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Merrick, NY—“There’s an app for that!”

In a world where there’s an app for almost everything, more and more small businesses see the value in creating their own mobile app. In the luxury jewelry industry, for example, Lazare Kaplan put technology to use for diamond buyers to get on-the-spot education about the Four C’s (shown left).

“We’ve definitely increased awareness, and hopefully increased sales,” says Marcee Feinberg, LKI vice president. “We have more Facebook fans because of it, retailers are using it in their stores, and when we send updates, people do install them.” Jewelers love it too, she told The Centurion. Whenever LKI does a training session, the jeweler almost always goes and buys an iPad right away, and she says one jeweler—Tom Wright of Lincoln, NE—even called it “the greatest thing since sliced bread” and is streaming the app on a huge plasma screen in the store.

The firm last week announced a 4C App contest where the winner will receive a Lazare Diamond Carlota engagement ring. Within a week, more than 100 people already entered, said Feinberg.

But the cost of hiring a professional app-builder can quickly discourage the idea for small businesses—until now. A report last week on Mashable.com highlights a quartet of new do-it-yourself app builders, and according to the tech site’s editors, “even the code-illiterate can build passable apps using these four new platforms.”

Bizness Apps, the first of the four that Mashable recommends, has an industry-specific feature that jewelers might find appealing. For example, says Mashable, a restaurant owner might be prompted to include a menu, or a gym to include a workout schedule. So a jeweler might want to include a place to build a wish list of pieces seen, or tips for buying. Mashable says Bizness Apps is an easy tool to use but apart from the specified areas, not easily customizable. It supports iPhone, iPad, Android, and HTML5 platforms, at a cost of $39/month for iPhone or $49/month for the others.

The second Mashable suggests is Mobiflex. This one is more difficult to learn but incorporates back-end data sources and functions like the phone’s camera, speech recognition, and GPS, says Mashable. It supports Android and iOS platforms, for a one-time setup fee of $99 plus $25/month for up to 50 users and two pages.

The third is AppMakr, which is best for distributing content. Publishers such as The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review have used it, according to Mashable. With no coding required, it allows for adding content via RSS feeds, uploading photos, and sending push notifications. So if your goal is to send out news about store or tradeshow events or announce new products, this might be a viable choice. It’s free but supports only the iOS platform.

The fourth and final is Red Foundry, which offers options for both beginners and those with some technical background. More advanced users can design an app using XML-based coding; beginners can use a ready-made template. It has a free version, incorporating mainly RSS feeds and allowing for photo uploads and some other extras like a PayPal button and social media links. More advanced options are available starting at $39/month. Supports iOS.

It’s always exciting to be on the cutting edge of technology, and as Lazare Kaplan demonstrates, an app can be a useful tool for manufacturers to work together with retail clients.

The ability to create your own apps is enticing, but Jeff Arnold of Focus Business Management warns retail jewelers to be careful before they start creating an app on their own. 

“Sit down and really think about why you’re are creating an app. Are you creating it just for the sake of saying you created an app, which would be fruitless, or is there a true consumer benefit to the application that is being created?