For many small business owners and entrepreneurs, mobile marketing represents a growing business opportunity. It is true that as the use of mobile devices continues to increase, the demand for mobile application development will also continue to grow. Between December 25 and January 2, 2012 alone, 1.2 billion apps were downloaded.
Your app can quickly become one of the most effective marketing tools available to businesses, and while developing a mobile app can be expensive, it doesn’t have to be. With different options available in the market today, any company can access mobile marketing.
One of the things to consider is which platform to develop the app for. It is best to create a cross-platform app from scratch. Before hiring a developer, you should consider all the functionality your app should have. The developer must be able to help each business develop a mobile strategy that works and delivers results.
- First, a mobile application must be equipped with push notification capability. Push notifications work like text messages and deliver a staggering 97% open rate. The message is delivered immediately, not 2 days or 2 weeks later.
- Business owners should also focus on building loyalty with their new mobile app. One of the best tools we have come across is verification offers. Every time a customer walks into a business, she should be able to “check in” and possibly unlock a special offer or coupon.
- Consider also building an email list with the app. Business owners need to focus on collecting as much information as possible from their customers and communicating with them through different channels.
- A great use of the app is to add virality to the business, which is defined as “the degree to which a piece of content is shared or can be shared in a short period of time.” The business owner should give their customers the ability to share the news about their business with others through social media, text messages, and email.
- Finally, mobile ordering and payments are all the rage right now. Making it easy and convenient for people to shop at the store should be a top priority. Therefore, building an in-app shopping cart is a very smart move.
While app development can be very expensive and some companies are known to spend tens of thousands of dollars, it doesn’t have to be. A small or medium business can find a suitable solution for their budget. The mobile app should easily pay for itself in a very short time.
At the end of the day, it’s all about driving the growth of your business and a mobile app is one of the best tools to do that.
