So this week saw another first for Homestyle, our brand new app. Yay!
Its something we have spoke about for well over a year but never got round to doing it, one of those things i guess, always busy always something else to do. But last month we made the decision to get together and do it then and there. And we did it, and you know what it was fun. With hindsight we wished we had done it earlier.
With all the excitement of getting it all figured out so that we were happy with it we (or should I own up and say “I”) didn’t read the small print *bangs head* .
So in my excitement i’m telling all family, friends and members that our new app is done but to my disappointment once submitted to the app stores you apparently need to get approval, one little thing i didn’t consider! Ouch what a blow, but as per i got over it and realised it gave me the chance to let everyone know it was on its way and drum up some interest, or at least i hoped people would be interested. Time will tell.
Fast forward 3 agonising long weeks and yup we have approval and its gone LIVE with the app stores, Phew relief and excitement all at once, app downloaded immediately to my iPhone of course.
Now the fun starts, getting the word out there and getting it onto phones and tablets. No idea how this will pan out but i’m always optimistic. However and this is the great bit, within 2 minutes of it going live 22 people had downloaded it… trust me my excitement grew to addiction and now i’m sat here refreshing the screen every ten minutes watching it go up, 35, 49, 88, 102 wow 102 i thought that was brilliant. However when i logged in this morning it was at 208 downloads and right now its at 218. Not bad hey!
So worth the worry? hell yeah but now the task of maintaining the app begins. I can send out push notifications, tell you when were in certain areas etc this is all new to me so i may get it wrong while i learn or i may get it spot on, either way i’m glad you’re here on the journey with me, I have already received a few messages via the app too which is fab and shows people are using it they way we intended. We will respond to messages personally as we cant respond via the app but message us anyway, even if just to say good morning, it will bring a smile to my face 🙂
So future plans…. yes as per usual we already have plans to develop the app further. The first things are adding the personal shopper and birthday club to it as well as this weekly blog. And a loyalty card is in the planning too. All good stuff trust me. The feedback we’ve had so far will also mean some slight changes are made, any changes will automatically be updated to your phones and tablets so you don’t have to worry about missing anything, its all super clever how it works. I Love it.
Want the app here it is https://homestyle.appsme.com or search for Homestyle in iTunes or Google Play, scroll down a bit if you cant see us, look out for the red and blue HS square logo.
Righto back to the planning as i must live up to my promises after all.
Oh one last thing, wheres my manners, thanks to those of you reading this blog, please share it with friends i need to get the word out about us as many places as i can. Thanks muchly. Now excuse me while i go refresh the screen and see how many downloads I have got since I’ve typed this…. 😉
www.homestyle247.com