In the March issue of Harvard Business Review, Sunil Gupta writes about the impact smartphones and mobile devices are having on advertising.  In short, screen size minimizes the users experience related to ads with text and icons to small to be functional.  “Instead of buying tiny banner advertisements, markets should create apps that add value to consumers’ lives and enhance long-term engagement with their brands”, says Gupta.  Here are five strategies to help marketers succeed in helping people understand how and why users choose apps.

1.  Add convenience.  Apps work well to strengthen relationships.  Gupta states that apps aren’t very effective for acquiring new customers.  I disagree.  The “share” feature on most apps that allows users to refer an app to friends and associates across channels is one way to expand exposure of a brand, product, service or company.  Apps are also another digital footprint that helps promote a brand to consumers, search engines and other online communities.

2.  Offer unique value.  Here’s where apps separate themselves from other forms of communication, namely ads and email.  The user rich environment that can be created gives a unique customer experience to the user.  When designed correctly to super serve your customer base, a custom app stands out and is preferred over browsers or email.  What unique benefits does your company provide for your existing and potential new customers?  Create a value proposition for people to download your app and they’ll opt in and pull down your content because it makes their life better.

3.  Social value.  The world is hyper-connected in small and large online communities.   Facebook, LinkIn, Pinterest, Yelp, and hundreds of other social media channels are now hosting smartphone and mobile device traffic that contains information about your company.  Get connected and make it easy for your custom smartphone app users to connect with others.

4.  Offer incentives.  While not every business will want or need a customer loyalty and incentive program, the opportunity to reward your customers for patronizing your business or for opting in to download your valuable content is becoming more apparent.  It’s easy and encourages sharing and referrals.

5.  Entertain.  Today most smartphone users are using social media apps like facebook, google and dozens of tools that help people connect and gather information quickly.  More than 40% of people’s time with apps is spent playing games.

Sunil Gupta closes this article with the most powerful statement.  “So apps are not only the most effective way to reach mobile consumers; they are also more cost-efficient than many traditional ad campaigns.  When we started mobizmedia, LLC, we knew that the ability for a company to connect with their customers in a customized, branded and user friendly environment will surpass the ability of any other traditional media.  Now is the time to start building your custom mobile app audience of repeat customers.  Read more about this subject here.  Harvard Business Review – For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads.

Today’s business leaders are taking notice of the impact that Google, You Tube and Face Book are having on their company and their customers.  Google owns You Tube.  Their purpose is to share unlimited information on any subject with the click of a mouse.  Face Book is better at connecting people than anything that’s come before it.  To stay connected with your friends and to build you friend list focus on Face Book.  To build your business focus on You Tube.  You can tell you story.  Or even better, your customers can tell your story and their experiences with you.  Want to increase sales?  What’s your new media strategy?

In “Pendulum” by Roy Williams and Michael Drew, societal trends throughout history repeat themselves.  The historical perspective is fascinating and thoughts on how to apply this theory are even better.

“Pulling people into a positive relationship through positive attraction as opposed to pushing them” towards into a decision through analysis and justification is a better approach.

Society is driving the transparent information gathering that is being fostered by Google, Facebook and Wikipedia.  Giving up your privacy in exchange for information is all the rage.

So then how does a business owner apply this knowledge of “pull marketing” to create better customer relationships and the related increase in sales?  By understanding your audience well enough to create a messaging strategy that’s relevant to them and transparent in a way that reveals both your strengths and weaknesses.  This can also be stated as the complete and unbiased truth.  This is who we are, this is who we are not.

Are you interested in reviewing your marketing and messaging strategy to position your company for the next upswing into the “We” period that will shape our history and your customer relationships?  Contact me to schedule a time to talk.  We are positioned to help you gain a competitive advantage by building better customer relationships.  We are not an expensive ad agency with lots of overhead and inexperience.  We’re a marketing firm that is focused on helping small business owners increase sales.

We all know that Google is the most powerful search engine and perhaps the most powerful communication tool of all time.  They do incredible things and I’m grateful for their vision, engineering and design skills.  Yet they are merely human.  While trying to update my clients Google Places profile, I have found it incredibly frustrating to get someone on the phone that knows what they are doing.  In this specific instance, I’ve probably had 20 conversations with their support person.  Finally when she realized she had no idea how to reset the PIN #, she pushed me off to an open link, google/support.  Swim for it!  So I politely step back today to put this project on hold, until I re-energize my mind for another run at Google Customer Support.   Eventually I will get a new PIN for my client because Google wants to write an Adwords pay per click order.  That’s their job.  So I’ll keep trying…next week perhaps.  The message here is that even great companies fall down.  I’ll be patient and I’ll persist professionally until I reach this goal…to spend money with Google.

It’s amazing how customer service can vary.  Google me this.

Matthew Ragas and Bolivar Bueno authored, The Power of Cult Branding.  This is an excellent book for business owners that want to build stronger customer relationships and brand loyalty.  I their book they look into the culture and make up of nine premier cult brands.

In summary they identified The Seven G0lden Rules of Cult Branding.

1.  Consumers want to be part of a group that’s different.

2.  Cult brand inventors show daring and determination.

3.  Cult brands sell lifestyles.

4.  Listen to the choir and create cult brand evangelists.

5.  Cult brands always create customer communities.

6.  Cult brands are inclusive.

7.  Cult brands promote personal freedom and draw power from their enemies.

This is a must-read book for any marketer or business owner interested in increasing sales by expanding your customer base and increasing customer loyalty.

Now is the time to invest in your marketing and customer development programs.  With the elections near and all the media hype associated with elections, global politics, terrorism and the troubles our country faces, it’s easy to understand how people can slip into a negative mindset.  I’ve heard that thousands of people in the United States are quietly sitting on billions of investment dollars, hedging their investments until “the economy improves”.

Guess what.  This is how the economy is.  It is what it is.

It’s been proved historically that companies who invest in their marketing and customer development process experience larger sales gains as the economy continues to stabilize for future growth.

We all know that our path to success with our businesses will be determined by our ability to plan forward and design new ways to achieve greater levels of competitive advantages and positive points of differentiation that appeal to our prospects and customers.  We need to communicate our core competency and how it resonates and is relevant to the needs of our customers.

Here are two good articles on the subject that are must reads.

Harvard Business Review – “Roaring Out of Recession” written by Ranjay Gulati, Nitin Nohria, and Franz Wohlgezogen.   http://hbr.org/2010/03/roaring-out-of-recession/ar/1

iMedia CONNECTION – “How brands thrived during the Great Depression” written by Dave Chase.  http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/20821.asp

Insult is the risk of clarity.