Mobile app development companies and mobile app developers have by now realized that app marketing is an intrinsic part of the mobile app development…
Mobile app development companies and mobile app developers have by now realized that app marketing is an intrinsic part of the mobile app development story. A recent research has indicated that 62 percent of the U.S. population would be using a smart mobile device by 2016. This reiterates the fact that app developers actually have to reach out to customers, stay visible and carry out strategic app marketing campaign to get noticed and improve their ROI.
However, in a fairly nascent industry Mobile App Marketing strategies have to be created with passion as well as caution. Here are a few basic avoidable mistakes you can do away with in mobile app marketing:
Do not treat Desktop and Mobile Users as the same
This is perhaps the basic principle to be taken care of in mobile app marketing as the user behavior in desktop and mobile is entirely different. Create a responsive design app landing page that offer device compatible view to both desktop and mobile users. However, most developers are found to ignore this and this results in most mobile users abandoning the website.
Make Promotional Plans ahead of App Development
One of the most common mistakes mobile app developers make is by initiating the app development process without proper mobile app marketing strategy. Considering that app development is a costly venture that calls for investment of time, effort, and money; it is important that mobile applications are built with a proper app marketing strategy that involves app idea validation to prelaunch and post launch app marketing strategies.
Never take your Customers for Granted
Like every other business, this is the basic fundamental that applies to mobile app marketing as well. Just because you have built a mobile application do not guarantee that people start downloading it from the app store in a frenzy. Even popular apps like Angry Birds and Temple Run did their share of promotions before they achieve the cult status. Make the best of all mediums from print to media to social networking channels – Ensure you are visible everywhere!
- 3 Strategic Mobile App Marketing Mistakes & How to Avoid:
Mistake #1. Disregarding the Mobile Experience during Design
Mobile UX is an altogether different experience which designers fail to understand, as they make a futile bid to shrink all the functionality of the desktop version into the small mobile screen. Mobile users will right away discard such attempts of pseudo interpretation of desktop content in mobile.
Considering that a mobile app is all about an entirely different experience, and it should be treated differently for the new opportunities it provides; one of the primary things to keep in mind during mobile app design is that the small screen of a mobile allows you to focus on what is truly important.
How to Avoid:
Focus your customer’s attention on the few things that truly matter. When it comes to mobile app design, one of the best ways to do this is to trim down the functionality you had created from the desktop version to a few core tasks.
Surprisingly, studies that shown that customers hardly noticed the differences that is derived in a mobile optimized design. In fact, with large buttons, visual appeal, and emphasis on just the core features on the main page, this app is truly fit for mobile.
Mistake #2. Building an app without a proper marketing strategy
Building an app and submitting it in the app store isn’t enough. You cannot actually go by the number of downloads taking place in the app store and judge that your app too will garner huge downloads just by deployment at the app store. This calls for a proactive and cutting-edge mobile app marketing strategy that will help you to properly market and promote a new mobile app.
In case your business already has a mobile app, it’ll be a sheer wastage of opportunity if you do not make a mention of it in your website landing page. Target customers visiting your website to ACQUAINT about the availability of an optimized mobile app.
How to Avoid:
With the world going mobile, most mobile customers would definitely make a note of the app from the website landing page and download it for convenience and easy accessibility. Choose communication medium like website, social media (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), emails, etc. liberally to share information about your app. Once you get your customers to download your app, make sure the happy ones leave review too to influence potential customers. (Well, unhappy ones always do!)
Encourage customers to give reviews for your products/services; you may even consider in-app prompts that remind customers to leave reviews after completing a significant action like using a coupon, making a purchase, or realizing an achievement (like game levels).
Mistake #3. Building a Mobile Website and portraying it as an App
With competition touching new heights and customer’s expectation for the same exceeding limits, it is important that developers stay away from making a mockery of building a launcher for a mobile website and portraying it as an app. It’ll be foolish on their part to think customers as ignorant of not understanding the difference.
Do not underestimate the knowledge of your users, as you would very soon find your attempt on offering camouflaged mobile website in the form of App rejected – as they will surely abandon your offering, and move on to an alternative native mobile application. In short, your customers aren’t concerned with the complexity of your development process; they’re purely focused on their own experience.
How to Avoid
Mobile app developers are many a time found to focus on building a native app for multiple platforms, which can be overwhelming. It is however recommended that instead of engaging in too many platforms, FOCUS and support one platform. You can actually use this as a learning experience to understand your target market and build native mobile application that resonates with your customer base.
Have you created your mobile app marketing strategy?
