What elements of a mobile app can a retailer use for their strategy to acquire and retain customers?
Source: Usabilla blog
This blog will be discussing various elements of the mobile app, which can be utilized to interact with consumers.
This way of marketing is utilized to create and maintain value, building relationships with consumers by means of their products and services, all in the aim to benefit the organisation (Boone and Kurtz, 2011).
Regarding products and services there are four elements of marketing which can be used to impact your mobile app strategy, and they are; Multimedia product viewing, informative content, product promotions and consumer-led interactions. (Magrath, V. 2013)
Source: alwaysawake.asia
Multi-media product viewing
Is an e-marketing tool which refers to ability to view the products in various presentation methods. Engaging the customer through multi-media features like; video footage, illustrations, photography and audio.
Using the features effectively will enable to the organization to be more imaginative with the way they present their products on the mobile app.
Functions like zoom, rotation and videos for the customer to view the product in any which way they prefer. (Kim et al., 2007; McCormick and Livett, 2012).
This is an opportunity for the organisation to include features which exclusively available to the mobile app, thus drawing focus to the app in the hope to attract new clients and engage existing customers.
Multimedia is excellent for marketing because it is interactive and offers a sensory experience. Providing information whilst remaining enjoyable and entertaining (Gulliver and Ghinea, 2010). Moreover, it can make the content more discoverable, inform and persuade consumers, as well as seeing higher levels of web site activity and involvement. (Simmons, 2007).
Informative content
Informative content can be put into 3 elements of which contribute to informing the consumer regarding the organization’s products and services. Product information, practical services information, trend information. (Magrath, V. 2013)
- Product information is essential for the customers as they can start to understand the product better; colour, function, price, care instructions, sizing availability, texture and fabric. (Kim and Lennon, 2010) This information is imperative to the sale of a product of service, this information creates a mutual trust and therefore increases chances of purchase and reduces risk for customer.
- Practical services information refers to any information which may be of need. For example, the transaction, returns, FAQs, contact information, delivery costs and company policies. (Magrath, V. 2013) This is regarded as a standard requirement and is essential to provide quality and satisfaction.
- Trend information can be portrayed in a way of text or imagery and is an opportunity for the organisation to create inspiration and a sense of pleasure for the consumer, persuading consumers to buy the latest fashion collections (Dawson and Kim, 2010). An ideal way of expressing this information would be with the use of blogs on the mobile app, taking them to a separate section of the app in which they can view photos, videos of these stylish products. (McCormick and Livett, 2012)
Product promotions
“Thirty percent of those surveyed in our research say they’d start using an app again if they were offered a discount toward a purchase, and nearly a quarter of app users would return if they received exclusive or bonus content”. (Tiongson, J. 2015)
So what promotions can you start to think about?
There’s actually five or more significant promotions which can help to your success…
Voucher
- The coupon/voucher method allows you to draw focus to the app as you can make it so customers can only retrieve the voucher if they download or access it via the app.
Incentives
- Incentivizing your consumers, for example buy on get one free or shipping discounts. “Mobile apps can utilise the promotional effects of incentives to persuade consumers to start shopping mobile, like how online vouchers initially persuaded consumers to begin online purchasing”. (Magrath, V. 2013) . Incentives are also an acquisition technique (Chaffey et al., 2009), Therefore this is a good tactic to acquiring new customers as they will be incentivised to download the app.
Rewards
- Rewards Simply refers to rewarding your most loyal customers who purchase often or who have shared content on social media to their friends and family. This type of sales promotion acts as a consumer retention technique (Chaffey et al., 2009).
Discounts
- Similar to vouchers, however these discounts do not require a code. The retailer may choose to put certain items into the discount section, with a percentage slash, e.g. 50 per cent off for limited time. A popular way to use this strategy for the app is to include it in the app newsletter which offers details to sale events or clearances. (Magrath, V. 2013; (Lowe, 2010)
Competitions
- Consumers’ enter competitions to win brand prizes. As their contact details are the entry requirement, competitions are an immediate and persuasive method of obtaining personal consumer details for later direct marketing (Chaffey et al., 2009)
Consumer-led interactions
This is an opportunity for the retailer to influence and give personalized recommendations to the consumer. Once the consumer has entered their personal details the organisaiton may tailor their interactions with each individual consumer, offering them a specific way to resolve their needs. (Vesanen, J. 2007; (Nguyen, B and Mutum, DS. 2012).
You can always use the link below to see the top retail apps, to gain a perspective on how the leading brands set up to market through mobile apps.
Thank you for reading
Guglielmo Fasano
References
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Pautsch, C. (2017). 10 Tips for Creating a Successful Mobile Retail App. [online] The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/creating-a-successful-mobile-retail-app-4119866 [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
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