What is the best tool that gives us access to others?…. Our mobile devices… from going online, to text messages, surfing,  e-commerce, and the phone itself.  Studies have shown that we have our mobile devices within our reach 93% time (Return Path). These same studies also reveal that we are getting over 50% of our email on our phone and over ½ of our Internet purchases are being completed on mobile devices. Text is another outlet that receives over a 93% open and read rate….. Email only has a 10-12% open rate. Simple logic tells us that if I could obtain access to my customers and prospects 93% of the time… and the customer have access to me and my products/services the same amount of time…. There is nothing in the marketplace that provides that amount of access.

A mobile  app will provide the best tool to:

• Gain referrals – the mobile app can created a form to refer friends and associates.

• A quality designed mobile  app requires no scrolling on the phone to make things bigger to read… Custom built mobile web apps are so friendly to read and navigate, there is no need to have to go use a laptop or desktop. No cramming the whole large computer screen into a little phone screen which is totally unusable… but that has been the initial industry standard…  “Mobile Friendly” (NOT VERY  FRIENDLY WHEN YOU CANNOT READ ANYTHING). Responsive designs are not much better due too many limitations and no customization abilities.

• Incentive programs for referrals can be part of the app,.. a street team with the tool to share your message immediately with others and acquire real people’s names and information., (Bird Dog’s)

• Share your message over various social networks… to expand your reach inviting Face Book,Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other social network users to see the mobile web app.

• Provide special deals and promotions through the app

• Provides a platform for others to sign up to be part of your Club/Team/Blog/Newsletters

• Use the social networks to have customers go to the app and add to the phone’s home page as a logo…and then instantly appears and acts like any other app on the phone… BUT NO DOWNLOAD.

• Customers sign up to receive text and emails from the representative to keep them informed (This is priceless because each message that is text will be read in a timely manner without distraction)… The link in the message takes them to the app for a full blown color –audio-video-html layout describing the offer… Flexible to accomplish anything you want.

• 24/7 access to your company and your 24/7 access to the customer (One on One without distractions)

• Share a QR code scan with a new prospect and they can add the company icon on their home page of their phone and have instant access to everything you want them to have at their fingertips….NO DOWNLOAD REQUIRED..

• Customers can purchase products through the app linking into your own secure API links or PayPal or Google Checkout..

• All notifications and forms filled out are available by immediate email or your own API link to place the data in your database.

• Make one change on the app and it is changed on over 5000 phones that try to access it immediately… NO DOWNLOADS REQUIRED EVER!!

• The app provides a one on one communication experience which is private every time it is used… an internet connection through a browser or a social network does not provide the one on one communication like a mobile web app does.. Those other mediums have everyone else trying to advertise and grab your attention… providing overwhelming distractions.

Other ways to access a mobile web app is very simple…. Use your mobile device browser and go to the main website… The system knows that a mobile device is attempting to connect to the website and seamlessly switches the connection to the mobile web app… Simple and very fast with 3G or 4G connections.  This means that it is not imperative  a customer adds the app to their home page .. they have access to the app 24/7 by just going to the website on a mobile device.

These are a few of the reasons that a mobile web app can help every business and their sales force expand and provide better access and service to their customers… Truly customizable mobile web app platforms can brand your company. Your company has control of the system under the master platform.  You have the flexibility to create just about anything you want….

The price for mobile web apps is becoming ridiculously low.. We have seen prices of $4 a month up to $79+ a month for a mobile web app.   We can offer  custom mobile web apps for as low as $4/mo based on on volume purchases or as little as $9/mo for non profits…. On large sales group organizations… thousands of apps for a few quarters a month each.

JAMES ALAN HUGHBANKS

Mobile Apps are still so new in the industry, only 20%+ of businesses have them. Most businesses do not realize the powerful tool they have at their fingertips. This tool is the most economical marketing “club” they have in their bag to build a larger client base and expand their brand through referrals. The greatest type of new customer there is and ever has been since the beginning of time is a GOOD REFERRAL!!! Every marketer agrees “hands down” that the best new client is one that is acquired due to a recommendation from a trusted source. They come to do business because a company might offer what they want and their referral to the company provides the best environment for all parties to solidify a new relationship. Over time, things have not changed too much on how business obtains referrals: • Asking for referrals from various sources • Sending letters, email, or messages with referral request to clients. prospects, “bird dogs”, and centers of influence we have met and have built trusted relationships with. • Customers that believe in your business to the point they share it on their own • Third party organizations which endorse your business. To make contact, we provide a business card, a telephone number, an email, or maybe a website address to the referral to make contact. What happens at that point is a loss of control because there has not been a tool to complete the connection and provide the opportunity to solidify the relationship immediately. As with my experiences and observations in the past 35 years of sales, the longer the time it takes to make a solid connection with a referral, the less value the referral might possess with that passing of time. What is missing? What’s missing is a simple tool which provides the ability to complete a solid connection with the referral. It is important to make that connection as soon as a referral is obtained. The tool needs to provide quick, accurate information coupled with the ability to pull the prospect into your relationship building marketing system.

This tool is already in your hand… A MOBILE SMART PHONE. Due to access of our mobile devices over 90+% of the time, the mobile device is the tool that provides the opportunity to make an immediate connection with potential customers using the standard means I described above. The question is, “How can a business capitalize on this opportunity of access while acquiring these strongest types of new customer leads – REFERRALS? The mobile web app can provide the platform to accomplish by providing immediate sharing access and the ability to engage the referral to complete a connection. Flexibility of various custom features already designed for that kind of marketing is within most web app development platforms. The old saying holds true. “Strike while the iron is hot” by engaging the referral immediately by using the mobile device within every ones reach 93% of the time… 24/7. What can be designed in a mobile web app to help capture new referrals and engage them in your process? • Create forms to provide electronic referrals though the app • Create incentive programs for those who refer • Template emails referring friends through a link to the mobile web app • Refer the app through Twitter, Face Book, LinkedIn, Google+, Etc. • Keep me Updated forms to acquire cell numbers for SMS and email addresses • Text to engage the customer 90+% of the time creating “top of mind awareness”. • Share the app with friends and associates by allowing them to scan the QR code image on the app from your phone. The referral scans the QR code from the display on your phone and immediately sees the custom mobile web app on theirs, and can add the company icon to the phone as an app. NO Download required and done in seconds. • Refer someone to the main company website using their mobile device. The main site seamlessly changes to the company mobile web app… EVERY TIME. Add a bookmark and the branded app icon can be added to the new customer’s phone homepage. I-Phone automatically can ask if you want to add the mobile web app without doing anything.

Now at the end of the process, the customer has access to the business 24/7 and the business has access to the customer 24/7. What other marketing “club” in your bag can provide this type of access… for literally pennies a day?

Referral marketing is just one way of using the mobile web app to acquire new customers.

James Alan Hughbanks

During the last couple years we all have seen a large spike in the use of smart phones and a huge drop in their price. This is rapidly allowing the world market to explode with smart phones, 4G/3G blazing speeds, and free Wi-Fi on every corner of the world. New statistics are coming out every month by experts across the industry (i.e. Return Path) in regards to mobile use on the Internet and mobile purchases. The Internet marketing industry is a little behind on wrapping its head around what is really happening.

This paradigm shift away from the desktop and much of the laptop to mobile devices has opened the door for some tremendous marketing tools unavailable just a few years ago. It is the mobile app… Specifically the mobile web app (no download required on any phone). This is very different than the native app in that the native app required a download from one of the stores or a direct download and install on the mobile device. Constant updating and downloading by the user is required to maintain current updated information for that app. The mobile web app is updated instantaneously across all platforms because it is mobile web based system. The mobile web app eliminates downloads and updates associated with native apps. Elimination of that hassle and delay gives the user an instantaneous experience through a web based app. Web apps have the similar appearance and response to native apps. We have our mobile phone within reach 93% of the time 24/7 according to industry statistics. With the advent of text and push notifications (not too different now with 4G/3G access), we can communicate with our customers “One on One”. The read rate of text (over 90%) provides a high probability the customer will receive our marketing message in a timely fashion… NO DISTRACTIONS FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES AND SOCIAL MEDIA.

Why is this important? Marketing experts agree that businesses have less and less time, literally seconds, to capture a customer’s attention and keep it. We are bombarded every second with someone else trying to get our attention. The native app requires too many steps to capture instant attention for a prospect. The mobile web app provides instantaneous access to the business offer without distractions or downloads. A properly designed mobile web app allows the user to bookmark the page and add an app icon to the home screen to access the business 24/7. Once added or not added, anytime a customer goes to the main website of the company from a mobile device, they will be redirected to the mobile web app to ensure the best user experience available for the customer. NO DOWNLOAD REQUIRED… This provides more access for the customer. Native apps require the individual to download the app which can limit the number of potential new customers as compared to a web based application which has no download and is the same as surfing the web.

I recommended that clients use the mobile web apps to help market and expand their business. Native apps have their place for business to fill the gap of what mobile web apps are incapable of performing, like pictures uploaded from the mobile device through the app would be one example. Business could find it might be the most economical marketing tool they have ever used.

We  recommended that clients use the mobile web apps and native apps to help market and expand their business. It comes down to your company needs on which type fits best.

James Alan Hughbanks