Is there a smart phone app in your marketing plans? And have you asked yourself, why is there a smart phone app in my marketing plan?
There’s no doubt that smart phone app fever is at epidemic levels. Advertising and marketing professionals are reporting wide-spread outbreaks in the client population.
The first sign is usually an email or text message from the client that has a link to news about the app that their competitor just released. The diagnosis is confirmed at the next meeting with the question, “why don’t we have an iPhone app?”
The tell-tell sign of app fever is the use of the term “iPhone app”. This shows that the fever has blinded the client to “what value is this to my customer and how many of my customers actually have smart phones (not just iPhones).”
A strange variant of app fever is CEO app fever. Your CEO may be vulnerable if he/she is exposed to other CEOs that have already caught the fever and are prone to showing off by informing all those around them that they just launched “one of those iPhone apps”.
OK, I’ve just about worn out the app fever metaphor. So I’ll back up a bit and say that beyond our current obsession with smart phone apps, apps are here to stay and they will live side-by-side with other mobile channels and functionality.
That said, let’s get down to the promise in the headline, the 4 reasons why you, your company or your client should invest in a smartphone app.
1. It provides your customer a tool or utility that resides on their smart phone and provides value. That value can be information, convenience or functionality. Start with ‘how can I help my customer?’ and then ask ‘how does this help my brand?’. If it doesn’t do both, walk away.
2. You are able to create a fun game that carries your company brand and engages your target market. It can be a complex game or something very simple. Don’t think ‘game’ think ‘advergame’.
3. Your app is one element in an integrated engagement or promotional campaign that drives engagement and traffic through multiple channels. Make it a piece of the puzzle that adds up to engagement and sales.
4. Your smart phone app will deliver content or functionality in a mobile environment that can’t be delivered any other way. This can be informational or entertainment, but is must be compelling content that, again, creates engagement and drives sales. Keep in mind, you can sell content.
So, if you can’t put your app idea into one of these four buckets then you need to put it in the trash can and refocus on marketing initiatives that truly engage customers and drive sales.
And if you still think you have to have an app, or your client thinks they have to have an app, or your CEO thinks they have to have an app…read this.
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Nice post Ken. This app fever could also be turned to the social media scene as a “social media fever” or “Twitter fever” etc. There’s the “I’ve heard that we need to be there, but what the hell are we supposed to do there?” dilemma.
And try dare to explain after that that “OK, you have to change your processes of thinking and doing things”.
Very true Marko. We now see client after client who has launched a Facebook presence with very little consideration on how it will contribute to their overall marketing goals, much less a well-planned strategy on how to maximize the channel.
And as you alluded, they’re still in the whole ‘push’ marketing mindset. Still not understanding what true customer engagement means in today’s connected world.