Mobile App Versus Responsive Website

Mobile App Versus Responsive Website

While going mobile has become inevitable for businesses, the big question remains HOW. Does a business need a mobile website or a native app? The answer to this question is more complicated than most marketers think. To begin with, there is no generic answer that can straighten out the dilemma. The answer is actually based on an extreme balancing act of a company's strategic goals, business needs, industry type, customer requirements, brand awareness and a whole lot of factors that influence business directly and indirectly.

So, before we get to a solution, it's important to understand the functionality and purpose of both, responsive website and mobile app.

What is a Responsive Website?

Responsive website is website that can identify the user's device and intelligently adapt to the device's screen size. A responsive website can be accessed on a laptop, smart phone or a tablet, with the same functionality and features across devices. A responsive website can be great option for companies that use their website majorly for showing company information, a digital brochure of sorts.

Another alternative to a responsive website is mobile web. Mobile web is also a website, but it is designed specifically for mobile or handheld devices. Companies that use mobile web usually fine-tune content for mobile web. The content becomes lesser yet richer. Usually websites that interact and demand customer interaction in one way or the other, say making a sale, or registering for something or making bookings, or any other call for action from the user, choose to mobile web over a responsive website, such that the call for action part is highlighted given the smaller window.

What is a Mobile App?

Mobile app is a dedicated program that can be downloaded on a mobile device. This program then becomes the link between the user and the brand. Since the app resides in the user's mobile device, it becomes easier for the brand to be in constant touch with the user, collect demographics and statistics, build user profiles and engage customers with the brand. For instance if a pizza place has an app that users have downloaded, the app (or the program) can use native functions of the mobile device to track the user's location and accordingly suggest a great dinner deal at a pizza place close to the user's current location.

Which is the best option?

There is no best option. It is a business call based on business needs. The answer of what to choose would depend on various factors as discussed below:

1. Brand awareness:

This is the age of information. And information is the first thing a potential customer would seek, to understand if she wants to be associated with the brand or not. There are some brands that have reached the zenith of awareness. People don't check their websites to find out about them (well almost). How many of us recall logging into a Pepsi website to know about Pepsi. We already know Pepsi. But for a brand that's not as blessed, potential customers would want to find out, research and then take a call. And if the chain of seamless information is broken because your website did not respond to the mobile device the customer's using, you've (in most cases) lost one. Because so many people are using mobile devices and the number is growing exponentially, it's just common sense to have a website that responds to a mobile device. Now whether it should be a responsive website or mobile web, this call would need to be taken by individual businesses since it would largely depend on particular business requirements.

2. Customer requirements

Does your customer use the website to check out information about your company or is there a call for action or some sort of user engagement involved? Because if there is customer engagement involved, then perhaps an app would make sense. For instance retail industry has seen a tremendous boom with retail apps becoming popular amongst customers. So has the gaming industry transformed with the advent of mobile devices and apps.

3. Value add

You've decided to have an app, great. But you need to work out on how does the app provide value to the customer and only then will the app make sense. What's in it for them? Once this question is answered a lot of confusion over having or not having a mobile app, deliverables of the app and purpose of the app, gets straightened out and the mobile strategy falls into place.

Also, since these two are different platforms meant to solve different purposes, there can be no choice between the two. But thanks to marketers who present a biased opinion, you are most likely to get caught in the dilemma. So here's a quick chart for you to understand the two platforms and (maybe) compare the deliverables.

FEATURE	MOBILE WEB	MOBILE APP
Accessibility	Mobile Website is accessible by everyone as long as the mobile device has a browser and an internet connection	Mobile app is accessible by those who have downloaded it. Once downloaded, mobile app can be accessed with an internet connection as well
Speed	Mobile websites can be slow and shallow as compared to apps	Apps are fast, intriguing and engaging for consumers
Changes / Updates	Making changes in the website is relatively easier	Any changes in the app need to go through Google Play Store and The App Store guidelines
Cost	Mobile website's cost would vary depending on if you want a separate mobile version or want a new unified website in responsive design	An app's cost would depend on the scope of the app. The more you want your app to perform, the more you'd invest in it
Development / Maintenance	If there is a single website across platforms, then it can be maintained with the same code. But if the mobile website is different, it would require up gradation/ separately	An app would need separate maintenance and up gradation
User Experience	Mobile websites can be good if the purpose of the website is information	Apps are perfect when customer's interaction and automation is required, e.g. Retail, ecommerce, employee interaction etc.
Loyalty Rewards	A website, be it mobile website or of the web, it cannot track repeat visitors and keep track of their usage as smartly as an app can do	Apps are downloaded on the user's mobile device. It means app can interact with the user, provide loyalty incentives and even send gentle reminders to dormant customers
Check Out	The check out process for online buying can be a tedious affair	App stores important information (of course securely) and makes the whole buying process a breeze.
Personalized	A website experience is for masses, it cannot be personalized	Apps take personalization to a whole new level; customers see the products they like, get discounts when they want, get alerts relevant to them and get an individualistic experience rather than one designed for masses
SEO	A mobile website would assist SEO initiatives by adding searchable content on the web	Apps are not directly beneficial for SEO initiatives, but again if a user has already downloaded the app, web search would not make any difference
Customer Data	Website does not help gathering data about visitors except counting numbers on a superficial level	Apps become a part of the consumer's mobile hence can gather data for personal profiling, social profiling and accordingly personalization
Social Media	A website can enable limited sharing on social media	Apps enable sharing and connecting on social media. Moreover apps can have a viral effect if the app provides a service/feature that appeals to people

If there are still any questions that remain unanswered or any concern that needs to be addressed regarding your mobile strategy, reach us on 415-504-1516, and we'd be happy to help.

Digital Marketing Trends

2015: Digital Marketing Trends To Watch Out.

2014 has remarkably been a year of technological and digital progression in marketing, especially retail. The popularity of mobile phones and apps has thrown a huge opportunity in the guise of challenge to marketers around the world. Mobile web and apps have been the epilogue of every marketing discussion, well almost. And with all that clout, it is particularly interesting to watch where exactly is the whole digital-marketing spectacle headed.

Here are a few trends that would predominantly drive the market and marketing in 2015. Interestingly most of these concepts are the ones that stimulated the retail segment last year, and the trend seems to be paradigm for years to come.

Mobile Friendly

Smart phones and mobile devices are no more fancy words. These are basic. As per an interesting UN study, there are more people in the world that have access to mobile phones than people who have access to toilets. According to the study out of the world’s estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones whereas only 4.5 billion people have access to working toilets!

That said, every business, irrespective of the industry, scale or function will have to be mobile friendly. This does not only apply to simply having a mobile friendly website or an app (which, by the way, would be survival essentials given that most people are migrating to mobile only devices), but it would mean the entire business function starting from supply chain to customer service (and everything in between) becoming mobile friendly. It means reassessing business functions, defining new value and deliverables and aligning the good old brick-and-mortar and click-and mortar business models to become tap friendly.

Personalized Marketing

The term ‘personalized marketing’ has been around for quiet some time now. But in true spirit of the term, it makes more sense now than ever. Customers are leaving their digital footprints all across the Internet. This is data. Companies need to devise intelligent techniques, smarter algorithms and intuitive systems that can wisely co-relate data and derive customer knowledge out of it. This knowledge then would define how each customer is approached and served individually. For instance taking data from cookies, surfing habits, social media and so on, a retailer would be able to now that Marc spends an average $400 on grocery and other shopping every month, he mostly eats canned and ready-to-eat food, likes shoes, goes to Starbucks mostly every evening where he checks on his personal email and social media accounts. Now the retailer can devise a relevant strategy to connect with and engage Marc in a personalized marketing experience.

Important technologies and strategies that would help personalize content for customers:

Retargeting:

Retargeting is a strategy wherein with the help of various technologies and techniques a company can identify customers who strayed, re-engage them with personalized and relevant content thus increasing conversion ratio.

Geo-Fencing:

Marketing communication, when localized and presented to the user based on her current location makes more sense and is more likely to convert than general messaging. For instance, sending a message to the customer that there is a great sale going on in a store close to her current location will most likely land the customer into the store.

Relevant, Honest Content

Life’s getting faster and attention span shorter. To get noticed and then reach a level where you can engage your customers, retailers will have to make their content really, really relevant and of course, honest. Customers are done with marketing clutter and the elevator-pitch has now been further trimmed to a 5-seconds-glance that decides whether the customer will stay or stray from your retail window. There is no scope for over hyped pitch and false promises. Don’t promise the world on the platter; just show what you can serve, and those who want it would take it. More so, communication has to be relevant and precise. You value your customers’ time and attention, they would appreciate it; you give them non-sense content, they would go away forever.