Mobile Apps – Local Business Marketing
Mobile Apps For Business
Part of marketing for small business today is the consideration of mobile apps. What is a mobile app? App is short for application. An app is a program on your phone or other mobile device that makes it easier to do tasks.
We use mobile apps to email, text, play games, check the weather, read news, track finances, keep a calendar and address book, and to find local businesses just to name a few tasks. Every mobile device uses them and many come free with the device or are free to download from the app store associated with your particular device.
In the last 60 seconds, over 13,000 mobile apps were downloaded from the iTunes store.
An app is not a website. Your small business website is accessible on the Internet from a computer or laptop. It can also be found over an Internet browser app on your mobile device. For best results, your website should have a mobile version designed specifically for Internet access via mobile, but that’s another post for another day.
We’re sticking to mobile apps today.
In the last 60 seconds, there were over 81 iPads purchased.
A mobile app can be free or sold. For small business marketing I suggest your mobile app be a free download. After all, the reason to offer your customers an app, is to make it easier for them to do business with you.
Your local business mobile app can have functions like GPS to provide turn-by-turn driving or walking directions to your location, or calendar functions that keep customers up to date on special events, sales or open houses. Your mobile app can display images, videos or audio messages to engage your patrons. An app can incorporate a customer rewards program and mobile coupons (different from any other coupons you distribute to help with tracking ROI and to encourage users to download the app).
In the last 60 seconds, PayPal took in over $10,000 in payments from mobile devices.
A big feature is push notification. Push notifications give you the ability to push messages directly to the customer’s device rather than an email or text message. These are just a handful of the various features a mobile app can incorporate to make your local business more helpful to your customers.
In the last 60 seconds, over 2,100 people used a mobile device to check-in somewhere local on Foursquare.
What was that? You can’t think of any reason your local business would need a mobile app? What about this:
The restaurant app that displays menus, sends push notifications on specials, takes reservations and has a tip calculator.
The realtor app that displays property listings, has video tours, a mortgage calculator and turn-by-turn directions to the listing.
The yoga studio app that has a standard class calendar and calendar of special events, mobile shopping cart to buy merchandise, appointment scheduler for private lessons and a customer reward “refer a friend” program.
The bed and breakfast app that displays images of the rooms and common areas, takes reservations, shares standard menus and area points of interest.
Get the picture? Name a business, and I can noodle a mobile app that helps you grow.
By the way, in the last 60 seconds, ebay had another 180 purchases occur via mobile device.
You should really consider taking your local business mobile with mobile apps to help your customers get more from your services while being rewarded in the process.
mobile apps