Mobile is in for a very interesting year. In particular, the mobile app landscape as we know it is changing dramatically. Earlier this year, at Apple’s WWDC event, the company announced it had paid more than $50 billion to developers on its platform. Today, there are more than 1.5 million apps in the iOS App Store and even more on Google Play. The volume of apps and revenue created by them continues to grow, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Mobile customer behavior is changing. Unlike the early days of the app store, when users might download more than 10 apps a month, today’s users average a much lower number of downloads – zero. Instead, users are shifting to “core apps.” In fact, roughly 80 percent of app usage is spent within a user’s top three apps.3
In response to this market shift, more apps are breaking the bonds of their app icons. Developers are finding ways to include their services — typically found exclusively within their own app environment —through other apps, AI assistants or even the mobile operating systems themselves. Uber, OpenTable and Venmo are just a few examples of apps that are being integrated into iMessage, Google Assistant, Siri, Allo, Alexa, chat bots, maps apps and more.
I believe this trend will not only continue, but will also usher in the next era of mobile development, as well as create new mobile marketing opportunities. No longer will app engagement be limited to just messages within the app or on the lock screen. Instead, the ways in which customers will interact with their favorite brands will rapidly expand. (Download “10 Key Marketing Trends for 2017.”)
Marketers should start by looking for where their customers spend most of their time. Since messaging apps, browsers and social media are almost always among your customer’s core apps, they are a natural place to begin.
Consider the classic order status check – something many of us will be doing this time of year. During the busy holiday season, shoppers must often navigate numerous screens and log-ins to check their order status. Using a chatbot, however, this task becomes as simple as asking “Where is my order?” The bot can then access your account and present you with shipping status, arrival time, tracking number, cancellation options and more.
Here are a few other ideas:
- Messaging Apps: Think about what function your product or service can deliver between two or more people, such as payments or gift giving.
- Internet of Things: “Hey Alexa, if we get low on ketchup, order some more.” If you’re marketing for a retailer, grocer or CPG company, think about how you might integrate into mobile personal assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, allowing for easy ordering and replacements.
- Maps: Decide if your locations are found through map searches and see if offering a service like booking a hotel room right within a search result would be convenient for your customers.
“OK, Google, pull the trigger on those shoes I have in my cart.” “Hey Siri, if my flight is delayed past 9 p.m., book me a hotel room near the airport.” The brands that will be a part of this future are the brands that think about their apps as more than just icons, but rather as utilities that can be applied in every part of a customer’s life.
For more on the trends that will shape marketing in the year ahead, please check out IBM’s white paper, “10 Key Marketing Trends for 2017 and Ideas for Exceeding Customer Expectations.”
No comments:
Post a Comment