What Is Your Mobile App Strategy?
If you are in business, you should have already asked yourself that question. What is our mobile app strategy? If you are a small business, you need an app and it needs to be on iTunes yesterday. The mobile application revolution has begun. It is like the website gold rush of 1999. If you have a website. You need an app. If you have a small business, you need an app. In some cases, your business may only need an app an not a website. Today's customers live on their smartphone. For most businesses, the customers that are most desirable are the one's that can afford smart phones. These customers expect that they can access basic and important information via their phones.
There are three main platforms for mobile apps. The most well know is obviously the Apple iTunes store. There is also AppMarket for Android with is growing in popularity and Blackberry AppWorld. Most businesses should concentrate on either iPhone or Android if they have a consumer market. Business to business companies should put a focus on Blackberry. "We've seen lots of interest from small and medium sized businesses about app creation," said Peter Klamka President of app developer Cephas Holding Corp. (http://www.cephasx.com) Apps are also now going beyond phones to the tablet market. The popularity of the Apple iPad confirms that this is a large and growing market. Your customers have iPads now too.
A rule of successful businesses is to go where the customers are. Most business owners fail to realize that the customer's phone is always with them. The laptop or the desktop is usually not available. A good app for a small business can incorporate coupons, GPS features directing the potential customer to the business, social networking, and the popular check-ins, and video links to related information. Even free games with a store's link and logo could drive customers. The app should engage the customer but be very respectful of the users time. Some innovative businesses give away apps that are simple shopping lists but have the store logo on the top of all of the lists. This is a simple billboard strategy that keeps a brand in front of the customer at all times. Other businesses have incorporated the camera and video features of smartphones into an app. A clever clothing store has encourage customers to take pictures wearing things from their store and upload them to Facebook and Twitter. The best app strategy for a small business is one that keeps it simple and delivers value quickly and inexpensively to the target customer.
About the Author
DF Webb is an independent writer and martial arts instructor in California. He is also a vegetarian and generally doesn't drink alcohol. He has a banana daiquiri once a year on Fredo's birthday. His website is http://www.twitter.com/dfwebb
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