Companies investing time and money into new and innovative branded apps may seem like a more recent occurrence, but studies such as that by Hinchcliffe (2013) have signalled that these are not only working, but they are here to stay. The last few years have seen the release of many similar papers highlighting the benefits of these apps that incorporate user-generated content as well as calling upon the need for development of mobile strategies to better manage their use and effectiveness.
Multiple articles published in the Journal of interactive marketing (2009 and 2011) have posed that the success of these apps as marketing tools is not only due to their high level of user engagement but studies carried out have found that they have positive persuasive impact and boost brand interest.
The exponential increase in smart phone and app users is all well and good, but what makes a good app and how is this helpful to businesses? Well a paper recently presented at the international conference on electronics and information engineering found that the main motivations and rewards from using an app are:
- Entertainment
- Functionality
- Information
- Socialisation
- Intellectual stimulation
- Following a trend
- Learning
Though to be truly be effective, these criteria must be used in conjunction with the business objectives of companies employing such strategies.
Typically branded Apps have four key goals:
Communication: An app will need to effectively communicate the intentions of the brand as well as any information or products that users are trying to be directed towards.
Customer relationship management: The best performing apps have a high level of engagement with their users and make use of this user-generated content (in the form of posts and blogs). This collection of of user data allows for better analysis and improvement of the app to benefit loyal customers.
Innovation: Original and innovative ideas are crucial for the success of branded apps in a rapidly saturating market. Apps that incorporate user generated content can often keep themselves relevant with little input from the company if done correctly, however they face the risk of irrelevant or spam content if not monitored.
Sales: Many branded apps aim to create completely new and immersive purchasing experiences to increase sales as well as providing a new form of interaction for users. A succesful app will have more utility than traditional methods of purchasing a product, Such as IKEA’s app that allows you to see furniture placed in your own room, or clothing brands such as adidas that allow you to see the item of clothing overlaid the users own image.
These are examples of M-commerce focused apps but these weren’t without their own teething problems. Apps that make use of augmented reality require extensive coding and often struggle to run smoothly and efficiently. For a company to gain maximum utility from incorporation of a branded app, i believe they must make use of user-generated content as well as a more innovative method to make purchases. Examples of this can be seen in Starbucks use of their store locator app that combines with loyalty points, relatively simple concepts such as this are not only easier to run but also incite repeat use of the app throughout the day.
Hinchcliffe, D. (2013). 2013 predictions for enterprise social media. Retrieved January 18, 2013