Travel Apps

That Make Your Life Easier

Your smart phone can be your life savior when you are travelling. It can guide you to the hotel best suited for your budget, local eateries that do not figure in your itinerary, the right places to exchange money, get help in a foreign land and do so much more. You can accentuate your travel pleasure by using the wealth of information on your fingertips, thanks to your smart phone. All you need is the right app.

Here’s a list of some of the best travel apps that actually make your life easier while you are travelling.

Airbnb

Airbnb will help you locate the best places for local stay with the world’s largest home stay network. It includes everything, from swanky apartments to chalets to guest houses, all kinds of beautiful accommodations from around the world.

Yelp

Your local travel partner, Yelp helps you locate the nearest of anything and everything you would need during your travel, ATM, eatery, bakery, market, coffee shop, mall, movie theatre and so much more.

TripIt

TripIt helps you create a detailed itinerary of your trip. You can key in the information yourself or just email all booking confirmations, tickets etc. to them, and TripIt will create a detailed itinerary for you.

Postagram

Remember the good old days when you sent postcards of the places you visited to friends and family? Postagram brings the old world charm back with a modern upgrade. You can send your personalized pictures and messages from your phone that your loved ones will receive as actual postcards for just $0.99 a piece.

Google Translate

We all know what Google Translate does. But while travelling this humble app can actually be a life savior. When everything sounds foreign, just take GT’s help to translate it. And in no time you’ll be able to comprehend the local flavor of life.

XE Currency

Convert currency instantly even if you not have WIFI or data access. XE saves the last updated conversion rates and converts currency even offline. There are other great features such as rates for precious metals if you are interested in buying jewelry.

Splittr

If you are travelling with friends, Splittr helps you split costs. Enter expenses as you go with details of who’s paying, even mix currencies without the hassle of converting, and Splittr will take of splitting the costs evenly.

Yapta

This awesome app watches the airfares for you and sends you an alert as the prices drop. It also helps you figure out the rebates you are eligible for resulting in real-time savings on your travel expenses.

Rome2Rio

Trying to figure out the best way to reach from point A to point B? The intelligent app not only helps you figure out different options of reaching to a place (local buses, trains, flights, taxis, anything and everything), but also gives you the estimated time of the journey with the estimated cost.

Apps That Are Transforming Health Care

Apps That Are Transforming Health Care

Mobile apps are changing the way buyers buy and sellers sell. Every industry, be it retail, banking, education or b2b, everything is changing and healthcare is no exception. In fact, thanks to mobile apps, new dimensions are being added to the healthcare industry. From live doctor interaction to fitness apps, there’s so much of buzz in the industry that it has attracted attention of some major players outside the industry including Google, Microsoft and even Apple (if rumors are to be believed).
Telemedicine and remote health care
There are many apps that provide video access to a doctor/specialist who can understand your symptoms, diagnose your problem and even prescribe medicines. If your child has a bad cough and going to your doctor would mean waiting for the appointment, or you have an infection that’s getting worse, the tele consultation comes in as a savior. However, there are some conditions that need clinical examination, so one must be really careful while consulting a physician online. There are government restrictions on telemedicine, and before consulting one should go through the state’s regulations regarding telemedicine.

Popular apps in telemedicine:

• Doctor on Demand
• Heath Tap
• Live Health Online

Medical & Insurance Paper Vault

There are apps that help sort the medical paperwork. Most of these apps sort your medical insurance paperwork by helping you upload your documents online and access them in terms of need.

Popular digital vaults:

• Metlife’s Infinity App
• Microsoft Health Vault

Medical advice, prescription intel

Most of these sites are the app version of WebMD that help you get intel on prescriptions, doses, side-effects etc. but with the virtue of being mobile apps, most of these apps are focused and evidence based recommendations rather than convincing you of a random disease just because the symptoms suggest so.

Popular medical advice apps:

• John Hopkins ABX Guide

Apps that help you find specialists or book appointments

These apps help you find a specialist or get you in touch with a doctor for your condition. You can find the right doctor, book appointment and even get advice as to your insurance coverage.

Popular apps for finding doctors:

• Zopdoc
• Hello MD
• RevUp by MD Revolution

Other than these there are apps, there are apps that help doctors connect, that help people get their prescriptions organized, fitness tracking apps and so much more. Like any other industry, medical and health care industry is also transforming. This is a great time to define your niche and launch into the mobile-digitalization of healthcare services.

We would be glad to be of assistance if you need advice or help on building and app and marketing it. contact us now on support@xymob.com.

The 3-Step Marketing for Holidays 2016

The 3-Step Marketing for Holidays 2016

Our lifestyles are getting increasingly mobile. Whether its checking emails or surfing for information or keeping in touch with friends on social media, or shopping, mobile has become the preferred device.

As shoppers get hooked to their devices, retailers have a newfangled territory to tread on. The domain has changed but rules remain the same.

Visual Merchandising

In mobile shopping parlance, it would actually be audio-visual merchandising. Videos are a great way to attract customers and one of the best forms of customer engagement.
Here’s how retailers can execute videos:

• Gift buying guides
• Life hacks
• “How to” videos
• Witty or humorous advertisements

Upload these videos on You Tube, your website and social media of course. The more domains you upload it on, the more exposure your campaign gets.

Linking back

Once these videos get customer attention, it’s time to bring them back to our products. It is highly recommended that you have a clutter-free home page and the navigation is simple and fuss-free. Your catalog pages should display a range of products in a neat arrangement and the customer should be able to buy the desired product in just 4-5 taps. You would have to create broader categories and provide relevant filter options.

Selling

When users have finally selected their products, a smooth checkout experience would be the key to finally making the sale. The checkout should be simple and ideally done in 3-4 taps. Demanding for a lot of information, asking users to sign up first, making the payment process lengthy, these are some of the pitfalls that make customers abandon their carts at checkout. Fast and hassle free checkout are one of the most important factors of online sales or mobile sales.

Once you’ve followed these steps and made a sale, you need to ensure there is hassle free delivery. And if all goes well, you’ve earned yourself a loyal customer. 

Social Media Marketing for Beginners

Social Media Marketing for Beginners

Social media is not just another medium for friends to hangout. Social media has become a powerful platform that allows customers to interact with brands, share their experiences with the whole world and recommend or reject brands. Social media is where opinions matter, and can make or destroy a brand. As a business, big or small, you cannot overlook social media. There are millions of people using social media, and if you do not engage your customers, your competitor will.
Here are some tips to help you get started on your social media marketing journey.

• Have a plan

Like any strategic business function, social media marketing needs a plan too. Randomly creating Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts and posting content arbitrarily would not yield desired results. On the contrary, your users may be put off if your content is not engaging or inconsistent.


• Chalk out social media sites and where you need your brand’s presence. You can choose to be present in all the places but then it would mean tailoring content for each platform specifically.
• Outline the following for each of the platforms you wish to be present on:
• Target group (their persona, age group, likes etc.)
• SMM objective (what do you want from your Social Media Marketing initiative; sales, customer engagement, customer loyalty etc.?)
• What would the content be like? (Informative blogpost, deals and discount links, product catalog, infographic, video, podcast or something else?)
• Postings schedule (like a planned calendar, new postings at planned intervals, special postings on Holidays and special days etc.)



• A picture is worth a thousand words (and a thousand likes too!)

Whatever you content type be, try and make visually appealing. Users on the internet are impatient. You need to focus on getting immediate attention which is more likely possible with an attractive pic than a long text post.


• Mine Social Media groups to get more followers/friends

Social media groups such as Twitter groups, Facebook groups etc. bring together people sharing a common interest or a common platform of sorts. You need to check out the groups that fit in your customers’ profile and lure them to be your brand’s fans.


• Bring in content variety

Do not stick to a single media type. Include different content formats such blog posts, pictures, quotes, infographics, videos etc. 

• Acknowledge every customer

Make it a point to reply to every comment, feedback or criticism your customers put up on the Internet for you. This is where brands can actually be personalities bringing in the human touch.

You may also like to read http://www.xymob.com/blog-detail.html?postid=8951800940485695210.

How Small Businesses Can Make the Most of

This Holiday Season

No business, irrespective of the scale of business, can afford to ignore a mobile marketing strategy for the upcoming Holiday season. While big players who have dedicated teams working on these plans would have their strategy and POA in place, small businesses often get caught in everyday functioning of the business. So if you have missed out on a strategic plan for the Holiday season, here’s a quick list of things you can start implementing immediately to make the most of the upcoming shopping season.

• Is your website mobile compatible? If not, get the transition done on an urgent basis. You will need a mobile-friendly website to be visible to the mobile users.


• Make sure your website has all important information easily available to the users such as contact numbers, store location, store timings etc.


• Create different offers for every week till Christmas. Concentrate on Thanksgiving products and offers till November 3rd week. Later, shift focus to Christmas gifts. Tailor your offers around products mostly needed at that particular time and the urgency of need. For instance, in the Christmas week, you could look at same day delivery offers or instant exchange offers.


• Get listed on mobile directories like Yelp, Nearby, Google+ Local etc. 


•  Advertise on local-based apps like InstaTeam.


• Create social media profile or if you have one already, heavily promote your offers there. Make sure you thank users for sharing your profile, reply to all comments and acknowledge all compliments. 


• If you have the budget, engage an app marketing or online marketing company to help you out with optimizing your mobile marketing. 

You may also like to read http://www.xymob.com/blog-detail.html?postid=7239803028852645233.

From Personalization to Individualization

From Personalization to Individualization

There was a time marketers were really upbeat about personalization. Although, personalization is a very broad team and makes us believe in a whole gamut of wonderful things that marketers would be doing for their customers to make the experience up-close and personal, the intimacy in reality, is a hoax. Apart from a select few companies, marketers have been doing joke of a job when it comes to one-to-one marketing or personalization. The only personalization in a mass mailing list was the name, rest all being the same. Discounting and believing, that these marketers were willing but unable, one can consider that there wasn’t much customer information available also. Mostly customer information was based on mass surveys and generalized assumptions for a particular target group.
But things are different now. Now marketers can actually know their customers and know them beyond just their name. Customers are leaving data trails all over interaction points. There is enough data and there are apt tools to correlate that data. What companies need now is the strategy for data-driven marketing. Companies, keen on providing meaningful marketing experiences to their customers, need to define the following:

• The process of gathering customer information from different customer touch-points and storing it in a central repository.


• The tools that will help turn customer data and customer information into customer knowledge.


• The strategy that will optimize this customer knowledge into a meaningful, truly engaging and enriching interaction. 

In the digital era, customer information is spread all across – in-store, online, app, customer helpline and every window that the company has. Thanks to mobile commerce, companies can also have access to detailed profiles of customers including information of their buying behavior, social group etc. Then there are technologies like geofencing that help companies understand the geography dynamics of the customer. Finding information is not a big deal, the real challenge is weaving a strategy around that information. The key to success in this hi-tech era will be adding human touch to this hi tech information and creating optimized interactions which are individualized and not just personalized.
You might also be interested in reading http://www.xymob.com/blog-detail.html?postid=4164849917444943696. 

Don’t Give Up

Tips for increasing app retention

Mobile app is just the start of a relationship the fate of which will then be decided based on how interested and engaged the user is with the app. Creating and getting downloads is not the challenge, the real challenge is engaging and retaining users. According to a research by Silicon Valley analyst, Andrew Chen, 77 percent of users never use an app again 72 hours after installing it.

Here are a few tips to help you increase user engagement and retention.

• User Profiling
As soon as the user downloads the app, right technology can help you create user profile and eventually build upon it. There are trends that suggest if the user is likely to the app for instance if the user has quit the on-boarding process or has not created a profile, or not uploaded profile picture, which means that if the user has not shown serious involvement from the beginning, chances are that the user will either uninstall or abandon the app. If these trends can be tracked in the very beginning, the user can be enticed into using the app which can improve chances of retention.


• Up Close and Personal
For every interaction you have with the user, try and make it as personal as you can. Make personal references by including their name, location or maybe some usage history, but do not make it sound creepily intrusive. Work out an intelligent strategy that has a fine mix of personalization, timing and of course the message.


• Gauge your market
One size does not fit all, definitely not on the Internet. There can be no winning formula or standard practices that will make different apps do well. In fact, apps designed in the same segment may also have to follow different marketing, promotion and interaction rules to suit their specific audience. For instance, Facebook and LinkedIn are both social media platforms, both may have same users but the placement and promotion of both the platforms is totally different. Similarly, Candy Crush may just be a candy game, supposedly good to keep kids happy for a while, but it has more adult user base than any other game in the segment. So the marketing strategy for each app has to be tailored to suit that particular audience.


• Check what went wrong
Although this is a classic, but works every time. Track your uninstalls. Analyze why users are uninstalling the app. There could be various reasons including poor onboarding, unappealing UX, complicated navigation, bugs, arid messaging or shoddy engagement strategy. If you are lucky, your users will leave a comment and let you know what’s wrong. But in most cases, users just leave. That is where technology and analysis will have to play an important role and help find out what’s wrong, so that it can be rectified whatever it is.

Need more insights into app retention and engagement? Read our blogs at www.xymob.com/blogs. 

Implementing Mobile Marketing

Implementing Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing has arrived. Marketers across industries can give you facts, figures, statistics, research data and so much information to reiterate the fact that mobile marketing is perhaps the biggest business opportunity waiting to be tapped.

The question is not whether mobile marketing needs to be included in the marketing strategy or not. The fact that mobile marketing is not a mere subset or fraction of the marketing mix, but is, in-fact a part of the central strategy, has been well established. The question now is, how does a marketer, especially in the SME or entrepreneurial setup, implement mobile marketing so as to add value to the bottom-line?

Like any other strategy, before preparing the blue print on paper, a few basic questions/concerns will need to be addressed.

First and foremost, companies will have to understand and define the value preposition, how will this app benefit my customers? Does the app help solve a need, want or desire? Since app is the new fad, most retailers are getting their own apps. But is the app a fancy thing that will keep customers busy for a day or two or is it either helping the customers or easing off the chores? The value preposition for the customers has to be designed.

Once the value has been defined, the next step is think of practical and creative marketing methods to draw and engage customers. App and ads may be the most popular forms of mobile marketing, but there’s so much more. Other forms of mobile marketing that can work are:

• Third party promotions
• Retargeting 
• Webrooming
• Social connect

And so much more. Marketers will need to research their customer base and understand what works for their set of customers. This might take some time, but marketers need to be thorough with their homework. They should know who their customers are, what is their social circle like, what motivates them in general and so on. And then, marketers will be able to figure out the kind of marketing mix perfect that will work.

In the next step, social media presence and digital video presence need to be essential. Apart from the fact that the customer base that has access to social and video networking and broadcasting platforms is huge, what also matters is that customers relate to brands that have social media and video sites. The connect on these platforms is definitely higher.
Brands also need to explore options of native advertising. Native adverting has better ROI than most forms of advertising.

Last but not the least, brands need to consolidate data from all customer touch points and create a central repository for all that information. There is technology available. But implementing that technology to help create a smart database system is the winning move.

Practical Mobile Marketing

Practical Mobile Marketing

Creating an App? Here are a few things that will help you make an app that actually engages users and doesn’t just sit in their phones never being used or worse, uninstalled.
If you already have an app, this article will help you get it right and become a total hit with the users.

• Great On-Boarding Experience – On boarding is not just initiating your app, but also reiterates to the user why she should use the app. To get the onboarding right, the key is ‘keeping it simple’. Create neat graphics with very simple introduction to your app.  Show app value to the user here.
DONTS -

• Very bright colors
• Busy design
• Big words, ornamental language



• Permissions – With television, radio, even your laptop being bombarded with advertising and marketing noise, phones become one gadget that still leave some control with users. People do not want to be swamped with messages or notifications. So the right time to ask for permissions (especially for notifications) is after a great onboarding experience, show value to the user and then seek permission. For instance, a shopping app can say, “We bring you offers and discounts from across brands and stores. When we find a great offer do you wish to be updated?”, or maybe for a geofencing feature, the app can ask, “We’ll let you know about great deals in your vicinity based on your current location. Do you wish to be notified?” These are examples. There can be numerous innovative ways of seeking permissions from users. Get creative.



• App Engagement – There can be various occasions to engage users. Well timed and meticulously personalized notifications with specific CTA can actually go beyond just engaging users, they can actually add to the bottom line.


• In-app alerts –  Shopping app – Entice to get extra discounts or introduce a personalized discount offer (this can be based on purchase history) Gaming app – Asking users to purchase more lives, more power etc.
• Push notifications –  Shopping app – Alerting discounts or fresh stock added Reminders for birthdays, events marked in the calendar or important occasions  Reminders for important information such as flight boarding date & time, hotel reservation dates, check-in and check-out times Order update, delivery date and time update Sorry, you’ve missed on some great deals – messages Breaking news – this should be relevant to the users’ preferences, digital footprint or data profiling. 

Top Retail Trends for Fall 2016 And Beyond

Top Retail Trends for Fall 2016 And Beyond

Some trends that retailers need to keep abreast with to maximize their earnings this shopping season.

• Electronic Payments

Different forms of electronic payment options will dominate the retail scene this shopping season. Along with card payments, retailers must provide the flexibility of mobile payments, e wallets etc. Some key payments options that retailers need to consider seriously are: PayPal , Mercury, Poynt. These are smart payment terminals that integrate several payment options into one.


• Mobile Shopping

Mobile shopping will definitely be on a high. But the important point to note here is that bigger stress is going to be on the fact that mobiles will play an integral role in ancillary sales. Mobile will be a huge platform for webrooming, where in customer will look for the products online and then walk in-store and buy it. Most people on the go are busy surfing on their smart phones, and webrooming has become very common. Hence, mobile presence for brands and stores will provide adequate exposure to prospective customers.


• Consolidated Customer Information

Retailers will have to find ways to integrate various channels and customer touch points to have a unified central database of customers that is enriched at every experience with the customer irrespective of the channel. This is a huge task and brands will have to integrate this in their central strategy.


• Facilitating Smooth and Seamless Shopping

Online shopping has become as common as in-store shopping. What retailers need to work on is making this experience friction-free and smooth. Easy navigation, one click shopping, easy electronic payments, return policy etc., all these things will play major role in deciding the men out of boys in retail.


• Convenience Will Be the Key

Shoppers will choose convenience and value over promotions and offers. Promotions and offers will have their charm, but not at the cost of convenience for the customer. To stay competitive, brands will have to give due importance to personalized offerings, convenient shopping experiences and of course great value to the consumer. The buying power of today’s consumer is more, hence value is more important than a mere discount. And this trend will be on the rise.

Tips on Making Your Business Social Media Friendly

Tips on Making Your Business Social Media Friendly

Social media has not just changed the way we interact but also redefined the way we do business. Companies are now more customer friendly than ever because the negative impact made by a dissatisfied customer is way stronger than the positive impact created by a satisfied customer. With social networking being so strong, word of mouth spreads fast and negative word of mouth spreads faster.

Social media is no more a choice but has become a business basic that needs to be included in the core strategy. It is indeed a great platform to interact with customers. Here are a few tips to help you get started with your social media plan.

• Create an account of your brand on major social media sites. Given the nature of your offering and your target segment, you might pick which sites would be the best places to interact with your customers. For instance, it makes complete sense for HR companies to be a part of Linkedin.


• Keep a tab on what your customers are saying about you. You can subscribe to Google Alerts and customize the settings with your brand name. this way if any customers write anything about you, you get notified by Google. 


• Keep a Google Alerts tab on your competition also. It’s a great way to keep a check on your competitors and keep information about the market.


• Interact with customers on all occasions. Find innovative ways to get in touch with your customers, be it season’s greetings or showing gratitude on a good review or good rating. But the best time to interact with customers is by responding to a bad review or a complaint. It not only gives you the chance to win back a customer but also proves your credibility as a brand that can listen, own up a mistake and promise correction. And that is the kind of attitude that customers also like.


• Take feedback very seriously. Like it’s mentioned above, admitting your mistake in public takes a lot of courage and people really admire that sort of courage.


• Constantly monitor your social media accounts for any recent activity. The better your response time on social media, the better chances of outshining competition.


• Keep your social media accounts very interactive. Create contests, surveys, freebies and all of that. 

Apple Store Update:

Important Points for App Marketers

Apple’s App store has changed, and for good. The changes may not be visibly noticeable, but technically this much needed modification comes in as a sigh for a lot of app developers and marketers out there.

Here is a brief synopsis of the important points that affect app developers and mobile marketers.

Better discoverability

While the ‘Featured’ tab has always been there in the App Store, it has become more intuitive and fair. There will be no paid placement on that page and the apps will not be chosen on the basis of ranking (only). Choosing apps on the basis of user ranking makes it extremely unfair to the newer apps who are still looking at getting to their critical mass. Instead, apps will be featured on the basis of local content, or current fashion, culture or seasonal trends.

This is a great user friendly update. This will also keep app creators and marketers on their toes to keep the app relevant for the users. It can actually be a great marketing feature too. You just have to take the current trends and authentically tie them to your app. For instance, Rio Olympics or end-of-summer fashion or upcoming Autumn trends.

Paid Search Ads

This is still in the beta version until Fall, but Apple’s new search algorithm will be a thing to watch out for. Marketers might want to note that every time a search algorithm changes, be it Apple or Google, it just gets more user relevance/convenience friendly. It would make sense to revamp your apps to suit users’ needs better. Search ads will make your apps visible to the user right when she asks for it. As a marketer, you might want to make comparisons as to spending money on mobile marketing/in-app advertising vs paid search ads, and weight your ROI on different ad spends.

Auto-renewable Subscriptions

Apple’s fight against dead-apps sort of end with the auto-renewable subscription feature. Brands can choose to collect subscription from their users. But an important thing to note here would be that such apps that charge a user, need to be geared up to give that kind of value to the user. There has to a high degree of personalization along with engagement. Moreover, the app has to provide some kind of value in user’s routine or daily life, or users won’t pay up for renewing. This feature aims at putting the life back in the app, although it does mean app developers and marketers need to be on their toes, always.

Buckle-up for The Holiday Season 2016

Buckle-up for The Holiday Season 2016

August is almost over. Come autumn and its going to be Holiday mood all over. People start shopping for home stuff, accessories, winter wear, Holiday apparel and so much more. The gifts may come in later, but a lot of shopping will start as autumn sets in. This is a great time to start marketing preparation for the holiday season. Here’s a quick list of things businesses need to do to be ready for the upcoming holiday season.

• Get an app now. If you are planning on creating an app for your business, the time is now. A lot of people tend to avoid traffic and holiday rush, and mobile shopping numbers and percentage soars every year over the previous.
• Go social. Get active on social networking sites. Plan social campaigns that attract customers to your site. Even paid ads on Facebook give real good value in terms of ROI. The objective here is to be seen, be heard.
• Start creating campaigns around Holiday trends. Check out the winter colors for the season, the latest home and fashion designs and create your campaigns around them.
• Offer more than just discounts. Support a community cause and get people’s attention to it. If your cause is something people relate to, you can look at a successful shopping season.
• Engage people. Create polls, surveys, competitions and other innovative and fun stuff to engage your audience. The aim is to get people’s attention, and then you can tell them about your wonderful Holiday collection and start marketing. But to get started on that, first engage with the human side of the brand.
• Start promoting your business in other apps. For instance, InstaTeam app has a section that promotes local businesses. Getting listed in such platforms provides grater exposure.
• Get personal and real. Personalized marketing is going to be huge. Align your channels, online, in-store, customer support and all. Create customer profiles. Send personalized letters or cards wishing your customers ‘Happy Holidays’ along with personalized discount coupons.

iMessage:

A New Paradigm in Mobile Marketing

Apple’s iMessage announcement has taken the world by storm. It takes mobile texting to a whole new level, and for mobile marketing, it’s a game changer. iMessage would dissolve all the boundaries of messaging, app marketing and social media, placing the power of mobile marketing directly in the hands of the brand. brands will be able to communicate with the consumer one on one, not through a platform.

Here’s a quick roundup on the updates from Apple:

iMessage platform open to third party apps

Apple has opened its iMessage platform to developers. This means that users will have access to unlimited set of apps, and brands will be able to connect to the end user on a one-on-one basis. Suppose a user is chatting with a friend and tells her about a lip-smacking burger she had, and forwards the link from where she bought it, the friend can actually visit the page, check out the details and order the burger, without even leaving the conversation. The possibilities are endless.

Rich media messaging

This is a whole different level of rich media messaging. Simple drag and drop for images, edit or dress-up images as you send them, predictive emojis that automatically (with manual control, of course) replace text with emojis and so much more.

Even videos and website links would be accessible instantly without having to leave the conversation. For brands, this is huge. If a user likes a product and shares the link, other users, (with whom the link is shared) can directly purchase the product right within the application, without leaving the conversation.

Siri goes beyond iOS

Siri would be enabled to interact with third party applications like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Kik, WeChat and more. Users will be able to give voice commands on these applications as well.

All of this indicates that chatbots on IM is perhaps going to be one of the most powerful marketing channel in the years to come. Brands need to get ready with presence on other social platforms such iMessage advancement would just come as organic growth. Brands also need to start working on finding innovative and interesting ways to get in touch with user to give enriching, rich experiences through personalized marketing.

Need help with mobile marketing? Talk to us at support@xymob.com.

Back-To-School Shopping:

How to En-cash on the Huge Market

Time of the year again when compulsive shopping presents a huge opportunity to retailers across America. While you were planning your back-to-school promotions, chances are your competitors were planning it bigger. So if you are re-working the promotion plan, here are a few tips to help you boost your sales this season and get some prep done before the holiday season.

Go mobile

If you have a website, and are promoting and selling through your online channel, it’s not enough. You need to be where your customers are, and every one is on mobile these days including your customers and competitors. If you have an app, great. If not, have a mobile friendly website. Local businesses can also advertise on mobile apps which can get good publicity.

Go social

Social media marketing can take some time. Although there are some examples out there, but overnight-million-likes stories are still a numbered few. Take the shortcut while its available, use a paid promotion campaign to promote your account. When you have a considerable number of followers, don’t get down to brazen sales tactics. Instead gain popularity amongst your followers by providing useful content like shopping lists or savings schemes.

Facebook presence is essential and any promotion on Facebook will give you the best ROI, but find creative ways to start promoting on Snapchat and Instagram too.

Retargeting advertising can be very fruitful too. Since you know the customer is looking for the product, presenting a great offer can often result into sales.

Promoting on social media has ancillary benefits like creating a community that is all eyes and ears to your brand. Every time you launch a promotion, you will just need to augment on your present promotion. This will have a great lasting effect for years to come.

Go viral

The best marketing is the one where you do not need to market your product at all, your customers do it for you. Create interesting contests, give free giveaways, and brand ambassador benefits that are hard to refuse. People like free stuff. Make it look classy, and you’ll have a whole lot of your customers doing your marketing for you.

Need help with mobile promotions? Contact us at support@xymob.com and we will help you with more ideas and creative campaigns to promote your brand via mobile marketing. .

Pokemon Go: What Businesses Need to Learn

Pokemon Go: What Businesses Need to Learn

Pokemon Go has become a rage in very less time. The augmented reality game has engaged kids and adults likewise with gamers addicted to capturing the in-game digital monsters virtually placed in real-world settings. Non-gamers are affected too. Police have issued warnings about playing the game while driving and there are major safety concerns for users who are glued to their phones or tablets while moving around.

Augmented reality is not new. It has been around for quiet a few years now. Applications like Wikitude World Browser, Yelp Monocle, Google Ingress, SpecTrek, Snapshot Showroom, Theodolite, Augmented Car Finder, Google Sky Map and many others have been using augmented reality. These applications make use of the native features of the user’s smartphone or tablet, like camera, GPS, Contacts, Bluetooth, etc., cleverly integrate them with digital effects and user’s natural surrounding and create a real-life digital experience. From map overlays to virtual showrooms to hi-tech games to virtual tours, augmented reality has so been around.

When augmented reality has been around for so long, why the rage for Pokémon Go? Well, because it’s simple, uncomplicated and really engages the user.

This is a great learning point for marketers. Augmented reality or not, online marketers need to present more real-world interactions and opportunities of engagement to users. The key is not how digital or how mobile friendly a brand is, the key is how well does the brand connect technology to bring convenience, spectacle and engaging experiences to users. Technology needs to be the medium and not the end. The end product always has to be the experience, value or convenience that the user gets.

Most business answers will be radially available if the end product becomes the starting point of all business planning, strategy and design. Do I need an app? Well, does the app add to value to the final product? If yes, then you do need an app. Similarly, the UID, the functionality, technology involvement, online and offline support, the scope of each of this, and lot many other business aspects can be determined by keeping the final product as the goal.

So, to conclude, the point is not how advanced technology is used, but the point is how well does your offering engage and interact with the user.

Need help with your online and offline strategy? Contact us now at support@xymob.com .

Mobile Advertising: Understanding the Challange

Mobile Advertising: Understanding the Challange

Mobile advertising has become quiet popular in recent years. This comes with the obvious increased mobile usage; more the audience, more the advertising, simple math.

The irony is that despite evident data showing surge in the number of mobile users, the impact of mobile advertising is not certain. For instance, a car manufacturer creates a great ad for mobile. The ad is humorous and cleverly entertaining. It goes viral and people across social media platforms share it. But the question remains, how many potential car buyers could actually get access to the ad, and how many people were really influenced by the ad to buy the car? Media KPI would show how many people saw the ad, but for all you know the those were teenagers or college going kids who would hardly qualify as even the influencers for the buying decision of a luxury car. So who actually did see the ad? And as if this wasn’t enough for confusion, apps do not support cookies, so there is ambiguity on the customer’s buying profile. Over and above this, there are users who view the ad on their smart phone and then view it on their laptop, so for one user there’s data of ‘two views’, phantom viewers.

The Big Puzzle

Measuring results for mobile ads effectiveness is a big puzzle that marketers across the world are trying to solve. When a sale takes place, can it be credited to the mobile ad? Or the mobile ad is more like a link in the circle of brand awareness? These are important questions marketers need to answer before they plan their mobile ads.

To take a use case, say a person reads about a smart watch, talks to his friend who recommends the watch. Then he looks it up on his smart phone and comes across the advertisement video. He reads the reviews, sees the video, and decides to buy the watch. In this case, was the mobile ad of any influence, or it just filled as a link in the circle of product information or the new age buying cycle, that is. Was the video just a brand reassurance to the prospect, which in itself, is an ancillary but important nonetheless.

In another example, a person engaged in some app, encounters an in-app advertisement of a retailer offering a lucrative discount on handbags and at an impulse clicks it. A sale is made. Is the credit of the sale solely on the ad?

On the surface of it, yes, but there’s a lot more that goes in to converting interest into sale, especially online. Taking the example of the retailer again, it’s important what happens when the user clicks on the in-app ad. There are important considerations here. Should the user be taken directly to the discounted handbag section as this would save the user from unnecessary navigation or should the user be taken to the home page or the landing page where she can see that there’s discount on other products as well? Should the user be lead within the app or should be guided to the website?

Putting The Pieces Together

Apparently, there’s no absolute that can be pin pointed about an effective mobile ad strategy. It will be different from industry to industry, company to company, campaign to campaign and even customer to customer. What works for one, may be a total put-off for the other.

How do you know what works? Well, by knowing what works for whom! Information is the key to digital-age marketing. And companies who want to stay ahead in the game would have to focus on building upon customer information, enriching it at every customer touch point or contact window. Companies would need to focus on individual customer profiles more than on target groups. And the marketing strategy that would actually work, is mass personalization, mass advertising concentrating on individual needs. How to personalize mobile advertising? Read the next article – Mobile Marketing: Personalization & Engagement.


Need help with effective mobile advertising? Contact us at support@xymob.com .

5 Practical Ways to Include Personalization in Your App Marketing

5 Practical Ways to Include Personalization in Your App Marketing

Personalization and customer engagement are the key to successful marketing these days. But often marketers find it difficult to include the right amount of personalization in their marketing that positively engages customers with the brand. Generally, the problem faced by marketers is that either the message is so personal that it crosses the border from personalization to stalking, or the message is too impersonal and not engaging enough.

Here are a few practical, ready to implement ideas for push notifications to induce customer engagement.

When the order has just been delivered.

“Hi There. Your order of (order name) has just been delivered. How do you like it let us know, we do take your feedback seriously. Happy to serve you!”

• It confirms that the package has been delivered.
• It tells the customer that you look beyond just the sale.
• It reassures that you, as a company are there to help.

On arrival of new stock

“Hi There. We’ve just added fresh stock, some awesome designs in office wear collection, at unbelievable prices valid until _________. Use code XYZ. Check it out now.”

• Information about fresh stock.
• Personalization based on in-app activity.
• Induces in-app action.
• Creates urgency.

On retargeting

“Hi There. You were looking for casual footwear. We found some awesome designs from our summer specials you may have missed out on. Check them out now.”

• Personalization based on in-app activity.
• Induces action.
• Specific retargeting, very high chances of conversion.

Geofencing

“Hi There. Visit the Peter Pan store just two blocks away, show this message and get a special discount of 20% on summer apparel only for today.”

• Personalization on basis of location.
• Lucrative offer.
• Induces action.
• Time bound.

On inactivity

“Hi There. We understand you’re busy. Just wanted to tell you we’ve added new stock. And because we’ve missed you so, here’s a special 5% discount just for you. Check out our awesome new designs.”

• Personalization based on in-app activity (inactivity in this case)
• Induces action.
• Extra incentive to attract customer.

Need help with customer engagement for local business? We can help. Contact us on support@xymob.com .

How to Effectively Use Podcasts for Marketing

How to Effectively Use Podcasts for Marketing

Don’t have a Podcast yet? Well, have one!

Podcasts are on the fast lane to becoming the preferred medium for the audience world-wide. And that is an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on as a marketer. What could be better than getting your brand loyal followers who listen, the next level in invitation marketing.

Here’s how a Podcast can add value to your business:

• Engage audience (through an added and different medium)
• Building upon customer loyalty
• Announcing news and updates about your products to your customers
• Creating a personality with opinions, values and emotions around your brand
• It may also help in your search engine rankings! Well not directly but you could always use the link of your Podcast to post on various sites, including social media, which can help get visibility both in the audience and in the search engines. And the way Google’s algorithm changes to incorporate user preferences, you never know there might be a way Google might add brownie points to Podcasts as well.

How to get started?
Well, it’s easy. All you need to do is record. You can do the recording on a free tool available on the Internet like Audacity or Garage Band (for Mac users). You would need a head phone, a microphone for recording and the recording and audio editing software.

Recording is the simpler part. The tougher question is what would you say? You need to have a topic that has longevity, like a series that can be made, and you need to have a detailed write-up on the topic.

Here’s a little help to get you started with the topic:

• You could talk about the latest news and updates in your industry. For instance, if you are in the business of apparel, you could talk about latest in the fashion industry.
• Subject expertise.
• Interviews
• Stuff you write about in your blogs

After you figure put the topic, writing a script won’t be that difficult. And you don’t have to get it right in one take. You can always re-do it till you are satisfied.

Once your recording is through, you could either host it on your own website or you could host it on an external platform like SoundCloud, Podomatic, PodBean etc. Its actually like a blog, only audio. So all you need to do is establish a connect with your audience and stick to it.

You have more ideas on Podcast marketing? Share with us in the comments below. We’d be delighted to know about your experiences.

Amazing Ways to Use Geofencing to Engage Customers

Amazing Ways to Use Geofencing to Engage Customers

Geofencing is a great tool for app owners for one-to-one personalized marketing. The idea of location tracking was initially intimidating for users but with the convenience Geofencing brings to the customers, it has fast gained trust and dependability. New to a place and looking for a good eatery? Need to find a particular location? Looking for a cab? Geofencing has answers to the most basic problems of people.

It can be an incredibly important function in an app. And companies can leverage Geofencing to actually engage users. To give you a heads on, here are a few examples of some really great ways companies have used Geofencing to engage users.

• Friendly reminder to bring back customers – As a user walked by Sephora in Boston, she received a push notification from Sephora about the gift cards she had received and totally forgotten about. The user was overwhelmed and started shopping regularly at Sephora.


• Routine and event reminders – Apple has an amazing geofencing feature that clubs with the calendar, and just like a personal assistant, keeps your life on tract. If there’s a birthday party you have to attend and you are passing by Macy’s or some other store likely to have gifts, Apple will gently remind you to pick up the birthday gift.


• Reminders for making use of sale, discounts and offers – GeoQpons is one of the most amazing apps with this feature. If you walk past or are in close proximity of a store that has a sale, an offer or discounts going on, you get a push notification, telling you about the sale and also giving you e-coupons to get further discounts. Wouldn’t you just love that!

There can be many interesting ways to engage customers though location detection. But one important thing to be taken care is that companies need to use the feature in a way it seems helping and not invasive. There is a very fine between personalization and breach of privacy.

Got any question about Geofencing or use of Geofencing in your app? Leave a question in the comments below and we would be glad to answer.

In-store and Mobile Shopping – Getting the Balance Right for Local Businesses

In-store and Mobile Shopping – Getting the Balance Right for Local Businesses

The last 4-5 years have been rather eventful for marketers. Mobile commerce, app marketing, omni-channel presence…there’s been a lot keeping marketers, retailers and service providers busy. Now that the waters have been tested, strategies evaluated, marketing blueprints analyzed and overall customers’ gizmo and technology thrill settled, the market seems to have a clearer vision of what works and what doesn’t (well, more or less).
The one thing that has undoubtedly emerged as a clear trend is that no one-channel, or no one-approach can suffice for a company. It has to be a fine mix of different channels at different touch points, each with its discreet level of customer engagement, well coordinated and well aligned with the central marketing strategy.

In-Store or Online?
Although there can be no absolute answer to this question, the likely answer lies in the company’s overall strategy. Here are a few points that can be considered:

• How large is your scale of business?
• What is your target segment?
• What are your customers mostly engaged in?

If you are a retail chain, restaurant chain or basically a large set-up with multiple stores across the country, then your customers mostly expect you to have a strong on-line presence, mobile platform and great in-store service. In this case each channel should be a full fledged sales and customer service point meticulously integrated with the central database that is enriched at every touch point.
But if you are more like a local business catering to the local market, then your in-store experience should be the point of focus. But this does not mean that the other channels do not hold any significance. Rather, an online presence and a mobile app would strengthen your business and also ensure that the cycle of contact is not broken.
To take a use case, there’s a bakery that specializes in cakes. Say a customer saw their listing in the yellow pages, logged on to the Internet to check out their website. Now if the bakery does not have online presence, bam, the link’s broken. The customer just moved on. Now in another scenario if the bakery does have a good, informative website, has social media presence where a prospective customer can go and check reviews, testimonials etc. and can see real people connect with the brand. This prospect has better chances of converting into a sale. And just in case the bakery has an app that sends notifications about special promotions, updates you about weekend specials or even better, tells you what’s freshly baked when you are in the vicinity, you probably would be overwhelmed as a customer.
There are various permutations and combinations that can be worked out depending on the needs of an individual business. Need help with finding your perfect marketing balance for your local business? Reach us out at info@xymob.com.

App Marketing – The New Paradigm

App Marketing – The New Paradigm

The app market keeps changing, and fast. There are rapid new developments in this highly evolving market and at times it’s hard catching up. So for all you proactive marketers out there, here’s a quick glance at the latest app marketing trends that can help you take on the market.

Personalization
Personalization is not new but it has gone to a whole different level when it comes to app marketing. The content has to relate to each user with their specific likings and preferences. Technology has a big role to play in this. Machine learning or intuitive feature of an app should be able to learn from historic usage pattern of the user. Based on this learning the app must be able to provide personalized content to the user. For instance, if a user shops through the app on on sale days, there’s a fair chance that the user will relate to discount and sale promotions.

Predictive Marketing
It is not just about likes and presences, but based on a user’s usage pattern, marketers must also be able to predict when and for what would the user be more likely to convert. Predictive marketing is about engaging the user to an extent where predicting her behavior becomes easy; your app knows your obvious choice! Campaigns, discounts and all offers can be crafted to the user’s exact same needs predicting that she will convert into a customer.

Social Media
Love it, hate it but you cannot ignore it. Social media has become a huge influence on people. A good campaign goes viral and so does a bad word. Brands need to tread that rope tightly. But if you get it right, social media marketing can change the fate of your brand overnight. Social media marketing can have an overwhelming experience for brands.

Retention
The good old-school rule of 80-20 is settling in. Marketers are settling in with the fact that it makes more business and strategic sense to retain active and enthusiastic users, further engage them, than to put in a whole lot of time and resources into acquiring new users.

That said, there are a lot of things that still remain the same for app marketing. App engagement still remains pre-dominantly the most important factor. Other than that push-notifications, in-app messages, emails, coupons, offers all still remain important ingredients that need to be measured right for a delicious strategy.

Weird Cool Apps

Weird Cool Apps

While a lot of apps may be helping you out with important stuff, making your life convenient or entertaining you, here’s something new. Here’s a list of the most unimaginable, funny weird apps that can totally surprise you (some even pleasantly!).

Cuddlr
Cuddlr is a social networking site that uses GPS to track other eager people in your vicinity you can cuddle with. There’s a social network for cuddlers? Really?

Pimple Popper
It’s more gross than weird. The name pretty much says it, pop that sick pimple out. If you press the head of the pimple it would bleed. Ewwwww!

Spirit Story Box: Ghost Hunting Tool
Your personal little version of Ghost Busters. Well, not really. The app translates ghost language and lets you know what ghosts around you are saying (if you believe there are ghost around you, that is).

RunPee
This is such a boon for movie buffs. Remember the times you are totally engrossed in a movie and your full bladder starts bothering you. Last thing you want to do is get up in an intense scene, but when you gotta go, you gotta go. This awesome app prompts you the best time to go to pee in the middle of a movie and also fills you in on what you’ve missed while you were gone.

GymShamer
How many times have you promised yourself of starting gym or exercise routine? Well, not anymore. GymShamer doesn’t motivate you to exercise, it actually humiliates you in public if you don’t.

iNap@Work
This noble app lets you take a nap at work without getting caught. The app will produce work sounds including mouse click, keypad sound, paper shuffling, throat clearing and more. You think you can fool your boss with this?

Melon Meter
Remember the disappointment you face when you get that melon home and after cutting it discover it’s unripe? Well, no more. Melon Meter asks you to put your smartphone next to the melon, thump on it until prompted to stop. Melon Meter will find the right melon for you.

App Can help Increase In-store Traffic

App Can help Increase In-store Traffic

Many retailers would see Apps or e-commerce websites as a threat to the in-store business. But the latest research by Ipsos MediaCT and Sterling Brands for Google proves otherwise.

The research suggests that smart phones help people research and lookout for the products they like, connect with the brand and make wise buying choices ultimately resulting in increased in-store sales. People look out for choices available on line but still like to go to the store, look and feel the product before buying it.

According to the research over 68% of people responded that they were more comfortable purchasing in-store when they did research online before actually buying the product. 71% people said that they expect sales and customer service people to know accurate and give out product information more quickly because of smartphones. 46% people visit the retail website of shopping app before purchasing the merchandise.

So clearly different customer channels do not compete but actually complement each other. Customers now look for holistic experiences rather than fragmented encounters.

Here’s how local retailers can benefit from the omni-channel strategy:

1. Create an app and promote it in local inventory ads. Design localized offers, recommend products and find reasons to get in touch with the customer.
2. Instead of using a toll free number and email id, use a local phone number, store open hours and the local location. It generates more trust.
3. Along with the app have a website that promotes your app.

Instead of being intimidated by big retail chains and their shopping apps, local retailers and businesses can actually encash on the mobile and app market and increase their sales, both online and in-store. Omni-channel is the future, the earlier you accept it, the easier your transition will be.

App User Testing Made Simple

App User Testing Made Simple

Launching your new app or a new version of your existing app takes a great deal of work, meeting deadlines, pre-launch publicity, marketing, coordination, communication and so more. Just before you launch your app it is essential to conduct App User Testing to ensure the app’s all ready to woo the user. Slightest lag in User Testing can actually induce app ‘uninstalls’ which can be more fatal than ‘fewer installations’.

App User Test is not the ‘quality check’ that your technical department does with programmers or staff testing out different functions of the app. Developers often see the app from a certain angle. The promptness of the design is assumed, functionality is assumed to be simple, and the whole UX is simulated. App User Test is when real users or a random group of common people get the real feel of usability, functionality, UX and design of your app. Here is where you get the actual answer of whether your app meets its purpose, raison d’etre. User App Testing helps the user get an objective view of the usability and functionality of the app at an early stage, which can help solve so many issues even before they crop up.

Even though App User Test is imperative, you don’t necessarily need to burn your budget to get high tech labs, testing agencies, paid user groups etc. Given below are some tips to get your App User Test done in an amazingly simple and budget friendly manner.

1. Use your contacts – Get in touch with your contacts, both personal and professional. Ask them to download the app and give their feedback. You can also design a feedback form. Provide an incentive for every feedback offered.
3. Test across devices – If your app is going to be launched across platforms, Android, iOS, Windows, make sure you get feedback on all platforms and devices like cell phone, tab, laptop etc.
4. Launch a Social Media campaign – Create a Facebook page where you could ask users to provide feedback on the app. Make the campaign so compelling that it goes viral, users actually share it on social media. This will also help marketing a great deal.
5. Ask random people on the streets – Ask people for quick opinions or feedback about the app. At the end of the exercise you’d be overwhelmed with the precise points and exact suggestions that come to you. And actually speaking a lot of the users would be forming their opinions in quick glances only.

There are many interesting ways you can get real feedback from the real users. Think of some? Share with us in the comments below.

App Marketing

App Marketing – Quick Tips For Quick Results

If we read expert advise for app marketing, most would strongly suggest that app marketing should be integrated with the holistic marketing plan and there should be a consolidated marketing strategy that should not alienate one customer touch point from the other. This is the ideal way it should be done too. But there are two problems here. First, with an app in place, CEOs start expecting fast results and second, an app per se is in itself a whole new product that needs to be sold to the user.

While tampering with the consolidated marketing strategy might not be the sensible option, here are some quick tips that would help you popularize your app without making any changes in the company’s marketing strategy.

Promote your app on the mobile website: Show the carrot. Tell users the benefits of installing the app. Give compelling reasons.

ASO: ASO is to apps what SEO is to websites. Google Play Store and Apple Store have specific criterion on the basis of which they feature apps in a certain order. Although this is a comprehensive study in itself, but you could quickly look up the criteria for your app category. It’s a combination of user ratings, tags, screen shots, app title, download data etc., find out what works best for your category.

Get your app reviewed on top app review sites: The app review sites not only command user attention but also get your app some useful ASO links.

Advertise/Broadcast your link on Social Media: Study suggests that users are more likely to respond to social media ads than to ads on the web. Make sure the social media ads are interesting, humorous and compelling. Such ads have a chance to go viral that can be perhaps the best publicity your app can get.

Get a video explaining the functionality of your app: A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a thousand pictures. Get a video on the functionality of the app and post it across the web on video blogs, YouTube, social media, your company website and every where you can think of marketing your product.

This is just the hint of what you can do. There are a whole lot of interesting ways to market your app. If this blog has spurred some interesting ideas on app marketing, please do share them with us in the comments below.