Mobile site vs. Mobile App?

This post was fueled as many these days are by two things, a conversation with a client and our soon-to-be-announced new company.

The client conversation was focused on her initial interest in creating a mobile app (iPhone, Droid, etc.) to help promote her organization, what it does, etc.  Using this app would also help her consumers navigate her business.  After doing a great deal of research in her industry, the client and her team decided not to pursue the app strategy but to instead put their money into a mobile version of their website.  They discovered that based on their consumer, what they do and how they do it, the mobile version of the site would be more helpful and more cost-effective.

So that got me thinking, given the "cool factor" of apps these days (everyone wants one and HAS to have one, it reminds me at lot of websites in the late 90's), is it better for a business or organization to invest in apps or to create a mobile site, a version of their existing website that is optimized for mobile devices.  Since our new venture will help clients design and develop both Mobile sites and Mobile apps, we really don't have a "dog in this hunt" and we can look at this question objectively.

After a short conversation with Sonali Shetty, our partner in our new venture, here are some considerations to think about when weighing Mobile app vs. Mobile site:

• Casual vs. hardcore:  Are you creating the mobile presence for a casual maybe one-time user or someone who you expect will come back often?  If casual, you might consider the mobile site, if hardcore you likely will want to focus on the app because of its "richer" experience.
• Basic info vs. optimization:  Similarly if you want the information to mirror some of the basic functionality of your existing website, then the mobile site might be the way to go.  The mobile app by its very nature can and should be that richer experience with additional and enhanced functionality and information.  It can include exclusive, stand-alone features such as games, widgets, offers, etc.
• Branding:  Just by the very nature and size of the medium you have a better opportunity to brand with the app than you do with the mobile site, although each have their pluses and minuses.
• Cost:  In this world of Apple, Droid and Blackberry in many cases you're not only building one app but you're building two or three and there is little economy of scale.  The mobile site is just one element and since in most cases it is an extension of your existing website, it should cost less than the app.
• Access:  The mobile site is available easily off the device's web browser.  The app is available through a third-party like iTunes or Android market.  In those cases, you need to get it approved by those third-parties before being able to offer them to your consumers.

So if you in charge of making these decisions in your organization what do you do?  I would default to how you think most people are using their mobile devices.  In my case with my Droid or iPad (I go both ways :)), I tend browse first and app second and if you look at either of my devices, aside from Paper Toss HD (greatest game in the world), you will see apps that pertain to my business and things about which I'm MOST passionate.

My takeaway from that is that the Mobile site is more of a must have and the Mobile app is more of a luxury.

What do you think?