If you currently run or are thinking about opening an ecommerce shop, you may have thought about building a mobile application as well. Even when you have the best ecommerce technology and a responsive website complete with a comprehensive search tool like Instant Search, it doesn’t always fulfill the same needs that a mobile app will.
First and foremost, a mobile app can help you capture an even bigger percentage of your market. It can also help you stack up against your competitors. Red Hat, a market research company, found that of the 2,500 businesses who were included in a survey, nearly 90% of them were interested in exploring app development in the coming year. To stay ahead of the curve, it’s important for you to explore how your ecommerce company might benefit from an app. Here’s what you need to know:
Push Notifications
The ability to send notifications is a great marketing tactic. After all, push notifications put you right in your consumer’s pockets, getting you up close and personal where your market is most likely to be: on their phone. No matter who you are or how you use your phone, you rely on notifications to stay updated with the applications you’ve chosen to download.
Push notifications help stimulate user engagement, reeling customers back in they may have been away from your applications for a while. According to Urban Airship, mobile push notifications can increase app retention by 3-4x. You can use push notifications to address cart abandonment, targeting customers who may have left items in their cart. You can also send limited time offers or target specific segments of your market based on their demographic.
Customer Support
Customer support can make or break your business. In fact, studies have shown that for many businesses, customer service will be even more important than the actual product. Furthermore, modern consumers are expecting more from their customer support teams; not only do they want to be serviced quicker, but they also want to have multiple ways to reach customer service. With so many options to choose from, it’s no wonder that more than half of consumers will leave a brand because of poor customer service, which costs businesses millions every year.
A mobile application gives you a great customer service touch point. For instance, you can easily integrate a Customer Portal into your app that houses FAQs, chat support, and more. The convenience makes it easy for customers to want to do business with you. Your ecommerce company will be able to answer questions quickly, which can lead to a conversion, or they’ll be able to fix an issue quickly which allows you to retain your customer service.
Build Customer Loyalty
The average customer is inundated with thousands of ads each day. These ads come from online search, television, billboards, and more. Whenever a user has to conduct a search for your business, or a similar business, they’ll also see comparable options. Because of this, you can start to slowly lose customers. However, with an app, the features of your business are highlighted.
According to Harvard Business Review, businesses lost half of their entire customer base within five years. One of the best ways to retain your customers is by starting a loyalty program, and a mobile application is one of the best ways to house an effective rewards platform. Some of the biggest and most well-known companies use referral programs to grow their businesses, including Airbnb and Starbucks.
Collect Data
Apps allow you to collect plenty of data about your downloaders, which can be very helpful in making future business decisions. For example, by understanding the location of your users, you’ll be able to leverage these geography stats to your benefit. You’ll also be able to track actionable metrics, such as application open rates, open times, and engagement.