How can small organisations, with limited resources, develop a sustainable mobile application?

Businesses of all sizes are under increasing pressure to provide users with a mobile app. Despite high mobile usage, development of mobile phone apps by professionals will incur a huge cost (Zhang et al., 2014).

It’s important that small businesses consider potential costs at all stages of mobile app development, including the publishing platform.The costs were US $25 per annum for an account with Android Play, but US $300 per annum for an account with the iTunes store (Zhang et al., 2014). Conversely authors Pathan and Khairnaret (2014) focus on the cost of programmers; many small organizations do not have human resource and cannot support costs for hiring programmers or tech-support. Tao and Gao (2016) believe that testing a mobile application is the most expensive stage of development. According to feedback from test engineers, construction of mobile test environments still involves high costs and levels of complexity (Tao and Gao, 2016). Research predicts that revenue from such testing, will rise from, 200 million in 2012 to 800 million by 2017 (ABI Research, 2012).

Small businesses often have to fully outsource mobile app development, incurring in high costs. Online web-based mobile app builders remove contact with a professional in order to save outsourcing costs, using a formatted, pre programed interface. Graphic user interfaces will help in the integration of text-based content, videos, questionnaires, and other multimedia features; integration of content is simple (Zhang et al., 2014). All users have had to do is select the appropriate interactive feature and then key in the relevant information (Zhang et al., 2014).

Another method of sustaining a mobile app in a cost effective manner is content management systems. Systems of this type use applications to enable the mobile app to be managed through a user friendly interface (Pathan and Khairnaret, 2014). Authors Pathan and Khairnaret (2014) state that these systems are specifically designed to enable non-technical users to add fresh content or to modify contents in an real-time manner. Figure 1 shows how authors Pathan and Khairnaret (2014) have interpreted the workflow of a sustainable content management system for a small business.

Figure 2 below illustrates the four main methods used to test mobile applications. Author Tao and Gao (2016) believes cloud-based mobile testing offers a promising and cost-effective way to meet testing needs.


Figure three below displays the processes involved in mobile testing for both native and mobile web applications (Tao and Gao, 2016):

Many academics and theorists believe mobile app sustainability is down to content and relationships. Authors such as Bellman and Bhattacherjee argue that if app content positively influences a user, repeat business will occur through that channel. Positive experience creates stronger intention to use the online channel again (Bhattacherjee, 2001). Hsiao, Chang and Tang (2016) are aligned with these views but focus on the actions of the user in behaviour and reward in order to develop “habit”. Successful mobile app breakthrough is based on motivations of behavioural outcomes no matter the size or resources of an organisation (Yang and Peterson, 2004).  

Grewal et al., (2016) Mobile Advertising Effectiveness Framework, shown below, can be applied to a mobile app strategy, targeting the “re-purchase” element of “ad goals” through consistent use of a mobile app. A focus on awareness/engagement can deliver the outcome metric of “behavioural” “loyalty” and “Digital WOM”, all areas key for small business growth.

Kannan & Hongshuang (2016) Digital Marketing Framework provides an alternative to the Mobile Advertising Effectiveness Framework. This framework focuses on a mobile app initiative and the link created between environment/platform and a company product/service to ensure mutual value.

 

An example of finance surrounding “low cost” online app builders is shown below:

 

Mobile app developers, targeting small businesses:


For more information
on mobile app development within small businesses:

  • https://www.biznessapps.com/
  • https://tinyurl.com/lsltwo4 – Guardian Guide

Want more content? – Check me out on Twitter – @RyanDukeBBS 

References: 

Abiresearch. (2012). Mobile Application Testing Market Boosted by Growing Demand for Automation. [online] Available at: https://www.abiresearch.com/press/200-million-mobile-application-testing-market-boos [Accessed 6 May 2017].

Bhattacherjee,  A. (2001), Understanding information systems continuance: an expectation confirmation model, MIS Q., 25 (3) (2001), pp. 351–370

Grewal, D., Bart, Y., Spann, M. and Zubcsek, P.P., 2016. Mobile advertising: a framework and research agenda. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 34, pp.3-14

Hsiao, C., Chang, J. and Tang, K. (2016). Exploring the influential factors in continuance usage of mobile social Apps: Satisfaction, habit, and customer value perspectives. Telematics and Informatics, 33(2), pp.342-355.

Kannan, P.K., and Hongshuang ‘Alice’ Li. (2016) ‘Digital Marketing: A Framework, Review and Research Agenda’. International Journal of Research in Marketing, December. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.11.006.

Pathan, S., and Khairnaret, R. (2014). Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications Vol. 4, Issue 3( Version 1), March 2014, pp.812-815

Tao, C. and Gao, J. (2016). Cloud-Based Mobile Testing as a Service. International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, 26(01), pp.147-152.

Yang, Z. and Peterson, R. T. (2004), Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: The role of switching costs. Psychol. Mark., 21: 799–822. doi:10.1002/mar.20030

Zhang, M., Cheow, E., Ho, C., Ng, B., Ho, R. and Cheok, C. (2014). Application of Low-Cost Methodologies for Mobile Phone App Development. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2(4), p.e55.

 

How can I utilise SEO & Links to increase my website’s distinguishability?

In the growing Digital age, it is increasingly important for businesses to stand out in online search and website content. In total, 92 percent of Internet users search, with 59 percent doing so on a regular basis (Young et al., 2017). SEO and backlinks are common approaches to increasing traffic, but only when utilised effectively do they distinguish a business. This blog post aims to critically discuss how your website can distinguish itself online focusing on SEO and links.

Many websites use paid advertisements in an attempt to increase links/distinguishability; research has shown that only 6 per cent of people click on Google ads rather than ‘organic search’ results (Samuel, 2013). Organic search results are free and appear every time. Paid ads may make your website stand out in the short term but long term investment in SEO can lead to long term effects on ranking and distinguishability.

Building relationships, digital communities and effective PR, could ensure greater inbound links. Author Samuel (2013) states that the functionality of the internet is based on links between websites, therefore cementing the importance of developing links. An ‘inbound’ link from a very important website will be followed by Google’s robots more frequently than a link from a more obscure site as this shows Google that the website is interesting to a ‘trusted’ source (Samuel, 2013). Smaller website’s such as Online Squash Coaching Provider, SquashSkills.com, could look to establish links with large players in the sports industry such as clothing sponsors, affiliated governing bodies and professional athletes in order to build these links and distinguish their website from competitors.

Author Palmer (2011) discusses content and its importance in creating backlinks and digital word of mouth. It’s clear that building links through engaging content can lead to higher page rankings and stand out marketing campaigns. Link building is a key part of search engine optimization, because Google and other search engines count the number and the quality of all inbound links pointing to your website (WM Agency, 2017). Link bait is another approach websites are frequently using to build a network of links, involving ‘stand out’ content that is optimised to increase inbound links.

Search engines like to keep their SEO algorithms a secret in order to avoid abuse but some basic principles are certain. Google measures the importance or ‘trust’ by the number and type of inbound links, possibly taking into account some social signals, such as Facebook ‘likes’ of the page or number of Twitter followers (Samuel, 2013). Quality and quantity is also key when using backlinks in SEO. New York Times, which has an incredibly high ranking from Google, has exactly 91,978,629 inbound links from 98,518 different domains (WM Agency, 2017).

By targeting phrases based on both relevance and uniqueness, users are more likely to distinguish a website over a competitor’s. Samuel (2013) suggests including nicknames for your business or old names that people may be searching for in order to ensure visibility in search but remain unique in your field.

The “Fused SEO & Website Usability” model below looks at contradictions and considerations in SEO. The connecting red lines illustrate the contradictions between SEO and WU, the bottom of the figure illustrates the fused SEO and WU solution (Visser and Weideman, 2014).

Essentially, the contradictions between SEO and WU revolve around content, keywords and their presentation (Visser and Weideman, 2014). Personally, I feel the model fails to consider distinguishability and uniqueness when considering contradicting factors of SEO. Content and presentation is indicated by the authors in text, but a lack of attention is given to how these features could influence a SEO strategy.

In summary, SEO is an effective investment in time and money and can help to create long term visibility/distinguishability. Using unique, creative content that creates digital word of mouth will only increase a website’s success and ensure differentiation among competitors. The literature shows that links are crucial, particularly for small businesses, and the more relevant quality links a website can establish, the more traffic they are likely to reap.

For further information on SEO Theories and Models see Abedin & Sohrabi (2009) Graph theory application – https://tinyurl.com/l8ubpyf  

Check out my Twitter – @RyanDukeBBS

 

References:

Abedin, B, & Sohrabi, B 2009, ‘Graph theory application and web page ranking for website link structure improvement’, Behaviour & Information Technology, 28, 1, pp. 63-72, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 5 April 2017.

Level-Up Marketing, (2017). 5 Simple on site SEO tips. [image] Available at: http://levelupmarketing.co.uk/on-site-local-seo-tips/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017].

Palmer, A (2011). Principles of Services Marketing. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education. p475.

Samuel, S. (2013). Search engine optimisation to improve your visibility online. In Practice, 35(6), pp.346-349.

Visser, E. and Weideman, M. (2014). Fusing website usability and search engine optimisation. SA Journal of Information Management, 16(1), p.6.

WM Agency. (2017).  Link Building – Will Marlow. [online] Available at: http://willmarlow.com/link-building/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017].

Young, R., Boyd, C., Boyd, C., Sentance, R. and Boyd, C. (2017). Who Uses Search Engines? 92% of Adult U.S. Internet Users [Study] | Search Engine Watch. [online] Searchenginewatch.com. Available at: https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/study/2101282/search-engines-92-adult-internet-users-study [Accessed 4 Apr. 2017].

How can niche sports coaching businesses, attempt to capitalise on the use of video in mobile applications?

Businesses that operate in a niche sports market often have a small budget given the lack of uptake in their sport. Despite this, sports coaching businesses in particular are under increasing pressure to utilise technology and video in order to make coaching more flexible for users; something that can be achieved via a mobile application. Modave et al (2015) state that over the past 10 years, mobile devices have become ubiquitous with an ever-increasing number of mobile apps that are being developed to facilitate physical activity.

Video provides athletes with a visual and audio resource that can be used to send and receive information coaching information. Despite this, risks exist as the effectiveness of video in coaching is still debated against traditional ‘in person’ coaching as many believe ‘usefulness’ is dependent on knowledge, skills and experience of user (Weiler, 2015). Research into the use of video in mobile coaching apps suggests that niche sports can utilize this technology through video demonstrations; useful video demonstrations are helpful for skill development and safe exercise execution (Modave et al., 2015). Video demonstrations can be utilized effectively by niche sports businesses in particular given the limited availability of accredited coaches.

Authors Modave et al (2015) point out some considerable barriers to standard approaches to coaching including the disparity in face-to-face access to professionals, resources needed for a personal coach, and lack of knowledge of exercise principles necessary for someone to design their own training regimen. All of these barriers create an opportunity for niche sports businesses to capitalise on the video technology available.

Now common features such as the use of location services allows coaching providers to send video coaching tutorials based on the availability of facilities/equipment within an athlete’s location. Other surrounding factors such as the weather also mean that a coach can tailor a video coaching session (inside or outside) based on the weather conditions of the athletes location. These concepts are applied in Grewal et al (2016) ‘Mobile Advertising Effectiveness Framework’ in which environmental factors within the context can be combined with technology elements to reach an add goal such as awareness or engagement in the niche sports industry.

Existing apps such as ubersense help to develop athlete performance by improving technique and movement through analysis with feedback on form, during training, competition or game, and allowing comparison to self, elite and professional athletes (Weiler, 2015). Niche coaching businesses can capitalise on the use of technology by providing athletes with a mobile application from which they can record and submit video for analysis by professional coaches. Given the niche nature of some sports and the limited supporting infrastructure/funding, it may be challenging for niche sports athletes to gain this level of coaching in person.

Potential key features of video technology in a mobile coaching application:

  • Video analysis
  • Voice overs
  • Split screen comparisons
  • Annotated overlays
  • Angle calculations
  • Zoom and pan features

Social media can be utilized by sports coaching businesses to share recorded content, therefore promoting the service offering to potential customers, creating online discussion and sharing athlete progression. Storage is equally as important as sharing for app users, as mentioned by authors Martin, Melnyk, and Zimmerman (2015), sports businesses are developing apps in which users can store their videos in a private cloud and sync them to all of their devices. Sharing and storage is particularly important in niche sports as this is likely to increase awareness of the sport and build online business presence.

Video in mobile coaching apps:

– Pros/assumptions:

  • Flexible coaching for both athletes and coaches
  • Visual feedback and depth analysis using extensive tools and functions
  • Ability to easily share content

– Cons/risks:

  • Usefulness is regarded as subjective
  • Potential for misinterpretation – Quality of video is dependant on hardware/software available

Examples of well established sports coaching apps, click the links below:

Hudle Technique 

Seven by Perigee 

Fitocracy

Zombies, Run! 

For “The Guardian’s” external guide on the best video apps, click here. This guide allows readers to see the alternative forms of video incorporation on offer and how the technology is utilized in different ways.

Check out my Twitter – @RyanDukeBBS

 

Images courtesy of Hudle Technique 

References:

Grewal, D., Bart, Y., Spann, M. and Zubcsek, P.P. (2016b) ‘Mobile advertising: A framework and research agenda’, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 34, pp. 3–14. doi: 10.1016/j.intmar.2016.03.003.
Kranz, M., Möller, A., Hammerla, N., Diewald, S., Plötz, T., Olivier, P. and Roalter, L. (2013) ‘The mobile fitness coach: Towards individualized skill assessment using personalized mobile devices’, Pervasive and Mobile Computing, 9(2), pp. 203–215. doi: 10.1016/j.pmcj.2012.06.002.
Martin, M.R., Melnyk, J. and Zimmerman, R. (2015) ‘Fitness Apps: Motivating students to move’, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 86(6), pp. 50–54. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2015.1054214.
Modave, F., Bian, J., Leavitt, T., Bromwell, J., Harris III, C. and Vincent, H. (2015) ‘Low quality of free coaching Apps with respect to the American college of sports medicine guidelines: A review of current mobile Apps’, JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3(3), p. e77. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.4669.

Is Thomson’s email marketing as sunny as their holidays?

The sky’s the limit from £156 – but did Thomson’s email tempt me?

Following a trip to The Maldives (Yes, The Maldives!), Thomson are keen for me to re-book. In this blog I am going to analyse an email from Thomson. The email is not spam, I ‘opted in’ to receive Thomson emails when first booking for the automated ‘booking confirmation’ but also giving permission regarding future deals.

The email is two pages long and therefore of average promotional length consisting of a short catalog structure. The remainder of the page is made up of T&C’s and links to additional info. Executing tactics such as length, size and layout play a decisive role in attracting the recipient (Rossiter, 1981).

The frequency of emails increased when returning from my holiday, with the hope I may be tempted to re-book during a period of ‘post holiday blues’, appealing to the emotional side of consumer interaction. I currently receive an email every four days; I find this excessive given the novelty of booking a holiday. I received the email in question at 7:27pm on Tuesday 1st November. ‘Targeted timing’ does not appear to be in use given a majority of commercial emails are usually received during the working day according to Chadwick and Doherty (2012). ‘Seasonal timing’ may be in use given the email was sent shortly after the daylight saving clock change and at a time when Christmas becomes a conversation point; a period in which many ‘Brits’ now prefer to spend abroad.

The email subject line “The Sky’s the limit from £156” is not descriptive or specific but did draw my attention due to the cheap price. I felt the subject line could have linked more effectively to the email headline of “Our top spots for stargazing”.

Illustrations in the form of high definition images are used to present destinations and engaged me immediately. A large impactful image is used as the header with the headline overlaid to indicate the category of destinations. Animation and interactive features are not used within the email. Features could have been used to enhance the focus on stars/stargazing but may have reduced the professional outlook. As expected, the brand logo is displayed in the top left hand corner.

The message content is minimal with short destination titles and the main ‘call to action’ being for readers to ‘find out more’ about a destination of choice with a click through leading to a booking page. 10 hyperlinks are used in total, consisting of links to the Thomson website and additional information with the option to ‘unsubscribe’. The email flows well with the Thomson navigation bar at the top creating consistency and images encouraging readers to scroll further. One of the major flaws in the flow is the “Travel aware, staying safe and healthy abroad” link which is situated at the very top of the email, breaking up the flow between the subject and headline. The email uses space effectively when advertising destinations but is less aesthetically pleasing at the bottom of the page with numerous links, opening times, T&C’s, addresses and more clustered together.

The landing page itself is consistent with the email. When clicking through readers are taken directly to the website in correspondence with the destination. The page presents readers with a short destination intro, additional links and then the option to easily select dates, airports, hotels and more.

The purpose of the email was to offer value to customers at all stages of the conversation lifecycle. My email was not personalized despite the fact I am a Thomson’s customer. I needed this email to be tailored based on my personal preferences. I have not expressed any interest in stargazing or winter breaks and therefore, on this occasion, Thomson’s did not gain my repeat business. Despite this, the effective soft tone of the email as described by Mohammedi et al. (2013) using words such as “find out more” rather than “click here to buy” meant I did not feel pressured into a hard sale and was happy to skim read and view images.

Thompson will need to use personalisation to ensure direct relationship maintenance with me, Krishnamurthy, S. (2001). In order for Thomson to reach the advocacy stage of the Chaffey (2012) RACE model, I expect the company to incentivise any potential re-booking.

For more information on travel email marketing, follow the link – http://www.pure360.com/travel-email-marketing/

 

 

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References:

Chaffey, D. (2012) E-Business & E-Commerce Management, Pearson

Ellis-Chadwick, F & Doherty, N.F. (2012). Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing. Journal of Business Research. 65 (1), p843-848.

Krishnamurthy, S. (2001), “A Comprehensive Analysis of Permission Marketing”, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, v.6, n.2.

Mohammadi, M., Malekian, K., Nosrati, M., & Karimi, R. (2013). Email Marketing as a Popular Type of Small Business Advertisement: A Short Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 7(4), 786-790.

Rossiter, J. R. (1981) “Predicting Starch Scores” Journal of Advertising Research 21(5) pp 63- 68.

An analysis of ‘At a glance – IKEA’

The article is based around social change and how this can be implemented within the IKEA organisation using the ‘Socializers Agency’. The agency has been selected by the organisation to help pioneer social change, with goal of forging a deeper relationship with customers by providing similar but tailored experiences across its markets. The article talks of IKEA’s desire for further collaboration across internal areas of the business, while establishing social media as a valuable channel across regions. IKEA want to devise a strategy that will enable the company to discover and share information at fast pace and have set their Digital department in combination with the ‘Socializers’ the task of achieving this aim. Devising this strategy presented some challenges to the business including:

  • Inconsistent social media investment and usage across departments
  • Potential disruptive change
  • Siloed data due to barriers in sharing and governance

In order to become more socially intelligent, the team first decided to create a listening hub for the organisation, powered by brandwatch vizia. This highly customizable platform allowed the team to build a social media command centre in order to detect, share and distribute insights. The hub created a central space where senior staff and the relevant teams could observe and engage around global conversations about the brand therefore providing stakeholders with an appropriate planning tool.

The use of the listening hub led to the discovery of a number of insights:

  1. Perception of the brands customer service across regions
  2. The ability to compare online conversations across time periods and social media platforms
  3. A search tool that allowed for key word searches to identify the context in which they were used
  4. Conversation segmentation to analyse customer service complaints

An example of a specific key finding: “Americans were more likely than brits to complain about IKEA using Facebook”

Identifying these specific findings through insights, then gave IKEA the ability to analyze and react, taking the appropriate actions where necessary. The project introduced the benefits of social data to IKEA and encouraged positive change across the enterprise, extending its business intelligence. The business is now well equipped for the future developments within this sector of Digital Marketing.

 

To view the full case study – click here