The Mobile Landing Page

November 5, 2013 , , , ,

landing

Landing pages allow marketers and business owners to direct customers to a specialized page geared toward a certain goal. Online store owners, for instance, might direct customers to a sales page or a preorder form for a new product. The pages themselves offer room for very tight customization and focus. Since there is only one goal on most pages, it is much easier to optimize for conversion towards that goal.

The issue in most of these cases is the ability to effectively drive customers to that page. Due to the nature of page testing, it is difficult to optimize unless there is a steady stream of traffic to that page. Fortunately, mobile apps offer a convenient way to direct highly targeted customers to your landing page or even to a deal that will result in a direct transaction.

Once a customer has downloaded your app, you can send a message out through push notification to instantly reach everyone who has enabled notifications. They are a fantastic way to cut through the clutter and get eyes on your page. Apptive offers two modules geared specifically towards this purpose through our Deals and Messages modules. Ecommerce customers who include one or both of these modules in their apps can instantly enable highly targeted interactions with their customers.

The Other End of the Funnel

March 5, 2013 , , ,

Tornado in the late evening sky

Businesses often refer to their customer acquisition activities as taking place through a marketing and sales “funnel”. Most of these activities take place at the top of the funnel, with awareness and promotional materials leading to various forms of communication and engagement. After all of this activity, the customer is hopefully hooked, resulting in a sale.

The question, then, is where does a mobile app fit in the the funnel? Due to the inherently versatile nature of a mobile app, the truth is it can actually fit anywhere in the process. Speaking from the perspective of apps created through Apptive, our modules allow for everything from social communications to one-click sales. However, mobile apps may actually have the most benefit from a company a the other end of the funnel, that is to say, once a customer has already been acquired.

Mobile apps provide a direct link between a customer and a business that is unmatched by any other engagement stream. Once a customer indicates trust in your business by both purchasing a product and actually downloading your mobile app, you have the opportunity to reach out and facilitate a long-term relationship that will create a strong sense of brand loyalty. It is common knowledge that it is far easier to sell to existing customers. By approaching your customer base through an app that lives directly on their smartphone you position yourself to take full advantage of this reality in an increasingly mobile society.

Role of Apps in Customer Acquisition and Retention

April 6, 2012 , , ,

Print

Consumers will download more than 66 billion mobile applications per year by 2016, more than double the 31 billion apps installed in 2011, according to a new forecast issued by Juniper Research.

The Juniper report contends mobile apps will play an increasingly crucial role in brands’ customer acquisition and retention strategies. “Consumers are now demanding 24/7 access to services–retail, financial, information, entertainment–wherever they are,” said report author Windsor Holden. “As a result, brands that wish to remain competitive have turned to apps as part of a integrated multichannel distribution system: they have become a critical mechanism to increase engagement and reduce churn.”

This notion expressed by the Juniper analyst is as relevant for local and small to medium size businesses as it is for large national and global brands. This thesis is at the heart of the Apptive EasyApp platform and is why we developed it for digital service providers. Enabling clients with mobile apps is strategically important to them remaining competitive, but currently it’s expensive and complex to get them there. We’ve developed an easy, fun way to achieve this goal while still providing the flexibility to create a totally custom app.

For clients, getting an app these days is equal parts a defensive and offensive consideration. It’s defensive in so much as, if a potential customer is doing a search on mobile and a competitor has an optimized mobile presence that is easy to interact with and you don’t – who do you think the customer is going to choose to do business with? They will choose the path of least resistance. An app can be an offensive play because smartphones offer such unique and powerful functionality that apps can take advantage of to create real time business opportunities, increase customer loyalty and so much more.

Ok, that’s all I’ve got for now – check back soon!