effective demo through a flat screen, but it’s now the norm for many restaurants’ mobile software.

Orders


Today, a huge percent of purchases are made online. Customers order everything from fine jewelry to toilet paper through the same web app. Without an efficient online ordering system, you miss out on key sales. Mobile and web apps provide customers with immediate access to your products, increasing impulse buys. Since buyers almost always choose the closest option, it’s important to keep your business as close as their smart phone.

Custom software development allows businesses to provide all available options on the same screen. Customers should be able to customize and view ordered products before purchase. Even if a customized item isn’t made until the order is placed, apps can use base images with changeable scripts and colors to approximate the buyer’s choices. As discussed above, seeing is believing, regardless of whether a customer orders a personalized baby blanket or a pizza. Such visual features also help prevent accidental errors on the buyer’s part, leading to fewer returns.

Feedback


After ordering from your company, enjoying your products, and dealing with any direct customer service, your customers most likely want to leave feedback. Rather than subjecting employees to recording notes from phone calls, or expecting customers to write letters or emails, provide a feedback function on your app. This really is as simple as it sounds. Multiple choice rating systems allow you to see where your customer service could use improvement, and blank response sections allow customers to leave praise for specific employees or vent general frustrations with your product. Positive or negative, an app can provide customers the opportunity to leave feedback whenever they are ready.

A customized app answers questions and guides customers from initial interest to final purchase with minimal employee involvement. With the help of custom software development services, you can develop an app specifically designed for your business. By allowing your app to do the talking, you save time and labor that you can then reinvest in expanding and improving your business. An app also makes life easier for your customers. Apps reach them where they are, operate on their schedules, and provide thorough options they need in order to make informed purchases. In the end, a customer who gets what they want is a customer most likely to order again.