By Steve Taggart
According to new research small business owners believe that having technology tools such as mobile apps makes them look good to their customers.
The survey by build-your-own app provider Appsme.com has revealed that improved customer perception is seen as the biggest overall benefit when it comes to investing in app marketing.
Restaurants, cafes and coffee bars feel their app has the biggest impact on customer perception (89%), followed by three quarters (75%) of hair and beauty businesses and 79% of health and fitness professionals.
The biggest benefits for all business owners were improved customer engagement (43%), “making the business look cool” (25%) and helping to retain customers (12%) through more regular contact and in-app features such as loyalty cards.
Health and fitness business owners came out as the most tech savvy (17%) with that industry most likely to launch a mobile business app. Shops and retailers are also high on the list (13%), followed by 10% of hair and beauty salons and 7% of restaurants and bars.
UK hotspots for small businesses with an app are:
London (30%)
Birmingham (14%)
Bristol (8%)
Glasgow (6%)
Southampton (6%)
Nick Barnett, CEO at Appsme.com, said: “Just as a shop sign, colour scheme and store presentation can make or break a sale, the use of technology to increase engagement and make life easier for customers can also have a huge impact on how the brand is perceived.”
Maybe in the future even your local greengrocer might have a fancy app, to persuade you to buy more broccoli, and looking at this research you probably will.