How to Create a Mobile Strategy for Your Business

Smartphones are playing an increasingly larger role in our lives. It’s estimated that around 76 percent of people check their emails from their smartphone and 71 percent use this device to interact with others on social media.  As a result, developing a strong mobile strategy can be a great way to get more people interested in your business, allowing you to increase your sales. Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways that you will be able to do this.

Understand What You Want

The first thing that you need to do is outline your objectives. This should be done before you start working on any other aspect of your mobile strategy. By doing this, you will be able to get a clear insight into what you want to achieve.

Once you have your objectives, write them down. This will give you a set benchmark that you can use to measure your performance against. As time goes on, and the strategy starts to deliver results, make sure to revise your objectives. This will allow you to keep growing your company.

Build A Website

For most businesses, a great website can form the backbone of their marketing. A strong website serves several purposes. First, it gives you a platform that you can use to introduce customers to your business. This is especially important when you consider that 97 percent of people will investigate a company online before they make a purchase. If you don’t have a site, people often won’t consider your organization. Also, as your company grows, you can use the site to generate more sales. For example, you might be able to set up an online store, where people can purchase your products or book your services.

When you are developing your website, there are a few things that you will need to think about. In this case, you need to make sure that it will be responsive. This ensures that it will adapt to the screen that you are viewing the website on. This makes it easy for people to use your site from their phone. Once you’ve set this up, you’ll need to test your site, making sure that it works across multiple devices and screen sizes. It can often pay to have a professional company to help you set-up your website.

Understand Your Competitors

When you are starting to develop your site, you want to start by getting an insight into what your competitors are doing. This can give you insight into which strategies work well in your space, and which ones you should avoid.

You should also look at which services your competitors offer. When done effectively, you should be able to spot and exploit a gap in the market. This can give you an edge, providing a reason for customers to choose your services. It will also help you create something that looks different, making it easier for customers to tell your services apart.

Decide Whether You Need To Have An App

You must decide whether or not you want to be able to offer an app. In this area, there are many pros and cons for you to consider. For example, apps tend to be more expensive. First, you need to develop them, often requiring professional help. Then, you need to spend more money marketing the app and teaching people how to use it.

However, when done correctly, having a mobile app can pay dividends. For example, it will allow you to have more customer engagement with your brand, building brand loyalty.  It can also provide a valuable revenue source, as you get people to make purchases through the app. You can also use the mobile app as a way of promoting your upcoming sales.

If you decide that you want to create a mobile app, make sure to hire a professional designer. They will be able to help you create something that functions well. They will also be able to ensure that it’s compatible with all the different mobile devices on the market.

Link Your App To Social Media

Social media remains one of the best ways for you to connect with an audience. These platforms allow people to congregate and share their opinions. As a result, tapping into this can be a great way for your company to grow. It’s estimated that around 71 percent of people are more likely to purchase if the product has been recommended on social media by their friends.

There are a few ways that you will be able to incorporate social media into your app. For example, you can make it easier for customers to post a review, allowing them to share their reviews with the touch of a button. You might also want to make sure that you make it easy for people to share content on their social media.

You can also use social media marketing to help promote the mobile app. For example, you can make a series of posts on your pages, showing people how to use the app, and promoting its features. In some cases, you might even want to hire some influencers to discuss it. While this can be a great social media marketing strategy, make sure that the influencers you choose are related to your niche.

Send Out Notifications

People have become accustomed to checking their phone for notifications, even if it isn’t ringing or vibrating. They will often appreciate receiving alerts occasionally. This can be a great way for you to promote an upcoming sale, or give them a special discount. You might also want to think about sending them an email with more details.

However, if you are thinking about doing this, you need to make sure that you set some ground rules. You need to make sure that you aren’t sending the notifications too frequently, as this will often irritate your customers. You also need to think about the time that you send them. For example, you don’t want to send them messages early in the morning, potentially waking them up. Finally, you need to make sure that you give them a way to opt-out. In most states, this will be a legal requirement.

Make Using the Mobile App a Rewarding Experience

When designing the app, you need to be thinking about the type of experience that your customer will be having when they are using it. You need to make sure that you make using the app a rewarding experience so that people want to download the mobile app.

There are a few ways that you will be able to do this. For example, you might want to read through social media. This can give you an idea of what people are looking for. You might also want to try conducting a survey. This will give you a more precise idea of what future users will want. If you have the funds, it might be useful to beta test. This is where you give the app to users, so you can see what features they most enjoy using.

Build An Email Marketing Campaign

Just because you have developed a mobile app doesn’t mean that you can stop using traditional marketing techniques like email. These remain one of the best ways to promote your products. There is also some evidence to suggest that incorporating these into your mobile strategy could make the email even more effective. For example, if someone opens the email on their phone, then opens it again on their computer, they will be more likely to follow through on the offer.

You should also make sure that you are optimizing the emails to be viewed on the phone. There are a few ways that you can do this. For example, you might want to have a short subject line. You should also try to make sure that the images don’t take up much space, so they can be downloaded quickly. If sending a message with a lot of text, make sure to break it up, so it’s easy to read on a mobile screen.

Create An Implementation Plan

As we’ve seen, there are a lot of elements that you will need to consider when building your mobile app. As a result, you might want to try and create an implementation plan. This can often include a timeline and a checklist of things that you need to accomplish. This simple tool will allow you to make sure that everything is progressing on-time and on-budget. It will also make sure that you don’t accidentally overlook something.

Conclusion

Developing a strong mobile strategy is one of the best ways for you to set your business apart and grow a stronger connection with your customers. By following a few simple steps, you will be able to develop a mobile app your customers will love and optimize your business for the smartphone age. So, implement some of these strategies today and watch the performance of your business improve.

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