Do you own a business offering yard maintenance or snow shoveling service? Like any other business, it is time to catch the millennial’s attention with a mobile app. How to start building asnow removal app? It is not a child’s play to connect with your customers and cater to their needs on a real-time basis. We talked with some of the top mobile applicant consultancies, and they taught us how to start with the app and the problems occurring during the development phase. The experts also taught us about the advantages and facilities for your business to incorporate a mobile app. It is best to learn from others’ success and path. Thus, we are taking the best app for snow shoveling services, Eden App, to explain the entire process.
Why create an app for snow removal?
The snow removal business is essential in areas where heavy snowfall is a common weather situation, like Canada, Europe, Russia, North America, and others. When such heavy snow hinders people’s day to day life, there is a constant demand for snow removal. There are two types of business models in the market. The first model is the contract type in which an organization would offer a contract for the entire winter or specific months for their service. In the second model, the home or business owner would contact the service provider whenever they need the service. The contract model’s disadvantage is that, if there was just a couple of days of heavy snowfall in the entire winter, the whole contract becomes an unwanted expense. The on-demand model creates a spike in demand during heavy snowfall, and the prices for the equipment or the service would be sky-high when the user needs it. The chances for the equipment being unavailable during the time of necessity are also high. When you choose to create a snow plowing app, you can offer an on-demand model of service with more transparency and cost-effective. When a user searches “snow plow service near me”, it becomes easier for them to find the services closer to them, whenever they need it. The drivers and the customers get connected via the same platform, allowing them to accept the job with ease without too much red tape. How did the Eden app crack this model to create a successful platform? Let us go through the approach chosen by the Eden app.
All About Eden App
An introduction to Eden app – the best app for snowplow and lawn care
- The Eden shoveler application serves customers in areas like Toronto, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Ottawa, Boston, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Milwaukee.
- It is an on-demand application for leaf cleanup, snow shoveling, and lawn mowing services.
- The app created a market stir and even caught the attention of local media like The Globe and Mail, Breakfast Television, Noteable, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Toronto Star, CBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Chicago Sun Times, and CBS.
Three lessons to take away from Eden App
Ease and speed
The main purpose of a mobile app is to offer a service to a customer in a fast yet straightforward manner. The ease of use is also an important factor. Customers should be able to get the service whenever they want and within a few clicks. The best way to offer customization is by allowing users to create their profile, add properties to the profile. Thus, whenever they want a service for their home or a family member or job site, they can click the property details and request it. Eden App is not an exclusive snow shoveling app. They integrated similar services to offer the customer a one-stop destination for their lawn requirements. Services offered by Eden App are lawn mowing, hail plowing, leaf cleanup, shrub trimming, and garden bed cleanup. The same app allows the customers to choose from any of the services for any of their properties. The app connects the snow equipment drivers with the customers, like an Uber app. Any driver within a 30-km radius will get a notification about the request, and it is up to the driver to choose the job request. Thus, it allows an easy way for a customer to connect with equipment, and the service providers get a large customer base to work.
Security and reliability
Since you are creating an Uber for connecting equipment and customer, security and reliability start from you. You should ensure to add only reliable professionals to your platform. Your customers should not click and hope to get a decent worker. They must be sure of the quality of work they can expect from your platform. It is best to choose works from an association. Eden chooses contractors from Landscape Ontario Trade Association. Thus, Eden is certain about the reliability, professionalism, and quality of the contractors’ service. The next element of security is the payment process. Eden uses a third-party billing service provider, Stripe, which manages the data management and billing service. Thus, the payment is secure and reliable. Since the payment starts after the service’s completion, the customer can rest assured high-quality work from the contractors. The customers can also rate the contractors based on their work. For your app to flourish, both the contractors and the customers should feel secure. The platform should be a reliable base for both parties.
Features of the app
A mobile app should offer multiple features to make the process easier, transparent, and reliable. A feature can make or break the success of a mobile app. Thus, Eden added numerous necessary features to the app.
- Customers should add details about parking or driveway. It helps to get an instant free estimate for the job.
- ETA for the contractor will be visible to the customers. The app also allows customers and contractors to contact each other for conveying any message.
- Users can add before and after images of their lawn, driveway, or garden.
How to know the right features to add to a snow removal app? It depends on the requirements of the target audience. We talked with a couple of developers and brought you a list of desirable features that you should integrate into your app for snow removal.
Hire Creating An App For Snow Removal?
Features to Add to Your Snow Removal App
Profiling and filtering
Your users should be able to visit the profiles of the contractors. They should be able to find the best among the ones provided. The filter option will make the work easier for the user as it would order or filter the profiles based on experience, price, age, equipment specification, and more. It makes it easier for the user to pick the right service provider without too much hassle.
Categories
When you segregate the jobs into categories, there will be little to no misunderstanding. You can use service categorizes like shoveling services, snow blowing services, snow removal service, hail removal services, and so on. This segregation helps the user to pick the right service without any confusion. Moreover, it would reduce the incidence of complaints, as the user knows which service they are hiring. A good rating is essential for a platform.
Tracking
GPS tracking allows users to track the selected contractors in real-time. Thus, your customer can know when to expect the contractor. This feature allows the user to know the time estimate for the project.
GPS Navigation
GPS navigation feature will help the contractor to reach your user easily. The feature allows the driver to choose the best route and show up on time. Your driver can know about traffics, hail-free routes, and other factors in reaching the customer.
Weather Forecast
Your contractors will be working during harsh climatic conditions. Thus, it is best to inform about hazardous weather conditions to the contractors. Your users can also know about the hurdles in hiring or finding a service. You can also give notification to your customers to take precautionary measures in case of massive snowfall prediction.
Audio Notes
Audio notes will help the professional leave any message to the customers regarding equipment handling or the project. Typing notes or sending a text message might be tedious, especially when working in the snow. All they have to do is click a button and record their message.
Calculator
This feature will help your user to calculate the cost of the service for their property. This feature will ease the use of the app and compete with other available snow removal apps in the market.
In-app calling or messaging
You should allow the user and contractor to call or message to share details about the service, output, location, requirement, and more. This feature will allow them to resolve any miscommunication and queries.
Payment gateway
The user should be able to use multiple payment options like bank cards, e-wallet, and others. It is best to add features to allow your users to pay for each service or in advance. The app should also generate invoices and send them to the mail address when requested. Are these features enough? It depends on your business requirements, the scope of your application, and more. Talk to a design consultancy to learn more about the required functionalities based on your requirements. Why is it essential to incorporate an app into your snow removal business?
How will a mobile app boost your snow removal business?
Business expansion and e-commerce integration
It is critical to offer a one-stop solution for your services, which is smartphone compatible. Beyond your core product or service, and efficient app will add additional leverage to your brand value. You can also integrate it with an e-commerce platform for selling plowing and lawn care equipment and spare parts. This integration will give business available throughout the year. Your application will become a platform for many businesses and freelancers to create a trustworthy transactions.
Easy management
It is possible to manage multiple resources and handle multiple tasks by using an application. You can coordinate resource allocation, tracking, and payment via the application. Such easy management will save time and money and also improves the flexibility of the business. Beyond these, the application allows real-time tracking of customer satisfaction, manager performance, and control of other variables.
Bird’s eye view
Your application will be your overall view of the entire business process. You can organize your business and resources effectively. The application helps you track the history of projects, payments, and utilization of resources. You can create a polyline on your map and create zones for easy management of your business. Such a process will help in improving online profit.
Frequently Asked Questions!
Are there applications for snow plowing services?
Yes, there are several apps like Eden, Touch Plow, Snohub, Plowz and Mowz, and Shoveler.
How does an application for snow removal work?
The users have to
- Choose a category of service
- Filter the options based on prices, equipment, and others
- Live track the professionals
- Pay for the service or choose an advance payment option
- Rating and reviewing the job
- Take a picture of the job and store it in the app
What are the top features of an application for snow plowing?
- Profiling service providers and filtering
- Categorization of services
- GPS tracking and navigation
- Weather forecasting
- Cost calculator
- Payment options
- Instant booking and scheduling
- In-app call or message
Get Started
If you are planning to create an application like Uber for snow shoveling services, the list of features and high-quality transparent service is essential. Before you get started with developing your app for snow shoveling, remember these points. How to get started with an application for snow plowing? You need to hire an Android or iPhone app development service provider. It is crucial to choose a high-end service provider for your business to create a performance-oriented app. The company that you are about to hire should be open for communication and offer and complete and confidential service. Look out for an expert service provider with transparent processes. It should not be a one-way communication. You and your team should be a part of the development process from the brainstorming stage. Are you looking for such an app development service provider? Contact us today, and our sales team will contact you to get started.
