iPhones, iPads, and Androids have created a new market: The app market. It is a place of massive innovation, where the coolest and the dumbest cohabit in the same environment with the free and the for-profit. Since everyone seems to be going mobile and studies show that the future of the Internet falls in the apps, we come to the core question: does my business need an app?

There are plenty of reasons why your business needs one, but you need to be cautious before paying an app developer lots of money.

Before diving into the app world here are some questions you might want to ask yourself:

• What platform should you develop your app on (iPhone, iPad, Android, RIM, etc.)?
  
• What kind of user would your app cater to?
  
• How will my customers benefit from the app?
  
• Can the user obtain the same gratification of using your app from another source?
  
• How are people currently searching for your content?
  
• How much of my traffic is coming from mobile browsers?
  Based on your current website traffic, does it make more
• sense to build a rich mobile web experience first?

So is your business app worthy? Here are the main advantages for developing a mobile app for your business:
Attracting new customers- Businesses need to make money and an app might just attract new customers, making more people aware of the characteristics and benefits of your products.

Enhance customer experience and service- The easier and the friendlier the user experience will be, the more successful your app is most likely to be. When that happens, you get happier customers, which incidentally will also mean new customers.
Brand Awareness & Differentiation- A presence in the app store where your competition may or may not be will give you the competitive advantage. If your competitors already have an app you will level the playing field.

Tracking and Analytics- An app will allow you to learn more about your users beyond simply tracking browser stats. You will have access to whole other level of data such as, their usage habits, location, and their instant feedback directly from the only device that is next to them 24/7, their smart phones.

Offline Access- One very important thing a mobile website can't do is be accessed offline. Depending on the features of your app, offline access to crucial data and features could be a clutch for your customers.

So it seems clear that an app is not for every business, or at least it depends on the type of consumer your business targets, but it goes to show that having an app might not be such a bad idea. In conclusion, we would advise you to keep it simple and keep it free (or at least cheap). An app just might be able to leverage one more avenue of communication that will keep your business and your customers happy.