Yesterday I talked about the rise of mobile marketing — with 72 Million users in the US; a number increasing by 37% a year as more folks get smartphones and tablets. People use their smartphones for everything from searching for a restaurant and getting directions to playing music and games. Increasingly, folks use mobile apps to fill their dead time on the train or waiting at the dentist’s office. Games like Angry Birds and Words with Friends are downloaded on billions of smartphones, while iTune apps and radio apps allow users to listen to music anywhere.
Why You Need a Mobile App
Creating apps is easier and cheaper all the time, based on my conversation yesterday with podcasting and mobile app guru, Scott Paton of Designer Web Solutions. Here’s what he had to say about mobile apps and podcasts.
The reward from well-crafted mobile apps is much greater than internet-based solutions because there’s much less competition and mobile users don’t really want to jump on the internet to get solutions. Increasing bandwidth gives mobile applications legs — providing more opportunities for podcasts and video.
And your business needs an app to connect with on-the-move customers.
Custom Mobile Apps
Sure, getting listed on Foursquare and Google Places is good, and by putting up coupons and other helpful information you’ll increase traffic from these apps, but interactivity is the secret to optimizing a mobile app and these solutions don’t give you that.
Custom mobile apps help develop a relationship with customers that you don’t have with shopping apps. And, you don’t have to fight competitors every time users open the app, like you do in Foursquare.
Custom apps create leads for your business. Find a problem, then step users through until revealing the solution. For instance, a problem might be “How to Build a Better Relationship with your Spouse” — a problem we’ve all faced at some point. Step 1 might be setting aside a time to be alone together, Step 2 might be to listen when the other talks …. until the solution which might involve buying your book on relationship building or signing up for your couples seminar.
You can integrate audio podcasts into your app so that each week users get a new podcast delivered directly to their mobile device. Scott recommends including video trailers as a teaser for the next podcast.
You’re using your mobile app to distribute content much as you would through your blog — except you may only face 4 competitive apps versus 10,000 competitors online.
Making Money From Your Mobile App
Monetizing your mobile app comes through sales of your products, but you can also sell the app. You might offer the first installment free, then charge $.99 for the app. It’s not a lot, but it adds up quickly if you have lots of downloads.
You can also embed advertising in your mobile app. Let’s say you have your marriage advice app. You might also advertise your “Building a Better Relationship with your Kids” app or include an affiliate ad for a couple’s resort.
Look for more from Scott Paton
Check out his website or connect with him on LinkedIN.
Hausman Marketing Letter will feature monthly posts from Scott as part of our new “Advice from the Experts” posts. We’ll also feature posts from other thought leaders in our efforts to keep you informed about cutting edge marketing and social media tactics, tools, and strategies.
Also, be sure to visit “Ask a Marketing Expert” every Friday in the EVENTS tab of Marketing That Works.TV where we bring in experts to answer your marketing questions.
This is very helpful information for up and coming business. I am the current Events and Promotions Director for a new fashion line in DC called IPO Lifestyle. I will definitely be talking to the CEO of the company about creating an app now after reading this. Thanks!
Glad you liked it. I learned a lot from this interview and never thought about the vast potential from creating an app.
This was very interesting. Dr. Hausman do you know if it is possible for everyday people to create a app that is not specifically for a company or do you have to outsource and pay someone to create it? Is it easy to learn how to do? And do you patent your idea for a app before it is created?
KiRa, you have to know HTML, so, no, the average person can’t create one. Anyone can learn HTML, but it takes quite a bit of time and dedication. Often, app programming is outsourced to India or someone local, depending on your needs.
No, you don’t need to create one specifically for a company, like the Aetna app, you can create a general app to do anything you think folks might be interested in.
Dr. Hausman,
Mobile apps are definitely taking over the consumer market, mainly due to their accessibility and convenience for customers. However, can you elaborate on the cost and time that goes into developing a mobile app? Is there always a guaranteed ROI for creating mobile apps? And also, when you refer to ‘mobile apps’ do you mean specifically for the iPhone, or other smart phones such as Android or Blackberry? I ask these questions because I read recently about the costliness that goes into developing apps, and how this factor is often overlooked, along with the specific platforms necessary to successfully build an app for each smartphone.
I’ve never created an app, but during my interview with Scott, he suggested it might only cost a couple hundred dollars — especially since there are lots of folks in India, etc. who can create apps inexpensively.