The smart
phone and tablet market is huge - over a billion handsets are in operation
around the world and its growing, very fast.
In
every coffee shop, street, train or at a gig you will see dozens of people
totally absorbed in these little devices.
Game Changers
It’s changing the way that people engage with their world. The traditional
model of people sitting at home or at work with a PC or Laptop and a large
screen is rapidly changing. Mobile is gobbling up market share and its
already about 35% of all web traffic. PC isn’t going away, but its domination is being challenged, and fast.
On
these devices are ‘Apps’. Mobile Applications are little computer programmes
that integrate with the features on the phone. Games (Angry Birds, Candy Crush),
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter), Photo App’s (Instagram) are the big
categories. And the market is worth £Billion’s.
So what does this mean for business?
There
is an incredible opportunity. In almost every pocket of exactly the kind of
people you want to target is a mobile phone that you can put your App on.
The trouble
is that traditionally the cost of development has been way beyond the budget of
most businesses.
Opportunity
Pockit
World is changing that concept. We can develop a mobile app’s for your business
and it can be for about the same price as a small one-off media campaign,
leaflet campaign or website launch.
But it’s
not right for everyone. You have to be careful not to treat your customers like
walking Classified Ad’s. You need to interact and engage your user base with
your brand, promotions and useful information that they will be happy to give
up a little bit of space on their most cherished gadget.
ANY business could have an app developed for it. However,
the App will flourish in some markets over others. so here we feature the Top 10 reasons
that will help you decide if your business needs to join the mobile world. You
don’t have to check all 10, even 1 will do. Have a read….
1. Loyalty
Plenty of businesses have repeat visitors, members,
students, subscribers, fans. This frequent engagement makes an app a very useful
tool to use for bookings, advertising availability and getting bums on seats. The list is huge. Bars,
Clubs, Gyms, Restaurants, Schools, Sports Teams, Churches, Cinema’s, Theatres,
Garages, Shopping Centres, Visitor Attractions and Theme Parks, Taxi’s firms, Crèches,
Spa’s, Hair and Beauty Salons, Therapists Doctors, Bands, Museums…..
2. Promotions
Offers, discounts and promotions are fantastic content for an app. “Happy Hour”,
“10% off ", “Early Bird”. Think about it - you are a restaurant sending a promotion out on a slow Tuesday afternoon just about the time people are making their meal decisions for the evening. An app is perfect for Advance Bookings, Reservations, when prices change quickly (Currency Exchange for example) then the app can
engage much faster than a passive website as it is so quick to change and send out a Message alert.
3. Members
For a brand that promotes itself
on behalf of third parties an app is a great way to give added value and it is a
fantastic extra promotional tool with an eager and ready-made audience!
Associations, Unions, Events, Sports Clubs, Exhibitions, Conferences, City Guides,
Festivals, Shopping Centres and Business Networking Events all want to engage
users on behalf of their members or clients. Often these brands that can
attract advertising partners and sponsors onto their platform to make the
project zero cost which is a huge added bonus.
 |
| Exhibitions, Events, Festivals are great for Mobile App's |
4. Competition
Does your business have a lot
of competition amongst peers? A busy marketplace for plenty of professions
may have you struggling to get noticed amongst the crowd. A mobile would do
just that. Search for "Personal Trainer
Leeds" on the app store. In early 2014 there was just one result – for our app!
Use your app with enquiry forms, Social Media, camera, event and Messaging
functions to create a buzz about your brand. Estate Agents and Lettings,
Recruitment, Financial, Legal services could all benefit. In the Leisure sector
restaurants, bars, clubs, venues, theatres can all have plenty of good fun and
interaction with their customers.
5. Leader
In every sector there are brands
with a vision, enlightenment and they stand out with how they present themselves
and their services. Catching the wave of mobile ahead of the pack would add so
much value to that. Mobile is extremely current, fresh and, dare we say, Zeitgeist.
6. Social
A brand that is active on
social media channels, in its community and market and can promote the app to its
audience will ensure the app is a fantastic addition to its tools. Not only
will you have the experience and the savvy but also the people to make it
happen. Events, festivals, bands, football clubs have ready-made engagement
waiting to happen. Bars frequented by students, popular venues, attractions can
all take advantage. On the other hand you will also know how quickly a Tweet can fall down people’s
feeds, how slow it can be to build up followers and how hard Facebook is making
it to “reach” people without paid assistance. With an app you can put on content that each
customer, visitor and fan is going to need to download and you can break that
barrier between you and your users in a way that websites, Social Media and print
advertising just can’t.
7. Demographic
Smartphone use is more almost everywhere
but the habit of downloading an app and using it is going to be in the younger rather
than the older side of life. Think about your customers and how they behave but don’t
underestimate - there are plenty of perfectly capable Silver Surfers out there!
8. Events
Its simple. If you have regular
events, schedules, line-ups, workshops, meetings, seminars, gigs, shows,
fixtures……an app is a perfect platform to use to communicate directly with your
users. Integrate your event directly with the phone's calendar and you are away!
9. Temporary
We love to create “Disposable”
Apps! Let us explain…
Its the first day after arriving at a new hotel or resort and you've just put the
suncream on when your better half says “Can you pop to reception to find out
what time the Kid’s Club starts?” Some of these places are huge and they
have just the one notice board which means you clock up a few miles in your flip-flops. They also probably have Free Wifi. This is a
wasted opportunity.
Beyond the Hotel, Resort or Campsite there are loads of times when you go somewhere and need to access lots of information in a short space of time. After you leave you can delete the app. Festivals, Exhibitions, Launches, Conferences, City Guides, Attractions, Theme Parks, Museums, Shopping Centres, Tourist Information, it’s a huge list. In the past the cost of building an app made the idea of a temporary one too painful. Now it’s easy, and a very good idea.
10. Image
So there you have it, that about covers it for us. Plenty of businesses can take advantage and flourish with a mobile app. What do you think?
Leave a comment, drop by and follow us on Twitter @PockitWorld or send us an email to theteam@pockitworld.com
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