This comparison assumes you have an existing web application and clearly doesn’t apply to immersive applications (such as games) and those which leverage mobile-specific features such as location, the camera, the phone itself, etc.

An advertisement for your brand - Building a mobile app gives you several application stores on which to promote yourself. While it can be difficult to rise above the crowd but if you have something unique you are in a better position. The simple idea here is to offer a discrete piece of functionality for free to drive reviews/downloads and guide people towards your website to register and become paying customers.

Pull in new customers - Similar to above, but there needs to be a stronger hook to pull in registrations and ultimately conversion to a paying customer, such as the offer of more details, extra features, new levels, etc. These extra features can be on your website or in the application itself. The model of offering a ‘lite’ version for free then using a full version with all of the extra functionality is very common. More recently applications are moving to in-app purchases to streamline this conversion process.

Bigger feature set - The above two models are all about using the mobile apps to gain customers and work largely (but not necessarily exclusively) on the assumption that the first time users see your application is the mobile app.

In contrast, this approach is less about gaining users, more about giving existing (web) users the option of a full-featured mobile experience. Typically this approach starts with a login (optionally the chance to register) and then launches into the full application functionality. The idea is to simply give your users more options on how/when/where to engage with you.

Monetization - There are two keys features (apart from the obvious that having a mobile option drives customer acquisition):

• • Paid apps. Don’t forget to budget for the AppStore providers taking their share, and don’t underestimate the value of a free ‘Lite’ app.
• • In-app purchases – put some of your functionality behind a paid wall.