Mobile App vs. Mobile Website (or both?)

Nov. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- When determining any mobile marketing strategy it is important to not only measure your Return On Investment but also your Return On Engagement.  How will you provide a memorable, user-friendly mobile experience that rewards the customer for frequently engaging with you?  How will your mobile campaign assimilate into your target audience’s world and become equally impactful in the lives of their friends and family?

Let’s examine both strategies keeping in mind that neither solution alone is perfect to reach all of your customers and the answer comes from carefully listening to your customers.  A recent IBM Global CMO strategy, stated seventy percent of the marketers surveyed said they feel incapable of analyzing and responding to the glut of data available about their consumers.  An alarming statistic, but an important insight to take note of.  How can you build out any marketing strategy without understanding the needs and wants of your customers?  Your data holds the key for creatively experimenting with interactive mediums based on the insights it provides.

A mobile website will certainly allow consumers to shop on-the-go, access product reviews, etc. but an app can heighten the user experience for loyal customers.  An app is an excellent way to reach loyal customers who want to interact with you on a regular basis and a fuller experience than just a mobile website.  For instance, the app can allow consumer to earn points by checking in, sharing an experience on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, foursquare and Google, identify local stores, neighborhood events, and local dining areas, pick up products in-store, have them delivered anywhere and deliver rich media content to highlight seasonal trends, promotions, downloadable rewards catalog, add an item into their shopping cart by shaking their phone, etc. The retailer could take the idea one step further and add a gaming component rewarding consumers with points through scavenger hunts.  Some marketer’s worry that a customer’s interaction with an app may take a tumble after the customer’s first experience with the app or even after a month, so how will you re-engage customers and find new ways to heighten their senses?  The answer lies in push notifications.  Push notifications are sent out to your users with a short message providing relevant messages and key reminders of why your app peaked their interest in the first place.  The best part about push notifications is that the user controls how often they are notified and which notifications they would like to receive.

Loyal customers will provide you with valuable and actionable insights you need to develop marketing strategies that increase ROI and ROE.  Your loyal customers are your brand advocates and expect to you to provide a rich experience that moves beyond a basic mobile website.  The search should not be for the silver bullet in mobile marketing which will leave you with overspent budgets and frustrating returns. The search should be how do you deliver intrinsic value that begs your customers to ask for more.

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Destination Interactive helps businesses create engaging customer experiences using email marketing, mobile marketing, & business blogging to drive social media acquisition.