In today’s fast-paced disruptive world of technology, customers always seem to be leaps ahead of businesses trying to reach them! As the growth and acceptance of mobile apps sweep over the millennial generation, more and more SMEs in Australia are adopting it as a crucial element of their mobile marketing strategy.
At the same time, this has opened a new door of opportunities for those SME Business owners struggling to get more visibility and increase their customer base, by being on the very screen an average smartphone user checks at least once every hour!
With consumers seeking all sorts of lifestyle services from food delivery to booking a cab, from online shopping to managing their money right from their mobiles, why should your business stay behind?
Let me explain in my signature style using MOBILE as an acronym, as to why apps for small businesses are quickly catching fire and how they can help you grow leads online.
Rather, [bctt tweet=”a mobile app serves as an augmentation complementing your digital presence.”]
With hundreds of websites to compete with in your local area, your chances of getting business are slim. While your competition is still relying on the website to get more business, you can be the first one to ask your clients to download your mobile app and position yourself as leader in your niche! Time to play your
This is how UrbanClap, is helping customers connect with the business of their choice through a single app!
Since mobile apps make it easy, convenient and fast for your customers to reach you at any point in time while on-the-go, this increases your chances of closing more business.
[bctt tweet=”Mobile apps allow users to browse your services with ease and directly place orders through their mobiles devices.”] Not only this but apps can be a great way to allow your SME Business to timely respond to these service requests thereby exceeding customer expectations and enhancing brand image.This is how a local restaurant, BBQ Tonight, has brought its business to the customers pockets with its mobile apps and is getting more leads!
Take off the invisibility cloak. Since now your app is permanently sitting on your customers’ mobile device, (or at least as long as you are providing a good service), [bctt tweet=”mobile apps allow you to get more visibility among repeat clients for your business.”]
According to one marketing rule: hearing or seeing your brand 20 times can actually get you noticed and develops a brand persona on a sub conscious level in the minds of the customers.
As a SME business owner you can use your app to push notifications by directly sending out messages to your customers about service discounts, holiday offers or other deals.
[bctt tweet=”Push notifications when used wisely engages the users in a way that the app becomes part of users’ daily routine. “] However, it should be noted that not all users have the same level of tolerance for notifications, and if overdone, users may end up getting annoyed.Instead, [bctt tweet=”push notifications from mobile apps are about sending the right message, to the right person at the right time. “]
This is how a pizza business and a local SPA are using push notifications to send out targeted deals for their customers.
People like to be heard and so your app can include a customer care section too where your customers can raise their concerns and get useful and timely feedback. Whether your customer is happy with your service or not, a timely-responded customers is a contented customer and probably a long-term customer too.
Below is two ways showing how mobile apps can be used to get valuable customer feedback and improve customer service.
The share button feature in [bctt tweet=”apps allow users to share their experiences about your service with their social network connections.”] The only time this should raise an alarm bell is when your service sucks! For others it’s a great way to collect more referrals and create a social buzz for your business!
Check out below to see how AirBnB is creatively using the power of social to create a buzz!
Conclusion
Now that you have run through the various ways you can use a mobile app for Small Business like yours, you must have realized that they have already become the standard component of mobile marketing strategy for every business.
So where you can start? You have two options:
- Hire a full time in-house app development team, bear overhead and training expenses and put them on the payroll.
- Outsource app development, maintenance and marketing to professional mobile app developers who have a through industry knowledge, a deep understanding of your business and are abreast with the app design and technology requirements.
The decision you make today will define the success or failure of your online business. It’s entirely up to you whether you want to be an innovative leader in your niche or merely a follower!
Who We Are?
At solomoIT, we are a tech savvy team of professionals abreast with technical side as well as the customer side of mobile app development for small business! If you think a mobile app makes good business sense and can help you generate more leads, feel free to talk to us and we’ll me more than happy to help you with app development as part of your mobile marketing goals.