The customer user experience (UX, also referred to in some contexts as CX) is at the centre of how successful an app development is. As the mobile app market value booms, the projection is that it will reach to a value of $935 billion USD in 2023 . Investing in a high-quality custom product is synonymous with investing in an organization’s customer experience. The rationale is that choosing a custom app is not just investing in the final product when opting to work with a custom mobile app development company; it’s actually investing in the expertise and experience of their team, their development process, their post-deployment support and maintenance services, and the ownership of an entirely unique product that has qualitative and quantitative value. The investment in a custom mobile app is not a standalone purchase with a static, one-off ROI. What we gain is so much more.
Mobile app development is, without question, a costly investment and a lengthy process for all stakeholders. When it comes to the expectations of the organization, there is an outlook of seeing serious returns on the resources allocated. In the hands of the right mobile app development company, investing in a custom product should only have a positive outcome. “First interactions with users should be designed to encourage lasting connections,” Anne Freer astutely identifies for the site Business of Apps, “Apps must deliver on their promise to be successful and be updated in good time.”
Specialist app development companies have the edge in the overall market and in particular for the development of custom products. Inarguably, this is due to their expertise in the industry and the fact that this kind of work is their bread and butter: it’s what they exist to do. In terms of the unexpected value, this is where the experts and their experience is truly priceless.
When it’s the right company to oversee a custom app development, a natural kind of synergy emerges due to the integration of experience, strategy, resources, and process. Further to this, the strategic investment in design, development, and maintenance of a custom product for an identified audience is about two areas of revenue generation: the return on investment and building overarching profits.
Satisfied, happy customers are major external stakeholders for any organization — commercial, private, non-profit, or government — and an app tailored to their individualized needs is the starting point for success in any mobile app development. This component of the customer experience and overall customer service can’t be ignored nor can it be undervalued.
From information to purchases, applications are a sales, service, and marketing platform that’s unique. Moreover, Yahoo! Finance reported in January 2022, via their ReportLinker vertical, that over 90 percent of customers used smart mobile apps as a customer experience channel. Writer Andrew Meola sums this up for Insider with the observation, “In a world of more options and technology seemingly every day, companies need to stay ahead of the curve to market themselves effectively, particularly as consumers shift more and more toward mobile devices.” For companies to deliver on their value proposition and reinforce the quality of their brand, a custom app has the edge with the DNA of customer needs to be built into every single aspect of the interface, visual features, user flow, coding, and design.
Now let’s discuss the measurable ways that opting for a custom mobile app development company’s services affects the customer experience:
It’s important to state a fundamental truth of business in the 21st century. Personalization is the number one way a customer will feel valued. In a 2021 report, McKinsey found that “Seventy-one percent of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions…And seventy-six percent get frustrated when this doesn’t happen.” They follow this with the statistic, “Furthermore, our research found that companies that excel at personalization generate 40 % more revenue from those activities than average players.”
There are plentiful options on the market for every app niche yet a unique product entirely for a target group is surprisingly rare.
The synthesis of function, features, and capabilities are all foremost in choosing between a custom or off-the-shelf app. If the goal is to drive a singular UX for customers that retain them and drives profits, then the choice is logically a custom app. In the development of apps, an off-the-shelf might be more appealing due to lower costs and faster deployment. Though understandable, the current expectations of customers might not allow for this and, increasingly, this just doesn’t cut it; there is transactionality in every part of a customer’s engagement with a brand, and a disappointing UX on a branded app can result in their departure.
The nature of the UX is going to shape how a customer reacts to an organization. Paul Skeldon writes – “Consumers are showing a growing preference for using apps, but they are much more circumspect about how brands running those apps communicate and interact with them.”
Overall, there’s extensive limitations to how much an application can be improved after launch in the App Store and Google Play. Investing in robust, agile, and scaleable custom applications, with options such as hybrid apps, that can reach Apple iOS and Android customers wherever they are is a sound approach. Their integration can also be with complementary apps which are another desirable dimension of UX. Off-the-shelf products may not be able to due to inflexibility with code and the extent of the solution offered.
From here, the place of a custom enterprise application in UX and macro customer experience for all businesses resounds abundantly. To summarize, the USP and brand identifier should be a company that stands apart from its competitors and delivers an outstanding UX in all aspects of its app. Being quick about development and deployment is crucial to a viable and valuable application. Don’t rush any part of the go-to-market process just to get the application launched and live in app stores.
There is value in custom applications, and, all custom products, that far exceeds the initial investment with McKinsey finding in 2021 that, “Across US industries, shifting to top-quartile performance in personalization would generate over $1 trillion in value.” An experienced mobile app development company will be able to achieve this and more. Additionally, always pay attention to App Store and Google Play data to see what’s trending and what’s possible. Don’t put limits on the approach or scope of reference for ideating a product. The disruptive and game-changing companies with apps that get people talking are looking to redefine their customer’s UX. This is where engagement and word-of-mouth marketing start. It’s a primary ingredient in building long-term loyalty in app usage and beyond.
