Over the last one year, there is a massive growth in the amount of time spent on digital platforms including desktop and mobile. According to a latest report, digital time spent is around 1.2 trillion minutes in June 2014 (24% increase over the same month last year) and time spent in mobile apps has jumped over 50% in one year.
Mobile-friendly websites has become almost mandatory for businesses which are serious about their customers and customer relationships. Going beyond providing mobile-optimized websites, you need to start using mobile apps as a new-age medium for reaching out to the target customers and drive business growth.
Exclusive Content
You can use a mobile app to offer some exclusive content to your customers and keep them engaged with your brand. For example: The famous circus show, Cirque du Soleil, offers show info, videos and special ticket promotions through its mobile app. It also allows users to earn badges for shows. NBC Sports offers its Tour de France fans a new way to follow their favorite cyclists. The app allows users to watch every stage of the race live on their mobile device.
Source: iTunes
New Buying Experience
According to Comscore, 4 out of 5 smartphone owners use the mobile devices to shop. Through a mobile app, you can offer your customers a completely new and convenient way to shop. Allow users to browse through your product catalogue, compare products and complete the transaction from mobile itself. Pizza Pizza, a Canadian restaurant, fulfilled 111,111 orders through mobile app within 6 months of its launch!
Source: Play Store
Targeted Advertisements and Exclusive Offers
Using a mobile app, you can specifically target customers in your target location and share special offers, new products, exclusive sale, or send first-to-know notifications about new arrivals or sales with the buyers. You can also offer mobile-only coupons making it an exclusive offer for them.
Source: Cleartrip.com
Two-Way Communication
People carry their mobile at all places and therefore making a contact with customers through mobile is very easy. While apps are great for sending out your messages to your customers, apps can also be effectively used for getting feedback from customers. Design small surveys and elicit feedback from customers. You can get instant feedback on a new product, service or even brand experience. You can ask customers to send their reviews or comments – this is an ideal way to strike an engaging dialogue with the customers.
The benefits and impact of mobile apps is clear. What could possibly be stopping the wider adoption is the difficulty of creation of multiple cross-platform apps. If marketers and business owners can create and launch hundreds of apps quickly and easily, the adoption is sure to grow multifold. We are keen to hear your views