iphone as a marketing tool

3
InfoBeans INC, 2410 Camino Ramon, Suite 288, San Ramon CA 94583 USA +1 888 4INFOBEANS www.infobeans.com Page 1 of 3 Page 1 of 3 The iPhone as a marketing tool Why should you build an iPhone app for marketing your product/service? January 20, 2010 Siddharth Sethi Contact: [email protected]

Upload: infobeans-systems-pvt-ltd

Post on 17-May-2015

853 views

Category:

Technology


1 download

DESCRIPTION

This article looks at why should an organization build an iPhone app from a marketing perspective, what are the features that can be leveraged and some ideas around what can be built.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: iPhone as a marketing tool

InfoBeansINC,2410CaminoRamon,Suite288,SanRamonCA94583USA+18884INFOBEANSwww.infobeans.com

Page1of3Page1of3

TheiPhoneasamarketingtoolWhyshouldyoubuildaniPhoneappformarketing

yourproduct/service?January20,2010SiddharthSethi

SiddharthSethi

Contact: [email protected]

Page 2: iPhone as a marketing tool

InfoBeansINC,2410CaminoRamon,Suite288,SanRamonCA94583USA+18884INFOBEANSwww.infobeans.com

Page2of3Page2of3

TheiPhoneasamarketingtoolMuchhasbeensaidabouttheiPhone.Itiscurvy,easytouse,pricey,eyecandy,blah,blah.Butwhatisthetruestoryandhowdoesitaffectbusiness,specifically,forthispost,marketing?Considerthesefacts

• TheiPhoneAppStorehasover3billionappdownloadsandcountingeveryday.• Therearemorethan100,000appstodoprettymuchanything• TheiPhoneleadsbyahugemarginwhenitcomestomobilewebbrowsingandmobileweb

searches• AndApplehasbeeninthebusinessforjustover2years

Whateverthepersonalbiasesare,oneneedstoknowthatitisthesinglemostimportantsmartphoneinthemarket.Noneofthecompetition,includingthemightyGoogle(NexusOne)hasbeenabletocomeanywhereclosetothereachoftheiPhone.Atleastnotyet.Andeveniftheywereto,itdoesnotseemtobehappeninganytimesoon.Formarketers,itisbesttostopignoringtheiPhoneandembraceitasanessentialmarketingtoolthatwillhelpreachtheirtargetaudience.WhatarethewaysinwhichaniPhonecanbeusedasamarketingtool?

• Advertiseonappsfromotherproviders• Advertiseonwebsitesthattargetmobileusers• Createyourownappsthattalkaboutyourproductsandservicesinaninterestingway

Thefirsttwo(advertisements)arestraight,inyourfaceadvertisements.Theyaren'tanythingnewfortheadvertisingworld.Advertisementshavelongservedasasubsidyforotherproductsandservices,andwillcontinuetodoso.Justhopethatyourintendeduserhitstheadvertisementandbuysyourproductorattheveryminimumbecomesaqualifiedleadyoucanpitchto.Whatismoreinterestingfromthemobileexperienceandspecificallythesmartphoneisthatyoucancreateapplicationsthatspecificallytalkaboutyourproductsandservices.Notonlythat,theyhavethecapabilitiestointeractwithyourpotential,andifyougothewholenineyards,youcanactuallyhavethemcoughuprightthereforyourproduct.Mobile,beingwell,mobile,alsochangesthedynamicsofinteraction,theuserbeingabletointeractwithyourappprettymuchanywhere.Thisincreasesthechancesofyourappbeingusedandinturnofyougettingmorerelevantandtargeteddataonyourprospect.TheadvantagesofcreatingiPhoneappsformarketingAsmentioned,theiPhonegeneratesinterestingopportunitiesformarketing.LetusfirstunderstandwhatmakestheiPhoneinterestingtomarketersandthenwewillseehowthosecanbeleveraged.AgreatuserinterfaceTheiPhoneoffersauserinterfacethatisunparalleledincomputing‐anykindofcomputing.Howdoesthishelpyouasamarketer?Well,ifyourappisinterestingenoughandhasthatstickyability‐youhaveleveragedtheuserinterfacecapabilities,youruserswillflockbacktoyourapplicationagainandagain.Isn'tthatwhatyouwant?

Page 3: iPhone as a marketing tool

InfoBeansINC,2410CaminoRamon,Suite288,SanRamonCA94583USA+18884INFOBEANSwww.infobeans.com

Page3of3Page3of3

Locationaware‐GPSintegrationThisissomethingmarketerswoulddiefor.Tryingtogetyourlocationinrealtime.Seewhatyouareuptoandwhere.Ifanappcantakeadvantageofthelocationfeatures,marketerscouldmakevaluableuseofthatdata.MultimediacontentPushoutcontentinanyformyouwish‐video,images,textoracombination.Youwantyourreadertobetotallymesmerizedbythecontent.WelltheiPhone'svideoandaudiocapabilities,enhancedbythatsuperscreenanditsorientation,allowsyoutodojustthat.Takeyouraudienceforaridebyshowingrelevantvideos,podcastsandofcourse,text.AccelerometerandcompassThesetwotoolsallowyoutoaddalotoffancy(andsticky)touchestoyourapplications.Usetheaccelerometertocreateinterestinggesturesthatdointerestingthings.Liketheshakeorthetilt.Orjustthethrow.OneofmyfavoriteappsthatusestheaccelerometerwellisUrbanSpoon.Shakeitanditgivesyouarestaurantrecommendation!MultitouchscreenNowthisiswhatisthekingofallfeaturesandsomethingthatnootherphoneinthemarkethas‐Multitouch.Multitouchhasopenedupimmenseopportunitiestocreategesturesthatareintuitiveandsimple.Alloftheabovefeaturesprettymuchpointtoonebasicidea.Thatyoucancreateappsthatextremelyeasyandfuntouseandthereforeprovideyouagreatchanneltogetyourmessageacrosstoyourusergroup.Letusseehowsomeofthiscanbeachieved.Ifyouareatoymanufacturer,creatinganapparoundyourgames/toysmighthelp.ThekidsandteenagersareheavyusersoftheiPhone/iPodTouch.Manycompaniescreatethesefreeappsthathaveproductplacementsintheapp,thatarehighlyrelevanttotheuserandderiveexcellentmileageandbrandstickiness.Ifyouareatravelcompany,createappsthatshowcontentrelatedtoyourproducts.Showsampleitineraries.Allowtheusertoplaywiththoseitinerariesandseetheeffectrealtimeoncustommaps.Ahealthcareprovidercancreateappsthatallowuserstoaccessdatarelatedtotheailmentandprovidetipstouserstomanagetheirhealth.Youcanaddinformationonhowtoreachtheprovider‐maps,phonenumbers,autocallingetc.Inprettymuchanyindustry,youcanfindwaystointeractwithyourtargetaudience.Itisallaboutleveragingthefeaturesandtoolsavailabletoyouradvantagewithoutlosingsightoftheendgoal–toputyourmessageacrossinasubtleandsuccinctmanner.Justcreatinganappthatshowsyourmarketingmessagewillnothelp.Don'texpectpeopletodownloadsuchappsandcontinuetousethem.Themantrahereistocreateappsthatareinterestingtousefirst,andthentheyshowmessaging/products/services/brandsthatmakesenseinthecontext.Yes,remember‐youneedtocreatethecontext!ifyouneedmoreinformationonhowyourmarketingdepartmentcanbenefit,[email protected].