Mobile apps provide a host of benefits to small businesses; they can reinforce your brand, increase your visibility, remove sales barriers, and drive customer loyalty.   Of course, the success of your app depends on the number of customer downloads.  An incentive may drive initial downloads, but it’s the features that will keep customers engaged.  These are the 5 features every small business app should have.

1. Address with map: 76% of the time when a customer searches for a business on a mobile device they are looking for the address. Eliminate the need to search for your business in a browser by including your address in the app.  Take it one step further and link your address to an interactive map.  That way, the customer can find you from any location.

2. One touch dial:  Nothing is more frustrating than looking up a phone number only to forget it again when you start to dial.  Make life easier on your customers with  one-touch dial in your app.

3. Messaging:  Be accessible to customers 24/7 with in app messaging.  Customers won’t have to look up your email to tell you they’re running late or have a question.  Give them the option to include a picture or video to provide more detailed requests.

4. Push notifications:  Most of us are bombarded with marketing emails every day.  The emails that don’t go straight to the spam folder are often overlooked or deleted.  Make sure your customers see important messages from you with push notifications.

5. Deals:  Most shoppers search online for deals while in your store, so why not provide easy access to them in your app?

App Express includes each of these features in every app we build.  When choosing an app maker, be sure to include these 5 features and give your customers the best possible user experience.