When it comes to apps, there are certain industries that obviously need them: restaurants, department stores, streaming services, things like that. However, other businesses outside of those who need to realize the benefits of having an app. One of those is the brand recognition that comes from people seeing your logo everything they scroll through their phone. On a deeper level, an app can streamline interactions with your customers and allow for easy access to your products or services. So let’s take a step outside of the box and look at different industries that would gain from having an app.
Fitness
There are a few gyms that have invested in an app, Planet Fitness for example, but not many. More fitness centers ought to embrace the idea of using this technology. An app would allow customers to book an appointment with a trainer or a class. You could post instructional videos on exercises or what diets are the most beneficial. The app could also track users athletic progress. Which would be incredibly useful if linked to a health app like Google’s Fit. An app would also make it quick and easy for people to sign up for a membership wherever and whenever they want.
Retail/Wholesale
Even if you’re not a big box store, or one of the bigger mall chains, an app could be beneficial. You’d allow customers easy, casual access to your products. Through the app, post how-to videos or promotional material about the latest item you’re selling. A membership system could reward loyal customers with special offers like exclusive coupons or early access. Not to mention how useful push notifications would be to promote sales! There’s also the factor of when in-person shopping eventually returns. A easily accessible map of where everything in your store is located, in your app, could be greatly appreciated. One great example of this is the craft store Michael’s app. Not only does it say whether a particular branch has that item, it also tells the user what aisle it’s located in. Another benefit to an app would be how easy coupons are to use. Not only can you can the barcode when they show it on the app, but they could easily attach a coupon to their order when buying a product through it.
education
On the student-to-teacher front, we have programs like Canvas or Clever. But as we’ve witnessed during online learning in this pandemic, it can be a struggle to keep everyone in the loop and on the same page. Some schools are sending email after email to parents, only for them to be lost to the spam folder. Which can be a serious problem when it’s about something important like grades or the attendance of the child. An app would allow for easier communication between all parties involved. The UI could make it clear as to how parents can contact teachers as well as the other way around. Signing forms could also be made easy by allowing parents to use electronic signatures when approving things through the app. Schools could also promote events through push notifications.
Healthcare
With the healthcare field, there would be a number of obstacles that could potentially make an app difficult to implement. Such as insuring that everyone’s private information is protected. However, once that’s resolved, imagine how nice it would be for a patient to book an appointment through a couple of clicks on an app. Or access their prescriptions. All without having to make a phone call, or fumbling with the confusing web portal. Even separate from any patient needs, an app solely for medical practitioners would be extremely useful in regards to logging or accessing the information they need to do their jobs.
Real Estate
There are apps for people looking to buy or sell their property, but often they’re not particularly that useful. A real estate agency with it’s own app would give them all the benefits of something like Zillow, the appointment booking, the ability to communicate with clients, all without having to also show the listing of competitors. An app could also let the client see up to date information on the property with ease. John L. Scott is one of the few agencies who’ve already realized the potential of an app.
Conclusion
Apps can be extremely versatile so long as you set a goal for their use. So many businesses have apps that are just poorly transferred mobile versions of their websites. Often they are slow and clunky to navigate. By building a proper app, your consumers will be able to have an enjoyable experience while using it. They’ll want to open the app, they’ll want to do business with you. In many of the industries mentioned in this post, only a handful of businesses have any sort of app. You could be ahead of the game by utilizing a tool so readily available to anyone who has the finances and knowledge to make it work. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not an app is right for your business, contact us at ScannedMedia. We’d be happy to discuss with you how a mobile app can specifically help in an industry like yours.