Why do brands and companies need an app?

Everyone is talking about how great iPhone and Android applications are, however not that many people have actually taken time and effort to sit down and compile a full list of why brands and companies should have an app in the first place.

Below is our take on this issue, however this document is work in progress and if you have more ideas – please let us know, we’ll add them to our list.

1. PR Tool – smartphone apps in general and iPhone apps in particular are a brilliant opportunity to contact the media and let them know about your company and brand. It doesn’t matter, whether you are a start up or well established brand – media loves to talk about iPhone apps and this is you chance to capitalize on that trend (while the novelty lasts).

2. Reach a specialized market – let’s face it, iPhone/smartphone users are a very peculiar cohort: IT-literate professionals, early adopters, internet-savvy – the target market at the time of writing is well defined. If your brand’s target audience is similar – what are you waiting for?

3. Improve branding and advertising – give it your best shot! Create something spectacular, something special, something unique – create an app-solutely stunning app. It’s a great opportunity to advertise your brand to a big wide world at a relatively low cost.

4. Be at the forefront of innovation – being at the forefront of innovation can be incredibly lucrative. Ask any big brand which created a web-site before its competitors did. Don’t be the one who wonders “what just happened”? Make things happen! The Planet of the Apps will be HUGE and the sooner you embrace change, the more opportunities you will have.

5. Revenues – smartphone applications can actually make you money. Depending on what your business is – you can cross-sell, up-sell and simply sell your products via the App Store. Some companies make decent money, a handful of brands managed to make a lot of money, however the vast majority of brands are still using iPhone apps as brand extensions.

6. Expectation – believe it or not, but a lot of IT-literate, smartphone-savvy, young professionals expect well-known brands to have an app now, so if you are a leader in your industry – you should start thinking of creating an app.

7. Compete with the big guns – it can be difficult to compete with the big guns on the product and service front, but on the App Store – all are equal. Create something unique and stand out from the crowd!

8. Competition – with more than 200,000 applications on the App Store, it is highly likely that your competitors do have an app for their products or services. If that is the case – you have to have one as well to keep up with the competition. If they don’t have – lucky you! Get one, to be a step ahead of your competition.

9. Get more customers, followers, fans – iPhone and smartphone users are a different breed altogether. You have a good opportunity to appeal to this great crowd. In normal circumstances they may never hear about your brand or use your services. With an iPhone app – you stand a much greater chance to appeal to this great crowd.

10. Additional form of contact, interaction and show-off – the more opportunities you have to interact with your clients and show-off your brand, the better. An iPhone app, if nothing else, can be one of those things which helps to you to provide additional point of contact to the outside world.