Short Survey about Mobile Apps for small shops and stores

[localme]

Hi everyone-

I'm gathering information about a potential tool for small shops or stores.

Please follow link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RVSMP7H

If you have any comments or feedback, please reply to thread.

Thanks for your help!

[Fulcrum]

I looked at the survey but stopped after the 2nd question. You shouldn't be asking how much someone would be willing to pay. If you're looking to build this app design program yourself you need to determine what your time is worth to you and not what I, or anyone else, might tell you what it's worth.

[localme]

You are right, thanks for notifying me to the problem. I removed the question.

If you are still willing to finish the survey, I would appreciate your input.

Thanks!

[Harold Mansfield]

I'll just chime in quickly. I didn't do your survey. Not because I'm not willing to help, but because you aren't giving me any incentive or reason to want to help you.

It's your first post and you didn't even bother to introduce yourself, tell us anything about you or your business, nor give us any information about the product that would entice us to want to help you get feedback. Even though your thing is in the development stage, you need to promote it and yourself or no one is going to give you their time.

You'd probably get much better feedback if people knew who they were talking to.

JMO of course.

[localme]

Hi-

I thought that giving less information would give me purer answers to my survey. Now I know that was a misstep. My apologies.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Cat Curran and I'm trying to validate a product that I think would fill a void in the mobile app and local business gap.

Here's the short pitch:

Mobile apps take a lot of time and money to develop and have a hard time providing enough value to take up customer’s precious storage space. Why not group apps in a collective app and use the power of numbers. Localme is a Platform that allows shop owners to create a custom app that lives within the Localme mobile app along with other local shops. Customers will benefit from having access to apps from their favorite local shops with customer rewards, in-app shops, notifications, and even paying from their app. Business owners can easily build their app using templates with enough customization to reflect their brand and on-demand features to create the mobile experience that fits their shop needs. We do all the research and development to provide the best features and keep up with ever changing technology.

I created the survey to get some information about the market and see if the product would be valuable to local business owners.

Any feedback or questions about the product or me are welcome and greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Cat Curran

[turboguy]

I tried to fill it out but did not fell like supplying my contact info which would not let me submit. I could be interested in an ap that could be easy to create but doubt anyone would download one that was just an advertisement. My Facebook page is better for that.

[Harold Mansfield]

Thanks for the info, I did fill out the survey and have a few thoughts.

Your survey assumes that businesses need or want apps, and you're asking about interest in features that already exist for businesses, many free of charge.
You quote some mobile usage and app stats that are generally true for large retailers, but when you dig deeper you'll see that getting people to download apps specific to a business is very hard. Many of them go unused and abandoned because they don't offer users anything special, and the ones that do have a dedicated team to keeping them so. You can't do that with a cookie cutter app template system and it's not cost effective if you're not a major retailer.

The average Mom and Pop small business does not need an app. A well built mobile friendly website will do much of what your listing as app features, and cost much less to build, and maintain.

If there is one area for opportunity, IMO, is an easy to use and integrate rewards program. However, there are already some big players in that space which integrate rewards programs into already existing payment apps like Apple Pay, Android Pay, the upcoming Samsung Pay, AMEX's Plenti, plus other independent rewards programs and apps that put them all on one place.

Things like maps and other features already available by Google for business are not features that users need to download app for. Anyone can easily get locations and such with a simple voice search. You can even list daily specials, download coupons, menus and much more. No app required.

I agree that app development is time consuming and costly, so you need to develop something that doesn't already exist, solves a problem for both businesses and consumers and even better...integrates into what people already using like current pay apps. People are very discerning with how many apps they put in their phones. You really need to do something special to get noticed and get people to actually use it.

IMO, just a general business app that has most of the features already available in Google or other apps isn't the way to go.

[localme]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I think you made some really good points.

I still think it might be beneficial for some shops to have their own apps and I believe with a good design it could be customizable enough where it apps don't seem cookie-cutter (think Squarespace or Virb).

I'm trying to take some of the risk away from having users download specific apps by creating a collective app. Customers would be essentially be bookmarking the apps they want.

From a (customer) user's perspective think about the experience you just described:

Example Coffee Shop:
1. "I know that store is close by, but I can't remember where." Opens google maps to find store. Two blocks away.
2. Gets in line to order.
3. Opens Coupon app. Looks through all the coupons for specific coupon. Back to google to search for a daily deal. There's a deal on Chai, but I just want my regular order.
4. Customer orders "Half decaf/caf with Soy".
4. Gets out customer physical rewards punch card, but woops "I don't have it". Gets a new card.
5. Pays. Apple or Google Pay or opens Wallet/Passport or specific paying app.

What benefit does the business get? The customer bought a cup coffee.

Or (with an app)

1. "I know that store is close by, but I can't remember where." Opens Localme app and selects Local Shop App, then location tab to see that shop is two blocks away.
2. Before moving they remember that they can place their order in the app (selects order tab). Wait there is a daily deal on Chai, but no "I want my regular order". Dismiss notification. I have it saved in the app which is nice because I have very specific order (Half decaf/caf with Soy). Selects special order.
3. App notifies customer that order has been sent and allows user to pay, but the customer has reached a milestone in their Customer Rewards and this coffee is free. Yay!
4. Customer walks the two blocks, enters store. The customer gets a notification that their coffee is ready, walks to the counter just as the barista calls out their name.

What benefit does the business get?
1. The customer gets a branded experience, from finding the store to getting their coffee.
2. Customers can personalize their experience (and orders)- and much information can be gained from these nuances. You have 30 customers with a similar order... maybe that should be on the menu. Or two menu items that are hardly ever ordered- take them off.
3. Gain customer loyalty with an easy reward system.
4. Track customer habits- how often they return to your store and how much they spend.

You might still not see the benefits, which is ok. And that's why I'm trying to get feedback.

[Harold Mansfield]

I love your example. You've basically described the Starbucks app.

I do like your idea of a community app, but again you've described the Yellow Pages app, Google now, Plenti, all of the payment apps, and local city apps that already do those things. Customer tracking exists in POS systems like Micros.

I'm not being a naysayer, and you are doing what you should...supporting your position and answering questions.
I think you have the core of a good idea and understand that you're competing against very large companies who are already doing this.
But you haven't sold me on yours as the solution that is better or easier to use for businesses or that this is something that I need.

You have to do that before you can sell it which will probably be easier with a beta version or prototype.

Getting small businesses to embrace tech is very, very hard. Especially mobile technology. I think an app that they feel is beneficial in someway is an uphill battle and unless it does something ground breaking, and you have great marketing so that people will download it, it's a tough sell.

But then again, it's not supposed to be easy.

[localme]

Yes, that example pulls heavily from the Starbucks app. That is one of the great things about this product. Wouldn't it be great to provide your costumers with an experience like Starbucks, or Kohl's or Apple.

It may not be novel, but I think a small coffee shop might find some value in providing their customers with a high level of service.

Let's say you could have a free month trial. Build out your app with some basic features in an hour or two. Would it be worth trying out?

[Harold Mansfield]

It's hard to say without an actual product ready to try. I totally believe in the free trial system to get it in people's hands.
The hardest thing about it is going to be getting businesses interested, and getting users to install it. Small Businesses are pretty horrible about promoting their tech...even just getting people to join them on Facebook.

I'd say if you're targeting businesses who don't even embrace social media or at least try, you're wasting your time.

So back to my original comments, I don't think the problem is a way to build an app. A tech savvy business who wants one can have one built.

I think the problem is that Small Businesses suck at tech, many are generally bad at promoting things, and when it comes to tech they expect instant results and when it doesn't happen they abandon it. An app is only as good as the person running it. Your focus is on making it easy for them to build, but then what?

I'd say during your research to pay special attention to why so many business apps fail. It's not because there aren't options. It's because most businesses don't need an app, and don't know how to run one. There's a lot of crap apps on the market from every business who thought they needed one just because it's an app. Most businesses don't even keep their websites current. They certainly aren't going to do so for an app.

So what's that going to do for the life of your business if none of the businesses are benefiting in any way by being a part of your community app system?

If you simply ask non tech savvy small business owners if they want a cheap and easy way to create an app, many will say yes just because apps are the hot new thing, yet will have no idea what to even do with it.

I think you're going to have to build it, and have a killer marketing plan to make them come. That's the only way I can see for you to get real feedback on making it better and if anyone will use it. People are going to have to see it.


No sure thing in tech. But you already know that.

[edward]

Too many assumptions, here. CNN reports apps contributed greatly this years holiday spending, though not remarkable. Brick and Mortars had to extend discounts to compete with Amazon. Someone once said that the average consumer would never need a PC. Mom & pops can benefit greatly from distributing free apps that connect to their product changing menus and promotions. The price/value/demand of anything is what the highest bidder will pay. Its your survey ask what you want.