When Apple first came out with the Apple App Store, their custom tag line was "There's an app for that".
In today's ever increasingly competitive market, small and medium local businesses have to fight even harder for sales.
The goal is to bring in new customers and keep existing customers coming back for more.
I'm here to say that "There's an app for that".
To understand the potential power of having a mobile app developed for your business, you first should know some statistics about mobile devices and mobile apps:

• It's estimated that over 100 billion mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) will be active by 2013
• 40% of all mobile phones are smartphones (capable of running apps) and that percentage is growing every year 80% of U.
  S.
  residents (about 250 million) have a mobile phone
• There are about 4 times as many mobile phone owners than computer and laptop owners combined
• 97% of push notifications (In app messages, SMS messages, etc) are opened and read (versus 4% of emails)
• The average smartphone user is within 10 feet of their device for 23 hours per day

As you can see, the number of current smartphone owners is staggering (not to mention the growth in the next 2 years).
Those users are constantly near or on their device - versus being near a computer.
With this kind of potential customer base being contacted almost instantly using an app, does it make sense why you would want to use a mobile app to connect with them? Here's some ways to do that:

• A restaurant can send a push notification that there's a special Tuesday only deal.
  As it turns out, Tuesdays are the slowest day for this restaurant and now they have a way to fill their seats with an instant connection to their customers
• A spa can set up multiple customer loyalty programs almost instantly.
  Using scannable QR (Quick Response) codes, their customers get credit each time they come in.
  After a certain number of scans, the customer gets a free service.
  This is a great way to encourage repeat customers.
  
• A dentist can set up a GPS coupon that is active only when the customer is within a close distance to the office.
  The coupon is for first time patients and is good for a free $400 value teeth whitening with their first paid visit.
  The dentist puts the download link on their website to encourage new patients to come in and try their service.
  

These are only a few of the ways that a custom mobile app can work for a small and medium business.
Think about this: 15 years ago, a website was a luxury for most small and medium businesses.
Today, most businesses couldn't survive without a website.
The businesses that took advantage of building a web presence early were the ones who reaped the benefits of a) looking stronger in the market, b) grabbing more customers from their competitors, and c) building a foundation for success in the future.
A mobile app can give your business this same competitive advantage that a website gave 15 years ago.
There's a shift from home computers/laptops to mobile devices that you can take advantage of now (remember 4x as many mobile phone users than people who own a computer).
You can ride the mobile app wave to more customers and ultimately more profits.