Section 2.07 Mobile APP

Module 2

“Mobile apps are among the best forms of performance support available today”

What is meant by Application?

An application is known as an App first designed by Apple for the smartphone, being a short and quick link represented with an icon for small digital devices. For example, a mobile App is your customers’ personal easy access to your business. Depending on the features it has, it can facilitate customer interaction, allowing customers to make purchases 24-7 and give them a direct line of communication with your organisation. It helps you track and better understand your customers’ needs, which is essential to be competitive in the business world.

With portable devices and technological advances, more people and potential customers spend most of their time on smartphones than any other electronic device. Today we can place many types of orders from books to food, make payments for any transaction that has adopted digital technology, check bank accounts, trade on the stock market, use live maps, find places, and the latest news updates even before it has become a national news report from the social media platforms etc.

Since the home computer, there has been a transition from home web traffic to mobile traffic, now evolving to app traffic on intelligent devices; the so-called smartphone is now much more than just a phone, we can pretty much do everything online with it, giving rise to mobile marketing, which is here to stay.

Mobile Marketing

The use of Apps is on the rise and will continue to grow; eventually, everyone will get used to the idea of downloading apps for everything they want to access. From shopping and searching for information, Apps are quickly taking over the smartphone, the app’s features are shaping how marketing companies write and execute marketing strategies. Here are a few ways Apps are impacting our online behaviour and digital marketing industry.

Purchase

Companies already see a dramatic change in the way customers make their purchases. There’s a significant shift towards mobile shopping, with an increasing fame for branded Apps to make their final decision. As customers become more accustomed to mobile shopping, they’ll be more likely to choose retailers who offer a functional, attractive App, it’s all part of the marketing to attract customers.

Searches

The act of pulling up a search engine or Website browser and typing into the search bar is becoming more convenient. Handheld devices have a much smaller screen and are even tinier with the wearable devices such as Smartwatches. Traditional search methods may soon be gone forever with the virtual help of voice commands in the near future. Adapting to this change in finding information, more users are turning to Apps for instant access to what they are used to.

Standing Out

A company’s online presence denotes a strong brand and seeks to impact customers’ or clients’ decisions to choose and work with them. Customers will be looking for companies with Apps for convenience not having an App these days may hurt your business, but for the future, it would be a ‘do or die’ situation.

As App technology continues to develop, it would mean higher ‘choose my App’ competition and personal data management marketing to reach the individual combined with A.I technology.

The integration of A.I to reach potential and actual customers are inevitable. The future of App technology is on for a battle never seen before. Those ahead of the game win the market first, the question would they maintain the new development to retain their position?

Business mobile app?

Here are the most ingenious reasons and tips to build one.

Reasons for a Business App

Personalising interactions and engaging with customers.
Notify customers & alerts.
Easy-to-access payment systems to encourage sales.
Improve your customer experience.
Track or survey customer satisfaction.
24-7 access to browse your store for potential sales.
Not limited to time or distance.

The smartphone has become a dependent device for people, now we rely on mobile devices for everything, from communicating and networking to managing our finances and purchasing products. This is why developing a mobile App for the business is crucial to building brand awareness and a loyal audience.

What should you take into consideration when building a mobile app?

You might consider making multiple versions of your mobile App to ensure access on all major platforms, offering more inclusivity and reach for your business. For example, if your mobile app is only compatible with iOS, you’ll miss out on marketing your business to Android users.

The different operating system uses different types of App programming,

Apple IOS App
Android APP

Constant reengineering ensures your mobile App is offering the best user experience and engagement, according to Siddharth Vishwanathan, developer of the ‘Maths A Day App’. He said there are four key aspects to consider when creating a mobile app:

1. Native vs non-native

Native apps are developed for specific platforms and installed on specific devices. Non-native (or hybrid) apps are web-enabled applications that are available via a web browser on a mobile device.

2. In-house vs outsourced development

In-house development means using your own staff to develop software according to your company’s specific requirements. Outsourcing is hiring a third-party contractor to complete software-related work.

3. Mobile app features

The features within your mobile app affect your traffic and customer retention. For example, loyalty programs can encourage users to return to your app consistently.

4. Pricing models

Price structures like premium, freemium and subscription models can cause your customer base to fluctuate based on your product or service. The ideal pricing model consists of an app that is free to download but offers in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Help your business

Mobile apps can help your business in several ways. These applications can deliver unique experiences for your users that are not achievable with desktop solutions, according to Mariusz Karwowski, an Android developer at Netguru. Here are some of the specific benefits Karwowski points to:

In-app payments: Mobile apps can improve the customer experience with convenient payment options.
Mobile notifications: Push notifications are a simple way of engaging with your customers, which helps you retain them.
Geolocation: This feature lets you know when customers are near your store so you can offer discounts or coupons to encourage them to visit.
A/B testing: You can test users’ preferences to inform your marketing strategies by presenting different groups with a different user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).

“When your business is missing a mobile application, or even a website adapted for mobile, you are excluding a large group of potential customers,” Karwowski told Business News Daily. “Nowadays, everybody has a personal computer in their pocket, and allowing users to access essential services from their phones should be a high priority.”

Mobile apps can increase sales by offering your customers a more convenient way to browse and shop, allowing them to make purchases from wherever they are. You could even use your app to alert customers to new deals, products and events.

An app can give your business a constant presence on your customers’ phones, offering easily accessible information at their fingertips. Zach Cusimano, chief of staff at People.ai, said this constant presence could improve the customer experience.

‘A mobile-friendly website and a mobile app are precious tools, but they have different purposes’ he said. “Mobile apps are best suited for user retention and engaging with clients. They’re not aimed at random people finding a company’s website but are more about rewarding loyal customers.”

Use of mobile apps

Social media helps you reach a broader customer base 24 hours a day, some of whom may not have been a part of your target audience. Tools such as paid advertisements and user-generated & content can attract potential customers. The potential is always there.

Combining mobile Apps and social media can feed off each other to increase customer satisfaction, revenue, and relevant Data collection, according to Dave Wood, director of global sales and retail solutions at Chetu.

‘If a customer allows a mobile App to access their social media accounts, then relevant data about that customer’s interests can be leveraged by the App’ he said. ‘Conversely, sponsored advertisements from a business on social media can pique a customer’s interest and link directly to their mobile app to complete the sales cycle without ever having to leave their phone’.

The primary obstacle to Apps is reaching out to potential customers and advertising the App with an incentive for them to download it. You can integrate your business’s social media with your App to keep customers informed of any news about your brand or relevant sales offers and news.

A digital brand strategy of having an App is an integral part of building connections with a customer base.

According to Andy Dunn, senior vice president of digital consumer brands at Walmart and co-founder of Bonobos, “These emerging brands have a deep level of connectivity with the consumer,” said Dunn in the Deloitte Insights Tech Trends 2019 report. “It’s all about great products, great customer service, a story told through social media, lots of data and iterative feedback loops.”

The experience creation process is a dynamic feedback loop that turns interactions into insights. By actively using social media throughout this process, you can increase the number of consumer interactions with your brand across various channels, including mobile apps, social media, call centres and app stores.

Mobile apps for businesses provide opportunities for interaction with consumers and Data collection. With features like loyalty programs and push notifications, they can increase revenue streams by prompting increased browsing activity on the App, and engagement lead to purchases.

App vs Business

An App is not going to build a business, it is a tool used by the organisation to build the business.

An App by itself does nothing if it is not used, promoted and offers something to the user.

An App is a self-promoter of your business products and services, that is what an App is really doing. Having a poor product or service will put a potential customer off from downloading or deleting the App.

An App should have an Icon to impress the viewer and make them want to have it on their mobile device.

An App does not sell anything by itself, it is as good as it is designed to appeal to potential customers to have the App.

An App can be a powerful tool if it has (P.R.I.M.E),

The business offers excellent Products and services to the public.
Downloading the App for an immediate Reward.
Has a beautiful Icon.
Have a reliable team for the Maintenance of the App.
Deliver valuable Educated content.

You need to use social Apps as tools, not as the foundation – Candice Kumai

Whilst the idea of having a mobile App is appealing here are some challenges to having an App (P.P.U.F.S):

Power. It demands more battery power with increasing features and the customer is faced with many choices to have even more Apps.
Promote. Promoting the App, the market is already competitive as f now.
Upgrade. It’s not just about having an App, it needs upgrading with new features to meet customer needs and requires consistent maintenance because devices technologies are changing
Finance. It’s costly, one needs to have one for each operating system IOS and Android, and they don’t come cheap.
Security. There is a Cybersecurity aspect to it to meet all the changes.

This list is not exhaustive, there are many other reasons, but the above brings in the reality that nothing is simple and straightforward to execute. It takes many types of resources and desires combined.

Summary

Apps are a must-have with a ‘do-or-die’ for business in the near future.
There is a massive advantage to having an App, engaging with customers and developing a brand.
Help businesses to grow depending on features and interaction with customers.
It comes with the challenges of obtaining one as listed in P.P.U.F.S.
Mobile App is the future.

2.07 WhatsApp Marketing Made Easy (1)