3 Ways to Open Clients’ Eyes to the Value of Mobile Development

As mobile developers and web designers, we are keenly aware of the paradigm shift in the software industry. We live in a post-PC world – PCs are not gone, but their reign is over. Smartphones and tablets rule and they are the dominant Internet connected devices today. We know that every business needs to adapt to mobile, if it wants to stay relevant.

But convincing clients to build a mobile-friendly website or mobile app is not easy. Most clients tends to view mobile apps or websites as add-ons to their websites; they feel that a business can take it or leave it. But in a world where tablets and mobile sales are consistently outstripping PC sales, companies that fail to deliver a quality browsing experience to their mobile customers will lose out.

It is the responsibility of the design and development communist to educate and persuade clients to invest in mobile websites or app development. Creating a responsive website, a separate mobile website or a mobile app means additional costs for businesses. How do you convince them to allot funds for mobile support? Here are three compelling business arguments you can offer to reluctant businessmen.

Highlight Mobile Opportunities and Threats

There are dozens of ways in which businesses can benefit from mobile application development: they can generate large profits on the app, increase sales through in-app purchases, market products and offer services through free apps, promote brand through business apps, etc. Internal mobile apps for enterprises and large organizations help boost employee productivity and responsiveness. Such mobile apps help increase employee engagement and impress business partners.

Mobile websites are not just opportunities – they are a need. Most people who use smartphones use their devices to read emails and browse the web. Just show your clients how difficult it is to view and navigate their PC-oriented websites on mobiles. Let them know that mobile is the new web. Demonstrate how well a responsive web design or mobile website renders on smartphones.

Point Toward the Competition

Several businesses tend to follow the lead of their competitors. Most non-technical clients use examples of their competitors’ websites to convey their idea of a good website or a good web strategy. Thankfully, half of the businesses around the world have mobile websites or mobile apps. One of the ways in which you can persuade your clients to consider a mobile option is by showing them how their competitors are using mobile.

You can pro actively find examples of companies in your client’s niche who are making a good use of their mobile websites or apps. Asking your clients to use a smartphone to browse competitors websites or apps (and comparing that experience with browsing their own website) can be a clincher.

Demonstrate Cost-Benefit Analysis

Whether you are dealing with a representative from the company, simply convincing him or her about the importance of mobile development is not enough. The person you are dealing with needs to convince a committee or a group of people about the shift toward mobile. Anyone who takes the initiative to go mobile will, quite possibly, face opposition from people in the company who do not think that it is a good move. Rosy dreams about opportunities offered by mobile, or the dangers of losing out to a competition that has already adopted mobile technologies are of no use for such clients. They need a concrete financial argument.

Show them how investing in a future-friendly mobile website is a much better idea than pumping money in a website that is restricted to PCs. A mobile website will last for a long time, but the desktop-based website would need to be changed in less than an year as loads of Internet users shift from PCs to mobiles. Also offer low-cost alternatives to clients – analyze whether it is possible to create mobile apps or websites using client’s existing design and IT resources.

Summing Up

Mobile is the wave of the future. It is your duty to educate clients about the scope and prevalence of mobile technologies. The lure of mobile market, the fear of competitors and the promise of good returns on investment are the factors that make it imperative for business to go mobile. Convey these ideas to your clients and make sure that they do not lose business in a mobile-dominated future.