iPhone, Android, Black Berry and Nexus One—what do all of these phones have in common? More and more people are using them, making the market for mobile marketing more of a necessity. Commonly grouped as smart phones, these types of devices opened the door to internet surfing whenever and wherever and business apps to reach new customers.
Retailers in particular are seeing a big surge in how their customers are searching for deals–not only at their own store, but for their competitors as well. According to Compete’s Q3 smartphone intelligence survey the most popular shopping-related activity [on smart phones] is research, with 41% of iPhone users and 43% of Android users likely to check sale prices at competing retailers while out shopping. The second-most likely activity is accessing consumer reviews.
With that said, what can you do as a business owner to update your customers and bring in potential customers or clients? Many businesses are using software to build their own apps. There are many sites out there today who can build an app for your company. Some popular sites are MobileAppLoader, Mobile Roadie, MyAppBuilder, Mother App and Sweb Apps.
Tim Glockner, owner of Glockner Honda Toyota has built an app for his business and has seen good results, “People are busy and this is a convenient way to narrow their search of the perfect car–we can easily push notifications to our iPhone app users and keep them in the know about specials, bulletins, recalls, etc.”
Zvika Ashkenazi, CEO of MobileAppLoader tells us he is seeing businesses such as auto dealers, real estate agents and restaurants to be gaining the most out of these smart phone apps. Because these apps are free for customers to upload, it is a great way to reach your customers and keep your competitors on their toes.
Besides apps, it is a good idea to optimize your website for mobile browsers. There are many different options for beginner and advance web designers. For wordpress.org users who aren’t too familiar with html or CSS WPtouch is a great plugin for your site. (wordpress.com users now can get a similar plugin) For the more experienced designers Mobify offers a great free service as well as a paid plan for more available features.
Because smart phones aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, it is important as an online marketer to stay on top of the latest trends to reach your target audience. Ask yourself if building an app for your business might be beneficial, or optimizing your website for mobile browsers. You could be surprised what these tactics can bring to your company.
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Thanks for your informative article on iphones and apps. I was amazed with the instant responses I received after I used Mobile Ap- Loader for my handwriting services. Now, I am busier with my graphology clientele than I ever believed possible. Nothing like technology to help one’s marketing productivity. Thanks again for your recognition of this industry advance with your research and write-up. Dave