Custom software development is one of the most significant investments a business can make. In a highly competitive market, defined by multi-platform interaction and online conveniences, it’s essential to reach employees through their computers and phones. High demands for user friendly design makes finding the right custom software development services more difficult than ever. Even if you narrow your search to your business’s country of origin, there are still many development companies that may warrant your attention. How can someone focused on business results determine which developer will produce the best quality work?
Once you’ve cleared the competition’s smoke screen, it’s easy to see the advantages of hiring software development services locally. Not only can you work directly with their developers, they are also much easier to hold accountable for their work, and they might just pay you back in ways you never expected. All of these factors combine to make superior software products.
What is Local?
For some, local means a place within an hour of driving distance, as close as the farmers who bring their produce to local farmers’ markets. Others consider a county, state, or general region as local. Businesses may prefer to work with others in the New England area, for instance, and while this area includes several states, it may be suitably local to those businesses. Some would consider using American software developers from any part of the country as hiring locally. The closer a software development service is to you geographically, however, the more benefits you receive.
Keep your definition in mind when or if you consider using your choice to invest in local business as a sales point. Just as businesses have different definitions of local, consumers will have equally varied expectations.
Target Markets
Local companies are your neighbors, your teammates in business, and sometimes your competition. Local software developers have the same neighbors. They know how to win customers in the area, because they’ve watched local businesses rise and face challenges in person. Although nearly any developer in any part of the world could work on a serviceable application, local developers know the right questions to ask based on touring your operations, and that’s half the battle. A good development company can present your business’s roots in the local community and make introductions. Local developers are instinctively more likely to avoid topics and themes linked to regionally taboo subjects.
Many of these details would never strike a business owner until the damage is done. Imagine a Cincinnati business selling sports equipment. Their non-local developer does enough research to know that it’s football season, and the business owner likes the idea of a seasonal sports theme for a new app. When the new app launches, it hosts a theme reminiscent of Cleveland’s football team, the team that happens to be Cincinnati’s greatest rival. Even if this does not drive away local sports enthusiasts, it will not inspire the same excitement the business owner wanted. No matter how thoroughly you detail your plans, there will be things you are bound to forget. Since local developers have similar experiences and knowledge of the community, they act as a cultural proofreader, and a proofread product is always a better product.
Accountability
It’s always comforting to know that your developer is governed by the same laws and codes as your business. Having these rules in common goes a long way to ensure the quality of your developer’s product. Just as you must hold your business to certain standards to meet these local requirements, so must your software developer. This prevents potential snags in production and decreases the amount of information you must hand-feed your developer. It’s an effortless quality control measure.
There is also an extra incentive for developers to provide superior products for local businesses. They want you to be successful because your success is theirs. Although any successful contract is an opportunity to network and advertise, local work has the potential to yield more results. Not only is their work more likely to attract local talent for their staff, but getting a foothold in the local market is an excellent way to boost profits. Testimonials from other businesses or individuals a business owner personally knows will have far more weight than an impersonal report from a company on the other side of an ocean.
Mutual benefit is a powerful motivator, and business owners have a lot to gain by working with local developers. Local developers enjoy a series of advantages over the competition, and these advantages lead to better products. Since local developers know your audience, they tailor effective software that meets your needs. They can also better represent your business. Since local developers have as much to gain by working with local businesses as you do, they have an extra incentive to create excellent products. These will in turn earn your positive reviews, which will attract more local business for the developer. One benefit leads to another, ultimately leading to an excellent product.
