In an increasingly complex and competitive corporate world, many business owners are turning to mobile apps to reach out and serve prospective customers. For example, digital real estate marketing companies like Zillow and Trulia are using application development to reach 36 and 23 million website visitors each month.
As with most business-related apps, a well-designed real estate application adds value to your services by allowing buyers to access more listings, providing agents with a broader marketing platform, and refining the entire real estate investment experience with customization options and filters.
Statistics prove that consumers crave these value-added services and platforms. According to Apptopia, the Zillow real estate app broke it’s own record in August, 2020, by attracting more than 2 million daily active users (DAUs)
If you want to tap into numbers like that, you need a mobile app.
Creating a custom real estate app for your company isn’t as difficult as it seems. Lacking in-house IT talent, you can outsource your real estate application build to a professional developer and follow our checklist to ensure a successful launch.
What Goes Into Creating an App?
Several different elements should be taken into consideration when budgeting for app creation. The more complex the application, the more it will cost to build and maintain. This leaves the question of what to include and what you can do without.
At minimum, any good app should include:
User Profiles
Profile creation should be available for end users and staff or vendors. Potential customers won’t be the only people using your app. Most types of businesses also need login fields, portals, and profile databases for their employees.
For example, sales representatives should be able to use the app to create calendars and schedules, prospect lists, and client profiles. If the app is for a business with physical inventories, warehouse workers and supervisors should have separate access to those areas.
Customers should be able to create a profile so that you can personalize their buying experience and service levels. Including an administrative dashboard will allow you to track important information about the number of users and their activity while using your app, which is essential for refining your marketing and client outreach strategies.
Database of Products or Services
This is the bread and butter of your app. You’ll need a rather large, scalable database with room to add things like new product lines or listings. Cloud-based storage works best because it’s expandable enough to grow with your business, accessible from anywhere, and virtually limitless.
Customers should also be able to create a wish list of products to buy in the future or properties they’re interested in viewing, if you’re creating an app for real estate purchases or rentals. These lists and databases should be easy to create, alter, or delete as the customer’s needs and interests change.
Point-of-Sale (POS) Interface or Shopping Cart
Many business apps are also intended as a sales portal for eCommerce, so customers need a way to finalize their purchases. ECommerce platforms like WooCommerce include shopping cart software that can be easily integrated into your app’s functionality.
Privacy Statement
This is an especially important compliance issue if your app will be used by customers in areas that require notification about data collection and storage. In any event, users want to know exactly what information you’ll collect, how it will be used, and how it will be stored or disposed of when you no longer need their information.
Miscellaneous Additions
You could investigate the benefits of adding in-app advertisements for partners or related businesses, but make sure to notify users of the presence of such ads. Other features to consider include a means of creating and storing a list of favorited or viewed products.
Customers should have several ways to reach you when they need customer service or technical assistance. Rather than just providing your email address, they should be able to contact you via online chat, call a customer service representative, or message your company via SMS.
While loads of features are nice, the performance and security of your app are two of the most important elements. That makes your developer a key player in your app creation and launch, and it will affect the final cost of development.
Now that you know what should go into an app and the approximate cost, this checklist will make it easier to plan and track your development and launch.
– Determine the purpose of your app
– Conduct market research. Who are your main users and what do they need?
– Set a budget
– Find a developer who understands your industry and requirements. Make sure to determine in advance the extent of their involvement. Will they handle front end design, back end coding, or both? How much of the development is handled in-house and how much is outsourced? Is ongoing support included? How many apps have they designed, and what is their security standing regarding past breaches or other issues?
– Determine what features and functions you’ll need according to your budget, target audience, and features
– Set a launch date
– Perform A/B testing of various elements (prior and post production)
– Build buzz about your app release
– Launch your app!
Conclusion
Use of business apps has increased by 40 percent over the past year, and this reliance is only expected to increase in the future. If you want to remain competitive in the 21st consumer marketplace, mobile apps are the way to go.
There are no guarantees. But, following the above guidelines will provide you with a solid foundation to increase your odds of attracting lots of satisfied users.