How to create an app to engage with your customers like never before!
Have you ever asked yourself, how can I connect and transact with my clients and customers in real-time? There’s got to be a better way than trading emails, missing phone calls, or depending on a website to do the heavy lifting. The answer might be right in the palm of your hand. Maybe your business needs a mobile app.
Address customers’ needs and wants, increase direct communication, and improve brand experience with a mobile app for your business.
Today, small to medium-sized companies are jumping on the bandwagon and finding creative mobile solutions that are turnkey and affordable.
Creating an app for your business is much simpler than you think.
Enhanced engagement
First, the need for new ways to market and engage with your audience or customer is paramount. Remember you’re competing with a lot of noise out there.
A website alone isn’t good enough anymore. However, when you combine it with a mobile app, it will change the landscape of how you interact and engage with your customers.
Mobile apps offer a variety of robust features that encourage direct interaction and engagement.
Whether you’re a trainer offering workout tips, a charity trying to elevate mission and fundraise, or a real estate company letting commercial or residential space, an app gives you the freedom to choose which products or services to promote and where to promote them inside your app. An app gives you myriad opportunities to gain new customers and strengthen relationships with existing customers.
A brand’s mobile experience is the cornerstone of the customer relationship. The growth in mobile phone usage and the sheer volume of apps — over 2 million — are both clear indicators that customers live on mobile. Treating your branded app as a core customer experience, not an appendage, is key.
Direct marketing and reach
Second, companies are always looking to stand out from the crowd and find new ways to promote themselves. The device sitting in everyone’s pockets can help set your brand apart.
A mobile app create a free and clear channel to market your brand to 100% of your audience. Gone are days of relying on social media to be your communication platform. Cultivating a captivated audience in-app ensures that every message gets delivered 100% of the time.
Popular social media channels are busy and saturated. It’s easy for someone to miss your post amid the noise, even if it is promoted and targeted. This is not true with mobile apps because you control your branded messaging all the time.
Facebook ads and promoted tweets cost money. While you might reach a wide audience if your customers like and share your posts, it’s important to weigh the cost of promoted posts vs. in-app promotions, which cost nothing.
Push notifications
Third, imagine having the ability to poll customers about what products or services they like best, then instantly following up with a link notification that goes straight to that product. Pretty powerful.
Having the power to push notify your audience is a game-changer. You can capture their attention at just the right moment, rather than having your message sitting in their inbox and hoping it doesn’t get deleted.
Once you have their attention, you can send them where you want them. You have the ability to drop messages straight into your app steering to a specific action or act on an irresistible offer.
The average American checks his or her phone 47 times a day? That’s about once every half hour during waking hours. Even more incredible is that 77% of 25-34-year-olds check their phone in the middle of the night.
Push notifications are a potent marketing tool if used right. Broadcasting special offers that you know your customers will like, or announcing a message you know they are waiting for makes you a trusted source. But, pushing out useless messages that don’t resonate can quickly turn you into persona (or company) non grata.
Customer loyalty
Fourth, a mobile app can change the way people shop and interact with businesses, brands, which is why all types of companies are jumping on the bandwagon.
Retaining customers is critical because finding new ones can be difficult, expensive and time-consuming. Restaurants, retailers, salons, fitness centers all depend on loyal customers and repeat visits. A branded app is the perfect way to retain customers, drive brand loyalty and reward that loyalty with exclusive benefits.
Brands recognize that repeat customers often spend more per visit. Providing an incentive for customers to return to your business can dissuade them from heading to a competitor. Use things like points, tokens, discounts, coupons, cashback, and gift cards to keep customers coming back.
Digitizing loyalty programs makes the user experience simple and quick. It makes it possible to reward customers in-app with points instead of using point-collection cards. Users can instantly redeem their points for products, experiences, and virtual goods.
When asked, 72% of consumers said that the most valuable feature of a branded app is loyalty benefits. Another 66% said that the most valuable feature of a branded app is exclusive access to sales, events, limited edition products, or services. (AppAnnie)
Apps make it simple for companies to segment audiences using analytics and insights gathered during actions performed in-app.
Imagine running in-app surveys or trivia challenges that can pinpoint responses right down to a group or individual user. This allows for thoughtful ways to personalize the customer experience.
Increased revenue
Finally, your app needs to give your audience a reason to use it and transact on it.
Starbucks’ mobile app allows users to order right from their phones and pick up orders at the store. The company entices customers to use the app as a way to skip the line to get their coffee. Anyone who frequents Starbucks will see the value in that.
When customer satisfaction increases, sales will follow. In fact, according to SalesForce, 70 percent of buying experiences are influenced by how customers feel they’re being treated.
The more interested and pleased people become with your product, business or brand, the greater consumer demand will be.
Mobile apps can significantly increase your company’s profits. With promotions, discounts, bonuses and push notifications, you can motivate customers to engage and purchase. You can directly contact all users who have installed your app and even send a special offer to customers who are in close proximity using geolocation technology.
When it comes to maximizing mobile conversions, constant engagement is the name of the game. Research shows that placing fewer barriers between users and the point of conversion increases the likelihood of a conversion.
This means your app should focus on creating fast, seamless transitions to offer a call to action and promote engagement at every turn.
Mobile apps provide an opportunity to drive a very intimate and deep relationship with your audience. They help to engage with them with very personalized, relevant and targeted communications, in turn, building strong brand loyalty and customer retention.
