Which Mobile Strategy is Best for Your Company? (Mobile App vs. Mobile Website)

There’s no denying that Mobile usage is sky-rocketing and continues to do so.  According to CTIA “Wireless Association,” 91 % of the US population own mobile devices.  With that in mind, mobile devices are becoming a key outlet for companies to market their products and/or services.  Having a mobile app or website could be one of the most competitive advantages to selling your products or services.  That being said, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when choosing between the two (2) mobile marketing strategies, for both have their “pros” and “cons” .

A Mobile website is identical to a regular website.  You are still being directed to the site by typing in the “url.”  The only difference is the way it looks on a mobile device compared to a computer screen.  The mobile device screen is small, so if you are a company trying to direct an important message, you want the user to be able to visually see the important aspects of the site; thus, design is less important.

There are numerous advantages to using a mobile website.  The main advantage to choosing this marketing strategy is it’s relatively less expensive if you’re on a tight budget.  Your target audience can be anyone with an internet connection and mobile device, allowing your users to search your website using a particular search engine, such as:  “google,” or “bing.”  Other note-worthy advantages are that it’s easier to maintain and update contents from the website.  Also, this strategy enables the consumer to save space on their hard drive since there isn’t a need to download the application.  They just browse the site with their built-in browser.  Some disadvantages to the mobile website strategy is that the website won’t be visual-friendly.  Since the screen is so small in size, there is only limited space to get your company’s message out.  You want to worry more about the text INSTEAD of colors and graphics.  Another negative - you can’t take advantage of the mobile device’s hardware (GPS, microphone, camera) and interact with the website.

A Mobile App is a piece of software that has to be downloaded onto the mobile device.  Depending on what the goal of the app is, companies can use this app to allow consumers to become aware of their product, or they can even use this strategy to make money.  (For example, charging the consumer a monthly fee for using the app.)  The main advantages of creating a mobile app is that it has better user interaction; better graphics; better design; can take advantage of the mobile device’s hardware (GPS, microphone, camera); in most cases can be used without internet connection; and having an mobile app will enable your company to be better known, publicly.  Some disadvantages to this strategy are that making mobile apps can be pretty pricey.  There are combinations of different operating systems depending on the type of mobile device you have.  This means that you have to create an app for each operating system you want to target, so if you want to target Android, IoS, and Windows Phone 7, you have to create three (3) different apps since they all use a different technology.  It’s also more difficult to update and maintain the contents in your app; for example, if you target IoS, before your app goes public, you have to get it “approved” by Apple first.  This can take a bit of time to do so, and could be a hassle if you switch your content often.

Regardless, whether you choose to make a mobile website or a mobile app, it’s essential for a company to have one of these strategies in today’s world. Which strategy will you choose?