An App is Just the Tip of the Mobile Iceberg

With 72% of U.S. adults using a smartphone, mobile technology is changing the way that brands connect with their customers. Most brands have started to roll out a mobile strategy that utilizes an app. The average smartphone user has around twenty-seven apps on their phone, but studies show that most users spend 80% of their smartphone usage on just five apps. What are the odds that your app would be one of those? That leaves only 20% of their usage time for apps outside of those five, meaning your app is competing with over twenty apps for the user’s attention.

The good news, a mobile strategy goes far beyond just your mobile app. By utilizing a full mobile strategy your brand can get to the forefront of your customers’ minds. So, beyond a mobile app, what other elements of a mobile strategy can your brand implement to engage customers and motivate them to come into your store?

1. Make web pages and emails optimized for mobile. While not everyone will download your app, customers will still go onto your site or check out your emails. If you are not using responsive web pages and emails, then those customers are not receiving a good customer experience and may get turned off from your brand. Make sure you have responsive web pages and emails so customers can be notified of promotions you are running, check out their reward program status, and search for store locations.
2. Be where your customers are – on social media. Most mobile users are on some form of social media, and most often one of those five apps that they spend 80% of their time on is a social media app. Your brand needs to connect with customers on the platforms they use the most. By adopting a social strategy your customers will have another platform on which to engage with your brand, the ability to share your content, and refer their friends to your brand.
3. Start using SMS messages. If 72% of U.S. adults have a smartphone, that leaves 28% that do not. The good thing about SMS messaging is the capability to connect with everyone even if they do not have a smartphone since all mobile phones have access to SMS messages.

A mobile app alone is not a mobile strategy. There are many aspects of a mobile strategy that can take your brand’s efforts to the next level – delivering a significant impact. Mobile is a huge space with many different avenues to engage and encourage customers to come to your store. Learn more about adopting a complete mobile strategy by watching “Exploring the Mobile Platform: Why Apps are Just the Tip of the Mobile Iceberg.”