Considered Having Your Own iPhone App?

A few months ago, we looked at the importance of paying attention to the iPhone. Google has a businesses layer for Google Earth on the iPhone. AdMob released data indicating that the iPhone is by far the biggest smartphone in terms of market share, and Nielsen reported that the US mobile Internet market grew by 74% between February ’07 and February ’09. This was mostly due to smartphones.

Wouldn’t it be cool if your business had its own iPhone app? This could be difficult if you are not a developer. There are businesses that will actually create these for you though.

"The iPhone and its many varied applications have given businesses the opportunity to reach existing and new customers on the go, but many lack the resources, knowledge, or budget to create mobile apps in-house," says Magaly Chocano, CEO and founder of Sweb Apps, a company that creates apps for businesses that don’t have the engineering team or budget to create a personalized mobile app.

"With a personalized iPhone application, you give yourself legitimacy, sell more products, create a greater client base, and stay connected to your customers," says Chocano.

I am not endorsing Sweb Apps because I have never used it, but I will admit that this service is an intriguing one, and could be part of a large wave of such offerings as smartphones continue to gain popularity.

We’ve said time and time again that mobile is going to become increasingly hard to ignore, but we usually discuss this with regards to marketing and advertising. Apps are clearly a big direction that the mobile web is going in, and getting customers to use your app would keep your business at their fingertips for most of the day.

Keep in mind, people keep their phones on them a lot. If they have your app on their phone, you’re pretty much always in their pocket or by their side.