If you’re thinking about developing an application for iPhone, Android application or an iPad application, your potential audience is massive and growing at an accelerating rate. Individual smartphone users across the globe will have downloaded 98 billion mobile apps by the end of 2015 according to a recent estimate by Berg Insight. And while this is encouraging news regarding usage, it also points out that it is more important than ever to carefully develop mobile applications that will stand out in the marketplace and stay on your users smartphones.
One of the key attributes and considerations that we tell our clients when discussing mobile application development is that they need to do more than just market a business. While this often seems to be a driver to build mobile applications, it’s far from the only one. You should consider functions such as customer service, a tool to augment your product line or simply providing your customers a mobile application of value that they will utilize regularly. This way your app is something that they will interact with regularly, this isn’t necessarily the case with apps that exist solely to promote. Consider all aspects of your business and goals and then develop an app strategy that actually supports those goals and works inline with them.
The second idea that we always tell clients is that an app should deliver value. Even if it’s free, the app needs to give the user a reason not just to download it but to actually use it. Reasons will vary by business and industry–giving you lots of opportunities to be creative. You know your customer, see that they will get some value from your app. If you do they will appreciate it and use your iPhone or Android application.
Finally, have a plan to get the word out. Just like with your website, a mobile application won’t just magically find an audience. They need to be marketed like any other part of your business. This could be as simple as a sign in a physical retail location, links from an emails or your website, or a mention that you have iPhone, iPad and Android application on your print marketing materials. Remember that apps are hip and new, people want them and it very easy to get people to download them if you let them know that you have an iPhone application, iPad application or Android application available.
If you don’t know it yet, smartphones are no longer just about making phone calls, smartphones and the variety of mobile applications that they are host to are all about about being connected in a variety of ways. Email, sms, mobile applications, Facebook, and Twitter are just a few of the ways. This trend is rapidly changing the face of marketing and advertising and if you aren’t at least researching how you can leverage the power of mobile applications, you are in danger of being left behind your competition.
One of the key reasons we promote iPhone applications, iPad applications, Android applications and native applications for other mobile systems are the superior response rates mobile marketing campaigns achieve. This gives you superior ROIs on your advertising dollars. Mobile marketing/advertising is far superior to that of traditional online campaigns with response rates that are often twice to 10 times higher according to an Opus Research report. In terms of ROI, that’s truly a staggering number that should not be ignored.
On top of the response rate one should consider the incredible growth in this market. Smartphones and mobile applications have a large and rapidly growing audience. According to a recent study by CTIA, there are more than 300 million mobile phones in the U.S., which is almost equal with our current population. Worldwide, there are more than 5 billion mobile subscribers and the rate of adoption for mobile is incredible, especially when compared to the current rate of growth for personal computers. Establishing your brand with quality build mobile applications now can pay off huge dividends for years to come as you can gain some serious leverage over your competition.
Smart phones are the one device that gives you constant access to your clients and potential consumers. Mobile phones are constant companions to modern consumers and provide an almost unlimited amount of ongoing content. Regardless of location or time of day, you can be available to your consumer base with an effective mobile application. In fact, 75% of people polled never leave home without their mobile phone (CNBC). You don’t see anywhere near those kinds of numbers with laptops or any other form of media.
Another big plus for content delivered via mobile device is that unlike with traditional methods of marketing/advertising, such as direct mail, online banners and e-mail, mobile campaigns are based on an opt-in or expressed user actions like browsing or downloading an application. As a result, consumers are significantly more likely to be engaged and responsive to your message. This is not something you find with other forms of media, as emails are regularly quickly deleted and ads in magazines or on tv are simply ignored.
Finally, smartphones give users the wonderful ability to personalize their device. This creates a real sense of attachment and ownership. Mobile phone numbers are tied to a person, where an internet connection is not. Demographic, geographic and device-type information tied to a mobile number gives you the ability to create highly personalized campaigns that will achieve remarkable results.
Massive online retailer Amazon is taking a bold step with its new Android-powered tablet that massively undercuts the majority of competing tablets with an introductory price of $199. This bold step could dramatically impact the tablet market and further push the importance of applications for Android tablets.
On top of a dramatic pricing move, the Kindle Fire will offer an “incredible selection of digital content” that includes:
Amazon looks to soon be a major player in this market and could make a major contribution to pushing the already meteoric growth of the Android powered devices and the market for custom Android applications.