Is iPhone application development the final frontier?

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In this article we explore the rationale behind iPhone application development for the modern organisation. We highlight the benefits obtained by an existing brand, and lay some ground rules to adhere to once you decide to take the next step in marketing your brand and expanding your user base.

An iPhone Application isn't just a trendy new bandwagon to jump on, it's an important declaration of intent to existing and potential customers. It shows that you are ready, willing and able to engage with them on their terms. It demonstrates to your contemporaries that you plan to communicate with your (and their) userbase intimately, not overbearingly. This relationship, when managed well, will gain marketshare from competitors and makes it far more likely that a positively reinforcing word of mouth feedback loop will be generated.

We may yet see a fundamental shift in how people access information, but increasingly, having an iPhone application is a necessary branding exercise, marketing channel and user interface for forward thinking organisations.

Let's look at a practical business example of an iPhone Application

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Dominos Pizza recently developed an iPhone application in-house. The interface, while not being perfect and still having a few bugs, is easy to understand and navigate. It directly reached a large part of their customer base by offering a more convenient way to order from their menu; the direct result of introducing this new communication channel saw over $2 million in sales and 200,000 downloads of the application in the first three months following its release.

Not to be outdone, rival Pizza Hut also developed its own iPhone application. This app even had a brief appearance in the “What’s Hot” section of the iTunes App Store, and has seen Pizza Hut generate not only more sales, but a substantial amount of word of mouth via non-traditional culinary journalists, the tech and gadget press.

Both are examples of a good idea, executed well, and at the correct time – early.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel

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Old adages still apply. Despite being a relatively new marketing channel, all of the old standards about engaging your customers still apply.

• Keep it simple
  Over-complicating the interface or making up front demands of your users before they can access your content will alienate more than it attracts.

• Plan ahead
  Have a strong idea of what you want to achieve with your application, and have an equally strong design to achieve it.

• The customer is always right
  Having an iPhone application gives you a direct feedback channel to your customers' thoughts through the App Store. If they are having difficulty with one aspect of your application, or are suggesting improvements to the interface or overall design, take them on-board and try and integrate the best and most feasible of those ideas in a software update.

• Hire a professional if it is outside the core role of your business
  Sometimes it's better to let experts do it for you. From Accounting to XHTML there are people and businesses that specialise in providing cost-effective and timely solutions for your organisation. Engage their expert services and utilise their experience to let you concentrate on doing what you do best.

So is iPhone Application Development the final frontier?

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In short, no. An iPhone application is just one of the vast suite of web 2.0 tools your organisation could be taking advantage of to grow your brand, your market, and your consumer base. Blackberry and Android-centric applications will also need to be contemplated once their marketshare improves and importantly, once their respective application use starts to closely mimic the behaviours of the typical iPhone user. An iPhone application is the first, not the final, step into tapping into the ever-growing smartphone user marketplace.

Stay tuned for the next article in the iPhone application development series where we explore the choices you’ll make and the tools you’ll need once you decide to take the first step.