Running a successful small business can be intimidating when you’re up against large competitors. They have more resources at their disposal and most likely already have a large brand awareness with loyal customers.
All that said, small businesses have the upper hand in that they are able to more easily and effectively establish a personal relationship with the consumer. Big brands are so far removed that most of their interactions with their audience are through a submission form or a sales representative.
Benefits of Being Agile
Mom and Pop shops or any other small businesses engage with the consumer in a way that’s more than just a transaction. Generally, the owners are present or easily reachable to ensure the customer’s satisfaction.
Small businesses can provide a level of service and care that large corporations can’t rival. This makes the customer feel special and appreciated, rather than a cow being herded through the checkout line.
Which is not to say that prevalent brands don’t strive for excellent customer service. Big businesses have customers, employees, and other resources spread across large areas making it impossible to interact with the customer on a deeper personal level. One way that small companies can facilitate their unique friendship with their audience is through a mobile app.
Though you may not have the resources in-house to create an app for smartphones or tablets, it’s pretty easy to outsource this work. Many freelancers can build an iOS app at prices that small businesses can afford.
Since small businesses usually have a small amount of brick and mortar locations, having a mobile app is important due to increased accessibility. Now your customers can take your brand everywhere they go. But if the majority of users abandon apps shortly after the initial download, how do you get them to stay?
Nurture The Relationship With Customers
It’s likely that your first interaction with your customer was in person at your business, online, or through the phone. So far, you’ve established a genuine connection and showed a dedication to your customer’s needs. These are the first steps to app retention lifecycle. Now, you need to nurture the relationship through engagement to retain your customer.
It is in this way that mobile app retention is like dating and getting engaged. When a user first opens your app, it’s important to wine and dine them. Spark their interest with your aesthetic, impress them with your delicious content, and then offer something of value.
This first interaction with the mobile app should “wow” your consumer. It’s your job to keep the relationship alive by dating your customer using push notifications.
Build a Relationship Based on Trust
These notifications foster your relationship, building trust, excitement, and loyalty. It’s important not to send too many or too few. You don’t want to overwhelm your “significant other,” but you don’t want to leave them hanging either.
Notifications can be personalized with an image or they can have a CTA (call to action) button to drive engagement. Satisfy their needs while you keep them wanting more.
App retention is something that many marketing teams (including large companies) struggle with. Over half of smartphone users don’t have their favorite brand’s app downloaded. If your small business can develop and manage an app engagement/retention strategy, you’ll quickly build a devoted consumer base. Worrying about losing customers to your larger competitors will be a nuisance of the past.
Interested in learning more? If so, check out the infographic below with tons of great data about apps and engagement.
About the Author: KC Karnes is a well-known marketing strategist and entrepreneur responsible for growing some of the hottest technology companies in Silicon Valley, including CleverTap, the Intelligent Mobile Marketing Platform.