Quite often, when consulting luxury real estate professionals, we get asked, “should we have an app developed?” Creating an app should not be about having one for bragging rights. It should be about engaging the user, because it has value.
An app should give the user a transformative experience, something that the web site cannot do. For instance, Ford Motor Company has an app that can remotely start your car. This is particularly useful on a hot or cold day.
Paying with a smartphone is transformative. You do not have to take your wallet out, hand someone your credit card, watch him/her run it through the machine, and then put it back in your wallet. It saves steps and time, while keeping your credit cards safe.
So far, in our experience of working with two different app applications in real estate, neither one got off the ground successfully. No one downloaded it or used it. They both were just another way to view the website. Now, with responsive design, where the content format responds to the screen size of various devices, there is no need for an app.
We have erased most of the apps we have downloaded. We just did not use them. In the case of the airline apps, they did not work well and had annoying glitches. Unless you can develop a transformational experience that cannot be had on your website, the answer is to the question, “to app or not to app” is NO.
Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT: Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry. They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.