When it comes to businesses using technology to target and facilitate more customers, it all begins (after the brick and mortar location) with the internet. First, there were websites. Then, optimized websites…although many businesses have yet to adopt mobile-friendly website designs. Now, there are apps. Mobile apps together with smart phones has created yet another unique opportunity for businesses to interact with customers literally at the click of a button.

Because so many people, from developers to businesses themselves, have seen the potential of mobile apps, the industry has exploded at a very fast pace. As a matter of fact, some folks have set out to learn how to develop apps themselves rather than simply hiring companies to do the work.

Apps can take on many forms, from the simple such as collecting email addresses to the more complicated such as booking a hotel room. You can create free apps that include advertising of either your own product or affiliate products. Conversely, you can create apps that directly communicate with your business so your customers can buy your product or service within seconds.

Mobile apps are still relatively new to most folks but businesses are quickly catching on to how effective and inexpensive they can be to create, compared to the pay off of customer satisfaction and acquisition.