B2B App Development Starts Here

As an everyday person, you hear about all sorts of consumer-facing apps – or apps that directly service the public. These are your Wazes, SnapChats, and Amazons; it can really be any kind of app that directly provides a service to the general person – you and me. And obviously, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) apps are doing pretty well – SDI alone has made literally thousands of B2C apps.

What you may not hear as much about is the rapidly growing industry of B2B apps. This can be an app that provides a service or product to other businesses:

• Healthcare;

Dentists, doctors, optometrists – all need to business support. Get in touch now if you already have an idea!

• Restaurants;

• Manufacturers;

Anything from eCommerce to reservation services can be done with custom B2B apps. The wide applicability combined with the fact that this is a relatively new app market means that the competition is nil. And if that doesn’t get your entrepreneurial juices running, you should download one of the medical apps we’ve built – they can check your pulse to make sure your heart’s still beating!

The internet has long been known for its ability to help businesses and B2B apps are the next steps in this evolution. Let’s take a look at why B2B mobile apps are a good choice for the savvy entrepreneur. First though, let’s take a look at the key differences between the apps you’re probably used to, B2C, and B2B.

Differences in Approach

Obviously, your end-user is very different in B2B apps. These apps tend to focus heavily on features and functions. While the design is paramount to any app or website, people interested in B2B apps aren’t early adopters or techies who can see the potential in your product. These are CEOs, managers, marketers – people who want a practical app with features that drive growth for their business.

A B2B mobile app developer cannot afford to make mistakes. Unlike a B2C app, where a mistake can go unnoticed or uncared about for months, errors in a B2B app are caught very quickly. More importantly, an error can result in serious consequences for a business, including a loss in revenue or misreporting of data. Finally, you must consider the fact that business owners pay for a B2B app – they’re not going to be happy if you provide them with a crap product.

Internal Business Apps

While the B2B app can be something like OpenTable (though technically OpenTable is both B2B and B2C!), it can also be something like a SaaS App. Service-as-a-software has long been recognized as one of the most useful tools for sustainable and successful business growth out there. What has gone less noticed is how apps are beginning to shine in the SaaS industry.

As Smartphones and Mobile devices (i.e. the iPad) have become more sophisticated, they’ve become an increasingly more potent business tool. At SDI, we’ve already made a few SaaS Apps – and even more apps connecting business to an already existing SaaS program. Look, we’re becoming a mobile-centric world; even if you are just providing a SaaS app for your employees, you should be as mobile as possible, or your system won’t be adopted or accepted.

Some of you might be thinking here “well how do I make money off an app built just for my business?” There are a couple of things to consider here:

The purpose of a B2B app is not necessary to make money. As mentioned above B2B SaaS apps are one of the most useful tools for business growth. They ease communication, clarify workflows, and provide near-real-time data crunching so CEOs are making informed decisions on growth. The purpose here isn’t to make money off the app directly, it’s to improve growth and revenue streams while decreasing human error.

There’s nothing saying you can drop us a line today to create a B2B app that you can sell to other clients. Here’s a good number – 57% of US mobile app development businesses reach monetization by selling a license to their product. Pretty nice, right? Subscription-based monetization models are where it’s at folks – continual, sustainable, and substantial revenue streams are generated via this method;

Why not combine the two? Want to build a SaaS app for your business? Well, my guess is you aren’t the only company in your business. Why not sell your app (on a subscription basis, obviously) to other competitors. That way you not only benefit from all a B2B app has to offer for business growth while turning your competitors into your clients.

A Ripe Market

The potential for success in for B2B app is much higher. As mentioned above, the competition in this market is virtually non-existent. This largely because it’s a relatively new field, but there is another big reason:

B2C apps don’t require face-to-face interaction with your clients. You can just build and drop an app and see it to success (though it’s generally recommended that you do a little more) without ever meeting a single user. B2B apps require app makers to *gasp* talk to real people, something most people would agree is not precisely the forte of many an engineer. This means that many engineers and app development companies are leery of entering the B2B market – but with our help, you shouldn’t be!

But market potential should refer to more than simple lack of competition and high barriers to entry (high to many engineers at least). There’s another factor to consider here – each potential customer has a value that is several orders of magnitude beyond B2C apps. Most B2C apps are free or charge a few bucks for a download. B2B apps are never free and usually require a client subscription to access. Moreover, a B2B app is a labor-intensive endeavor – which means you charge more for it!

That about wraps it up for us today folks! One more quick note on the last thought: yes B2B app development costs are higher than B2C (again, you also charge your customers more to use it!), but at SDI, we work to keep our development costs as low as possible while still employing top-notch, quality designers and developers.

Your B2B Mobile App Development Company

SDI has been building B2B, B2C and C2C (i.e. eBay) apps for years. We’ve created apps for medical research and treatments, apps for home maintenance workers/contractors, apps for retail – and everything in between. We’ve successfully launched over 5,000 projects with over 10,000 clients from all over the world.

We know how to make your dreams a reality, and how to put some cash in your pocket! Call now at 408.621.8481 to get a free consultation. Not much of a phone person? No problem! Contact us today by filling out a quick form and we will send an NDA right away. We look forward to hearing from you soon!