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.