Category Archives: mobile application development

How Your Business Can Create Great Customer Experiences

2016 was a year of big change for marketers. Technologies like chat bots and virtual reality finally made their way into mainstream acceptance and made big waves in the world of marketing. While customer experience has been a hot topic for the past couple years, it looks like 2017 will be the year that most businesses start taking it seriously.

In studies, customer experience has overtaken product and price as the key differentiator to customers. More and more, consumers demand rewarding experiences that meet their needs. Regardless of what medium consumers engage with businesses, they expect a rewarding experience. Because of this, many businesses are contacting web and mobile app developers about improving their digital experiences.

On the other side of the coin, businesses that ignore customer experience will put themselves at a disadvantage when compared to competitors who prioritize it.

Successful companies are right now focusing on customer experience | Photo: Jorge Franganillo (Flikr)

Successful companies are right now focusing on customer experience. Research has found that highly engaged consumers will spend 300 percent more than less engaged consumers and savvy businesses are working to improve their level of engagement with customers.

User experience leaders are using customer data to personalize experiences. From the items a consumer browses for to their past purchases, this information can be used to make their customer experience better. Nearly 60% of marketers in the US plan on increasing their focus on customer retention and loyalty in the upcoming year, will your business be keeping up?

If you are looking to improve your businesses customer experience here are three tips to help you.

Take a customer-first approach

Improving your business’s customer experience requires that you put the customer first. You will want to stop thinking in terms of individual campaigns and start thinking in a customer-first mindset. A customer-first mindset will help you be able to align marketing, product, and service to meet your consumer’s needs.

Regardless of which touchpoint that a customer chooses to interact with your business, the experience should be seamless and focused on meeting their needs. Remember, if you are not meeting their needs they will just choose to go somewhere else. This extends beyond the user experience of your mobile app or website, you will want to change the culture of your organization and put the customer first.

Leverage data

In 2017, brands must be able to deliver contextually relevant content to consumers. No longer will consumers accept one-size-fits-all approaches to digital media. They expect you to know what they are interested in and not to waste their time promoting products or service outside of their preferences. This isn’t difficult to do with the enormous opportunities available with data these days.

You will want to know what a customer may want or need based on past behavior. It also means being able to apply intelligence to their current customer journey to help improve it. By anticipating customer needs you can improve their experience and build strong relationships with customers.

An example of this would be websites and apps that let customers know about other items they will need when making a purchase. If a customer is buying a toy for a child’s birthday, the website or app should suggest any other items that are necessary such as batteries. You can also suggest product re-orders or upgrades at the appropriate times or make product recommendations for appropriate products at just the right time.

Be forward thinking

Not only do you need to think about the customer experiences you are creating right now but you need to think about the customer experiences you will be creating in the future. Are you considering emerging technologies already? Chat bots? Artificial intelligence? Virtual reality? All of these present opportunities for businesses and can help you improve customer experiences.

Pic: http://bit.ly/2lbsXJ4

Mobile App Monetization Trends for 2017

Leave a reply

With the tremendous growth in the popularity of mobile devices, there exists excellent monetary opportunities for app publishers and mobile app development companies in 2017. The app market is growing at a tremendous rate and this provides many opportunities for savvy businesses.

Mobile apps are rapidly becoming the go-to resource for many of the tasks that each of us performs every day. | Photo: TechStage (Flikr)

In a recent report from app store intelligence firm App Annie, it was estimated that app store revenue will more than double between 2015 and 2020 ($70 billion in 2015 to a predicted $189 billion in 2020). Mobile apps are rapidly becoming the go-to resource for many of the tasks that each of us performs every day. From communication to shopping, productivity, entertainment and more, mobile apps are now an important part of our everyday life.

While there are several ways to monetize your application program, here are a few of the ways that are certain to have huge an impact during 2017.

Subscription-based models

Right now both Google and Apple and Google are encouraging subscription-based models. Businesses can utilize these in a variety of ways depending on their app’s functionality and target demographic. Subscriptions are becoming increasingly more popular and currently account for around 15% of all app store revenue.

Subscription-based models are one of the best profit models for mobile apps. By creating a subscription-based model, you can generate ongoing revenue. You are most likely familiar with subscription based services such as Spotify.

Subscription-based models also have the benefit of creating higher revenue per user than apps that follow other models. In a study by VisionMobile, they found that apps that use subscription-based models earn 2-3 times more per user than apps that utilize advertising or charge per download. Subscription-based models also earn 1.5 times more per user than apps monetized by in-app purchases.

We suggest offering a free or discounted trial to users to let users try out your app and help build your user base.

Don’t count out in-app advertising or freemium monetization models

In-app advertising and the freemium model are the two most popular monetization strategies for non-game mobile apps. Currently they account for the bulk of app revenue. Both of these monetization models appeal to users because they don’t require an up-front payment. They are both nice for app publishers because they create ongoing revenue.

With advancements in the quality of ad programs, in-app advertising has become more accepted. This is because many app publishers will apply intelligence to their ad programs and deliver advertising that is targeted, relevant and useful.

Meanwhile, freemium models are becoming increasingly more popular as they allow users to try an app before they pay. This gives publishers an opportunity to capture the interest of users, build trust and engage users before users need to pay.

There are several ways in which you can utilize the freemium model for your app. One popular model involves giving users limited access or usage and then charging when users hit a certain level of storage or usage is met or exceeded. Other options are offering users a free trial period or a limited version for free but charging for extra services or capabilities. Finally, you can combine the two of these and allow users to pay to remove ads.

Pic: http://bit.ly/1MdBFwr

Why Mobile is Important to Your Business

Leave a reply

Unless you are completely out of touch, you have been hearing about mobile marketing. More and more companies are choosing to take advantage of the opportunities it presents. If your business hasn’t chosen to participate, you should look into it or you could be left behind your competitors. There are opportunities that can be started as easily as by calling a web site developer or mobile application development company. Here are 4 powerful reasons why your business should make mobile marketing a part of your marketing mix.

Mobile marketing should be a part of your marketing mix | Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns (Flikr)

Google has made it a priority

If you call a web site development company about mobile for one reason alone it should be this one. Google updated their search algorithms to penalize web sites that are not mobile friendly. Because of this, you should make sure your site is responsive and mobile friendly. On top of search penalties, you should want to provide your customers with the best possible experience with your brand. Nearly 60% of internet searches take place from mobile devices now and you want your brand properly positioned to capitalize on these. Visitors will quickly abandon a site that is not mobile friendly if they are visiting it from their mobile device.

Mobile opens up opportunities

Without participating in mobile marketing you will not be able to leverage all of the opportunities it presents. From geo-location based initiatives to beacons and even augmented reality, mobile opens up a realm of possibilities for your brand. These tools can help your brand be more engaging and effective. Regardless of your industry, there should be an aspect of mobile that can benefit your business.

Mobile allows you to remarket

Remember when it comes to marketing, it can take multiple attempts to reach a customer and potentially more before your brand will resonate with them. If you miss your chance when the user visits your website, you can reconnect on the smart phone. Remarketing lets you show ads to people who’ve visited your website or used your mobile app. If you don’t know what remarketing is, it is when a visitor leaves your website without buying anything, and then to remarket you will try to reconnect with them by showing relevant ads on their mobile devices.

Mobile lets you get personal

Every business wants to get closer to their potential customers. The internet through a laptop or desk top never seemed to provide a particularly personal experience. But smart phones are different. Smart phones are basically individual accessories that consumers carry with them at all time. People feel a very personal connection with their smart phone that you just don’t get with any other media. On top of that, mobile marketing can be a very personalized form of marketing. It allows you to get closer to consumers than ever before through the options for personalization that it provides. This is part of what makes it so powerful when it comes to converting prospects into paying customers.

Pic: http://bit.ly/2e1IGtf

How to Write a Great Description for Your Mobile App

Leave a reply

Mobile phones have a wide variety of great apps to choose from that are designed, programmed and then then uploaded to an app market like the Google Play Store by businesses, individuals and mobile app development companies. With the number of apps available, you need to write a good description that will make your mobile app stand out and be chosen ahead of others in the sea of mobile applications. Let’s look at how to write a great description for your mobile app.

With the number of apps available, you need to write a good description that will make your mobile app stand out | Photo: Răzvan Băltărețu (Flikr)

Features and Benefits

You can start by listing the features of your mobile app one by one and as well as give their benefits and also explain briefly how each feature works. You should use simple language to make sure that the reader can understand.

Write for Your User

It is often a good idea to create a user persona that acts as a guide to who you are writing the description of the app for, it helps you to define the needs and wants of the consumer. You should clearly outline what the application is for and how it can be used to help the user. You should describe what the pros of your app are and how it is superior to other apps of the same nature. Show how your app has outdone them and the advantages it has over them by starting with the most influential and strongest points. As you continue writing, you can include questions that instigate curiosity in the reader. Since most readers don’t read everything, lists can be very effective at communicating features.

Writing the Content

You should have a good grammar and diction in your writing and ensure that it is meaningful and it carries weight. Make sure you choose words that will drive your points articulately and with impact. By doing this, the reader will be interested to read more. You should be brief in your sentences but ensure that you communicate effectively. This can be achieved by choosing words that are meaningful and those that drive your point clearly.

Be Truthful and Give Proof

It is important to write true information about the app and support it with testimonials and statistics. For example, highlight the awards that your app may have won and other places where your app was featured. You can also include reviews that recommended your app and statistics such as the number of downloads of your app.

Call the Reader to Action

After writing the description in impactful language, it is now time to call the reader to action. You should imagine that the reader has ignored the download button so far and you should tell the reader to download your app now.

Final Thoughts

With you description, you should be brief and get straight to the point or you will lose readers. Remember to organize your description very simply including bullet lists. Ensure that the language is easy to understand: you want to avoid technical jargon and make sure you use the correct keywords.

Photo: http://bit.ly/2cjRRlc

Why Your Business Needs to Make Mobile Marketing a Priority

Leave a reply

The age of mobile is here and it is here to stay. Everywhere you look today people are walking around with smartphones in their hands and using them to do everything from texting their friends to checking their emails and playing their favorite games. These devices are no longer just ordinary mobile phones; as a matter of fact they are as powerful as desktop computers with more speed and RAM than most laptops. So whether your business is brick-and-mortar, virtual, or both, you can utilize this marketing tool in some way.

Working with a mobile app development companies is easier and more affordable than you might think. | Photo: TechStage (Flikr)

Participating in mobile marketing is simple to do as well. Working with a mobile app development company is easier and more affordable than you might think. Participating in mobile advertising programs has been streamlined, it is a snap to sign up for and utilize these programs.

In this post, we look at why mobile marketing is important for your business.

Reach a broader audience

Needless to say; many people are not buying or using desktop and laptop computers anymore. Why is this happening? Well, the truth is that with people doing so much on their smartphones and tablets today, they have no need for their bulky desktop computers anymore. For many people, especially those in developing countries, a mobile device is their only handheld computer and their only internet-connected device.

As more consumers use smartphones for many different purposes, you will have the power to reach a broader audience at the exact time and place they are looking for what you offer. Mobile apps give you a direct connection to these consumers on the device that is in the palm of their hand.

Social media advertising

Social media marketing is quickly evolving. In the earlier days, it was reserved only for cutting-edge brands willing to spend extra money for a marketing advantage over the competition. Today, however, as more social media platforms become available, and the number of loyal users exploding, social media advertising is a must have marketing strategy for every business in the world. And because it is less expensive than traditional advertising strategies, you should be part of it. Facebook, for example, commands a bigger audience than any other platform and has powerful tools to assist you in your campaign.

Mobile opens up virtual reality and other endless possibilities

Many exciting technologies like virtual reality advertising have come to mobile devices. And thanks to the advances in mobile technology and availability of inexpensive devices, it is going to change everything. It offers the opportunity to make deep, more meaningful connections with your audience. So, virtual reality is definitely something that mobile marketers should be excited about right now.

Mobile is more personal

Consumers often use their smartphone or tablet as their primary internet source, despite having a desktop computer nearby. This provides evidence for what we already know — mobile devices are naturally more personal than computers or any other device. Your mobile phone is always in your possession and you alone access it. For this reason, mobile marketing allows you to get closer to your customers and prospects than any other form of marketing. Since a mobile device is always near its owner, it will help your business gain credibility and prevent you from losing loyal customers.

Marketing techniques change with the wind and, as a digital marketer, it is usually a full time job keeping with the new trends. There is not a business out there today that could not benefit from a properly managed mobile marketing strategy to reach and engage customers.

Pic: TechStage (Flikr) http://bit.ly/2aMMbmC