The Mobile Apps Part of Developing a Mobile Strategy
Everyone is trying to come up with the next winning mobile marketing strategy, but has anyone hit the jackpot yet? Companies and businesses seem to come up with new mobile strategies that get scrapped as fast as ice cream melts. I have heard this over and over again as I meet and talk to people who are struggling with what to do with mobile. They know they gotta get in the game, but the big question is HOW!
Let’s focus on mobile apps. Many companies feel compelled to come up with ONE mobile app, which they deem their mobile strategy, that will carry their company for years to come, kind of like their website. The thought is, “If I’m going to invest $50K into building an app it BETTER last a while and encompass everything my company has to offer.”
Let me ask you a question. What, do you think, is the life expectancy of the average app? In this day and age the amount of time an app is useful, usable and desirable is getting shorter and shorter. In no time at all another app will pop up debunking last week’s BEST APP OF THE DAY! What are you expectations around the life expectancy of your mobile apps?
Next question. What, do you think, is the life expectancy of the average app on your phone? I hazard to guess that some apps, the ones that you use all the time or the ones that add value to your life, live on your phone for quite a some time while the apps that don’t offer value get deleted after one or two uses. Have you thought about how your mobile apps will fare on someone’s phone?
Think about these questions as you develop your mobile strategy. The answers to these questions should drive your decisions on what kinds of apps you make, how long you expect these apps to be effective and how much you spend on app creation.
Tune in next week when I talk about what mobile strategies and apps I have seen that work really well.
