The Value of App Marketing

As smartphones continue to play an increasingly greater role in consumers' lives, many companies have clued into the value of app marketing. The effectiveness of such a tactic largely depends on a number of factors related to the service being offered, a topic often covered in Trend Hunter's Marketing Trend Report. Luckily, there are a few keys to keep in mind to ensure that a mobile app strategy will prove to be worthwhile.

Make the app accessible.When adopting a mobile strategy to improve sales, it's advised that a company make its app available free of cost in order to get as many people using the app as possible. In addition to pricing, it's wise to create an app that can be downloaded and used on multiple operating systems.

Offer as much value as possible.Too many companies, particularly retail businesses, fall into the trap of creating a very basic app that simply guides users to the nearest store location. Though this offers some value, the best marketing apps offer something more to users. Zappos, an online shoe retailer, is a shining example of bringing real value to its app users. The company released an app that provided users with customized fashion recommendations based on content the person had posted on the popular visual-based site Pinterest.

Brand your app.Though it's great to offer interesting services in an app, always remember to keep the bottom line in mind. At the end of the day, your app should, in some capacity, lead people to interact with your company in a beneficial way. The Zappos app shows its strength again here in this regard, as the recommendations led users to products sold on the company site. Striking the balance between promotional and inherently useful is tricky, but should be the goal of companies looking to benefit from app marketing.

There are a number of ways in which brands can benefit from app marketing, and an almost endless number of ways to create a product that benefits both the brand and the consumer.