There’s an app for that.

Apple’s famous advertising slogan to promote the iPhone 3G in 2009 has perhaps never been truer as heighten demand for these bits of software means firms both large and small are creating an app in a bid to boost sales.

A recent report from Juniper Research forecast that more than 66 billion mobile apps will be downloaded by 2016, up from 31 billion in 2011. With app downloads expected to surge over the next four years, revenue from consumer mobile apps is set to rise accordingly and eventually reach $51.7 billion (£32.2 billion).

The majority of this revenue will be generated from smartphone apps, followed by those made for tablets and feature phones. In fact, tablet computers are set to account for a quarter of mobile app revenue by 2015, up from just seven per cent last year.

With the app industry set to explode over the coming years, it is important that firms do all they can to promote their app following its development. After all, it is no good spending countless hours creating a fantastic application to then just leave it wallowing away in an app store.

“If an app is not present in the top Top 100 of its category in a particular store, then – as far as the app-buying public is concerned – it effectively does not exist,” Dr Windsor Holden, principal analyst at Juniper Research in Hampshire, told the Mobile Marketer website.

“Thus, it is incumbent upon the content provider to seek to drive that app into public awareness by marketing that app via various channels.”

Companies clearly need to do all they can to set their app apart from the competition, so how should they go about doing so?

One of the best ways to make mobile customers aware of a new app is to send them targeted SMS messages. After all, 100 per cent of smartphone users can receive text messages, meaning that all of a company’s intended audience for an app can be reached via the medium.

Moreover, unlike email, firms are safe in the knowledge that their SMS message is almost guaranteed to be read. Figures show that 98 per cent of all text messages are read by the recipient, whereas just 10.8 per cent of all emails sent in the first half of 2011 were read. This makes SMS – an inexpensive communication method anyway – a much more cost-effective way to promote an app as companies have to send out fewer texts than emails to publicise their app.

By following a simple set of steps, firms can easily advertise their app via SMS:

1)     Gain customer’s phone number via a lead generation mechanism

2)    Send relevant website address to the customer

3)    Customer will then open the link on their smartphone and open up a landing page

4)    Track the number of people who have clicked through

5)    Redirect users to their app in the app store

And it really is as simple that. So what are you waiting for? Start plugging your app via SMS today.

If you would like to benefit from mobile marketing why not register for a Dynmark Cloud Portal account today, it’s FREE and you get 10 FREE credits to try it out. Or you can sign up to our FREE to SME proposition meaning your get your messaging credits for FREE.

The Dynmark Cloud Portal is the primary interface for interacting with any Dynmark service. From the portal you can gain access to all services and solutions. You are greeted with a full reporting dashboard to show you exactly how you are using the Dynmark Cloud Platform. From there you can access the solutions by choosing the correct tab and clicking through to the relevant service. It’s also where you can purchase or sign up to additional services.

Summary: See how firms in different sectors can use text message marketing to their advantage

The benefits of SMS marketing have been widely publicised.

It is more cost effective than many traditional forms of marketing, it has a much higher engagement rate and it gives customers a direct line of communication with their customers, wherever they are.

However, many organisations may be unsure about how text message marketing can be used to improve their operations in particular and how the platform can cater to their industry-specific needs.

Our guide will shed light on how SMS marketing can be used in a range of sectors to enhance business-client relationships and ultimately boost sales.

Finance

Organisations in the finance sector, such as banks, insurance firms and loan and mortgage providers, all use SMS marketing to keep in contact with both prospective and existing clients.

One of the most common forms of SMS communication within the sector is the secure delivery of confidential account information directly to customers. Firms can keep mobile phone users updated about recent transactions or changes to their account and send related promotional texts.

For example, if a client is consistently in their overdraft or regularly only paying back the minimum amount on their credit card each month, banks could consider offering them a loan in order to clear these debts.

As SMS messages have a much higher open rate than emails or direct mail, and are cheaper than phone calls, financial organisations can also keep clients updated about the progress of their loan application. With greater certainty that the text alert will be seen, companies will be safe in the knowledge that they are providing a useful service to clients and not wasting funds on proportional messages which will not be seen.

If a customer is late with a payment or a payment is due, SMS alerts can be sent in bulk to all affected customers within a matter of seconds to remind them payment is due. A follow-up text can be sent to any customer that fails to take action.

Text messages can also be scheduled to be sent on specific days throughout the month, such as paydays, to reassure customers that the funds have reached their accounts. Automated text messages can save businesses a lot of time that would normally be used to manually send out messages, allowing staff to work on other projects.

When correlated with information in a database, pre-scheduled texts can help boost sales. For example, a text could be sent out to 18-year-olds in education informing them about how they can upgrade to a student account when they go to university.

Financial organisations can also help guard against fraud by informing their clients of any suspicious activity on their account. This can subsequently improve business-customer relationships as clients will be reassured that their funds are in safe hands.

Travel

Travel agencies can use SMS in a number of different ways. Whether promoting last-minute deals, confirming bookings or directing customers to mobile websites, text messages are becoming one of the main communication channels for businesses in the travel industry.

Specific deals can be sent to a target audience depending on their previous travel destinations, providing a boost to sales. Once they make the booking, send out auto-reply confirmation messages and ’thank you’ texts to further enhance your relationship with the customer.

Constant communication with customers in transit is crucial for businesses to reassure them that their flight is on time or to immediately inform them of any delays. This will help soften the blow of any changes to customers’ travel plans.

Furthermore, all SMS communication should also feature links to your company’s mobile website to attract more people to online resources where they can book their holiday.

Food and drink 

Restaurants and takeaways are among the biggest users of SMS marketing as they regularly run discounts and meal deals to attract customers.

The immediacy of text messaging enables eateries to send out such offers just before meal times and during special events such as Valentine’s Day, when they are likely to get the biggest response.

Cross referencing with a customer database system will also help provide extra impetus to marketing campaigns as special offers can be sent to clients on their birthday. Moreover, if you are opening a new outlet closer to a customer’s home address, why not let them know?

Order confirmation texts can also be sent to clients to reassure them that their food is on its way and their payment has been received.

If you would like to benefit from mobile marketing why not register for a Dynmark Cloud Portal account today, it’s FREE and you get 10 FREE credits to try it out. Or you can sign up to our FREE to SME proposition meaning your get your messaging credits for FREE.

The Dynmark Cloud Portal is the primary interface for interacting with any Dynmark service. From the portal you can gain access to all services and solutions. You are greeted with a full reporting dashboard to show you exactly how you are using the Dynmark Cloud Platform. From there you can access the solutions by choosing the correct tab and clicking through to the relevant service. It’s also where you can purchase or sign up to additional services