Everyone struggles to win customers, and marketing campaigns become very expensive very quickly. You may think of custom software development as a back of house upgrade, but customers often discover your business through your web presence. This means your web or mobile apps will make that critical first impression. Simply making a pretty website leaves vast opportunities for marketing and sales untapped. By making the most of your custom software, you turn your app into a lure for customers. Make apps that can speak for you through user-friendly interfaces and options. Build safe websites and mention your custom security in ads and sales pitches. A well designed app can make the sale for you, from beginning to end. First, however, you must understand what your customers are looking for.
User-Friendly Apps
The best part of custom software development is design. Work with the developers from the beginning to achieve your goals, and you’ll be amazed what you can achieve. Although it’s important to consider what you want your software to do, it’s just as important to consider what you don’t want your software to do. Think of every user interface that has ever given you a headache, or every system that just can’t seem to get along with your operating system.
You don’t want your digital storefront, your web and mobile apps, to fall prey to these same flaws. Tricky or confusing software deters buyers and creates additional work. Think of your customers when you design your apps. What do customers like about your store or previous website? What complaints do customers share? Use this feedback as a roadmap to the ultimate user-friendly app.
All apps interact with the user, but the best engage users. A fun app draws more return customers than a boring one. Utilizing graphics, previews, and other features compatible with both traditional and touch screen interfaces adds an element of muscle memory to the impression your app leaves in the customer’s mind.
Selling Safety
Online security is a bigger issue than ever. When major browser and search engines like Google announce plans to remove unsecured websites from their results, customers take notice. To win customers, you must not only run secure apps, but also let customers know about your security through marketing. Custom software development provides the best, most secure software on the market. Not only is it tailored to suit your needs, but its unique design deters hackers and limits your vulnerability to attack. Since hackers use and share the same tricks and backdoors over and over again, they are less likely to attack unique software without familiar entry points. Even custom versions of existing software offer superior protection to off the shelf software, since developers use the latest, most secure additions with security updates and improvements.
Using Sales in Software
You already teach your employees how to sell product. They suggest additional purchases, compare benefits of different products when customers cannot decide, push credit and layaway options, and generally do their best to provide information and close the sale. Software isn’t as intuitive as a human yet, but it’s come a long way from the days of static text and pixilated images.
Today, custom software development offers web and mobile apps that can do much of your work for you, including a great deal of your sales. Using discrete suggestions and presenting a range of logical options helps connect customers to the right products. Your web and mobile apps should serve as an active guide for customers rather than a passive catalogue of your inventory. While you can provide chat options for customers who would like help or suggestions, by and large, your shoppers will go through your app alone. Think of your app as both a destination and an employee. It fills both these roles for potential customers.
Once upon a time, websites served as digital billboards. They had more information, but they served the same purpose. Customers needed to contact the seller, find a shop, or email an appointment request. Today, a huge number of transactions take place solely online. While it’s still important to provide information in case customers need to reach you, most prefer to do their own shopping. They interact with your app to make purchases, examine options, and even preview customizations. Your app must be user-friendly in order to make a sale, and it must use creative sales techniques to push additional merchandise. Customers care about ease and security. Use your custom software’s innate security as a sales point and allow the app to walk customers through a sale. Custom software wins customers, especially when it’s paired with careful marketing. There are always customers online, but they only want to shop with the best companies. Make sure your company represents itself well online. Remember, custom software development allows you to showcase the very best your business has to offer.
