Title/Name/Summary
Economic Development Mobile App Presentation
History
The promotion and marketing of Orland Park's businesses has been identified as a key priority in the Village of Orland Park's Strategic Plan under Economic Development. As such, staff has been researching what is available in digital applications for local business advertisement and promotion. Initially, Village staff reviewed over 20 mobile app developers to determine if their services could meet the Village’s needs for a mobile application. After the initial review, the list of potential app developers was narrowed to 10 developers for further investigation. The app developers were evaluated based on several criteria, including:
- Cost of the application
- Functionality
- Protocols for data entry
- Services provided by the developer
- Role of Village staff in development and implementation
Each app developer was contacted and first was evaluated through a phone interview. Those that passed initial review were invited back for an in-person interview and presentation. The top three firms provided a presentation to walk through their app's features.
After careful consideration, it is staff’s opinion that Bar-Z, a mobile app developer from Austin, Texas, is best suited to provide the required resources for our local business advertisement and promotion. They provide a full range of services from design to implementation and combine pleasing aesthetics and functionality.
Bar-Z specializes in apps for municipalities, chambers of commerce, and tourism boards that provide a variety of options for local business promotion. Their clients include:
- Rosemont Convention and Tourism Bureau, Rosemont,IL
- Orange City, IA
- Kilgore, TX
- Peoria, TX
- National Parks Service
They offer website design, push notifications, interactive mapping, guided tours, video and audio integration, local business directories, event guides and calendar, and business rewards programs and promotions.
Bar-Z was founded in 2005, and since that time has developed over 500 mobile applications providing these services. Their staff of 22 provides assistance all the way from preliminary design, through implementation and continual maintenance. This app developer stands out from the others evaluated for several reasons as outlined below.
Bar-Z provides a rapid turnaround time. They anticipate 6-8 weeks from kick-off meeting to launch. The success of this app hinges on the ability of the Village staff in conjunction with a developer to get buy-in from the local business community. Unlike other developers, Bar-Z provides professional marketing consultation prior to and after the launch of the app to increase buy-in awareness.
This app developer provides features that would not be available from a typical search engine or mobile application. For example, Bar-Z allows local businesses to post coupons and promotions that are specific to the mobile application. These deals are only offered to those that download the mobile application. Additionally, they feature a loyalty and rewards program that is not typical of similar applications. They have essentially digitized the hard copy punch cards that you would typically receive from a business. The loyalty program increases the amount of users downloading the application because the promotion is specific to the mobile application. In addition, the loyalty program encourages consumers to repeatedly visit our local businesses.
Staff has also interviewed references from other towns and the below summarizes the way previous clients described Bar-Z as very professional, great customer service, well organized, very responsive, and flexibility with problem solving. References were overwhelmingly positive, and each person stated they would recommend Bar-z and they would use their services in the future.
Financial Impact
The cost of the mobile application is based on the number of businesses that are listed on the mobile application. For unlimited locations, the cost of the mobile application will be $15,000 a year with a one-time set-up fee of $995. There is also an additional charge if a business participates in the loyalty card program that ranges from $2,500 to $7,500.
The funds are budgeted in the Economic Development promotion expense account 010-2003-484910.
Initially, the intention of village staff is not to charge businesses for this service. However, in the future the cost of the yearly license and additional services could potentially be covered by a nominal fee paid by the business community via their annual business license renewal or other fees.
Development Services and Planning Committee
This item was presented at the August 17, 2015 Development Services and Planning Committee. The Committee provided positive feedback from the presentation. There were a couple questions regarding the content of the app. The Committee Members expressed concern about the review and approval process before content becomes live on the mobile app. The representative from Bar-Z explained that someone utilizing the app would not be able to upload their own content without review by the Village. The presenter provided general clarifications about the functions of the app, and no additional issues were raised by the Committee.
Recommended Action/Motion
This item is for discussion only.