If you want your business to be competitive in this Information Age, there are two things you need in your arsenal: brand and mobile application. Not just ordinary brand and mobile application, but a unique and memorable brand and an easy-to-navigate and insightful mobile application. This means that as a business, you need to shop for a top branding company and a top mobile app developer.
So what exactly do branding companies and mobile app development companies do?
Branding agencies vs. mobile app development companies
Of the two, entrepreneurs are not too sold on the idea of hiring a branding agency. Most of them think it’s an added cost that a business could do without. Perhaps, moments down the road, when the business has made more than enough money, then it can spare some for branding. But iOS and Android apps are a different story. Even the non-techy entrepreneurs know how important developing web and mobile app is. In this technology-dependent era, not a lot of businesses would survive without an online presence.
Entrepreneurs who are not convinced about the importance of branding are usually those who don’t understand it. Perhaps they are the people who didn’t realize that Ziploc is a brand. The generic term is self-seal plastic bag. Ziploc is the name of a company that makes reusable and resalable zipper storage bags. But a lot of people have been using the term Ziploc for these self-seal plastic bags even if they were made by a different company. That is what branding does. Ziploc did so well in its branding game that it almost became a common noun rather than a proper one. The same goes for Kleenex. How many times have you heard people offer their “Kleenex” even though they are extending a facial tissue made by another company? That is branding at its finest!
Don’t ever say that branding is not important, because it can feature the basic structure from which every other business approaches, including a whole range of mobile framework, base their product or service developments on. When your business has established a distinguishable personality, the work of software engineers and the mobile app development company becomes reasonably easier. They just have to work around that brand to develop high-quality application.
Multi-channel marketing strategy
The Digital Age calls for more cutting-edge marketing strategies. While print and broadcast promos are great, you also need to realize that people spend a lot of their time on their phones. If your business targets millennials and the post-millennials, they spend more time on their phones than on any print or broadcast medium. So digital marketing becomes a primordial promotional tool.
The social media channels may be free but if you want a catchy curated content, then you have to tap marketing strategists for that. But another way to capture an audience and latch on to them in a bid to convert that into a market is through the strategic development of web apps and mobile apps. Mobile apps are the best way to reach out to your market. Who doesn’t have a phone these days? This is why it is also important that as a business, you have a list of the top mobile app development companies around.
Cohesion between brand and application
The mobile app development customization should have the guidance of the branding firm, marketing strategist and a healthy dose of input from a user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) designer. A mobile app is an opportunity to reach a vast audience with a wide range of influence. Not only that, there is potential to develop a global brand through the mobile apps. But of course, the app should be well thought-out, easy to use, and consistent with the business identity in order to prompt brand recall. Developers should also make sure that the program doesn’t favor an operating system. The computer application should have the iOS and Android app development, as well as other support software out there.
The mobile app is the business’s link to its target market. It is a way to send out messages to its clientele as well as promote special products or services, and announce special sales or other important business developments. You might even consider the app a direct link between the company and its customers. After all, the potential client only needs to download the mobile app and connection is made. The audience no longer has to search the internet and think of keywords to connect themself to the brand. Even if the business has its own website, the implication of having a mobile app is still more convenient—the client doesn’t have to type the website anymore. All they need to do is click on the image button on their phone.
Identifiability and accessibility
Speaking of that button, it goes back to branding. It helps if your brand—indicating your name, logo and tagline—is identifiable. Reaching out to audiences and encouraging them to download your app is easy when you are easy to distinguish. Say a person is browsing through his app store. While doing so, that person was summoned by your business’s app icon because it was unique and distinguishable. That is the first part of hitting your market.
Now how do you make sure that the people who downloaded your app actually use them? Make sure that the layout and template of the app is beautiful and easy to look at. These are two different things because a chaotic look may still be beautiful. In fact, an abstract painting may look pleasing but it is not easy to understand. A user interface should be attractive while easy to understand at the same time. A mobile app user may buy your product or service if you make it easy for them. Make sure that convenience and accessibility are high on the priority list of the mobile app developers.
Getting a company that will ensure that branding and mobile app development are cohesive, innovative and strategic may not be that easy. But digital product design agency Ramotion, which is based in San Francisco, is among the few companies that provide a holistic approach to business when it comes to branding and digital marketing.