Mobile Marketing is Center Stage for App Developers

This articles explores how businesses are getting more out of their mobile marketing: more followers, more feedback, more collaboration, more results!

Mobile technology should be considered a powerful catalyst to propel your businesses forward. Demand for instant access to information and services means you are expected to move at the speed of innovation. Your business needs to employ every tool it can to succeed, and mobile platforms offer your organization a way to connect with your clients in new ways (ahead of your competition).

How might mobile technologies add value to your business's current IT strategy? Consider the following:

• Your organization has a considerable investment in legacy applications, many of which hold important historical data. Don't waste time and effort reinventing the wheel when you can create companion applications that will allow you to integrate mobile into existing systems.
• To keep your team working effectively when they are on the road, mobile apps can empower your staff with all the tools they have at their desks when they're away through almost any device -- improving the ability to interact with colleagues.
• Networking with potential clients is simple when real-time communication is possible. Even beyond connecting with people through social media like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, a proper Web presence lets you provide on-demand direct communication to anybody who wants it, anytime they go looking.
• While it's true that an email newsletter can be read on a mobile device, studies indicate that 97% of mobile subscribers will read incoming SMS (text) messages within 15 minutes of receipt (this same study noted that as many as 84% of those individuals will respond within 1 hour). These statistics translate into one thing: engagement. With direct-mail campaigns only able to reach 2 to 3 percent of recipients, evolution to newer methods should be thought of as a must.
• Mobile devices can handle many things in ways previously hard to imagine. For example, consider how many store loyalty cards you have in your wallet, then contemplate how your load could be lightened by accessing them from your always-present smartphone instead.
• Consider how much you appreciate convenience. Could your signature product be delivered using a mobile device? Imagine the cost savings of technologies like mobile ticketing, which eliminates the need to print and mail each item (plus, users love not having to wait, store, and remember to bring along those physical tickets).
• Cooperation is meant for more than just kindergarteners. Smartphones and tablets are well known for their vast library of apps that you might be able to piggyback on, weaving together functionalities. How handy would it be to arrange a meeting with your real-estate agent, take digital delivery of their proposed listings, with direct links to a mapping app – all with no additional effort?

Suggestions like these are just the beginning. Marketing strategy isn't only about advertising, it involves reputation-building and making sure your business appears relevant and current; fortunately taking a mobile-centric approach accomplishes both of these goals.

If your company hasn't started adopting mobile apps yet (or initial attempts haven't been successful), look to Progress® Pacific™ as your platform of choice to build and manage business-propelling applications.