One of the quickest ways to build customer retention is to give your customers something they want, something extra that they won’t get elsewhere. Usually this takes the form of freebies, discounts, information and literally anything that goes above and beyond what they can get from the competition. While you are able to do that via a mobile site, you can go so much further with a bespoke application developed specifically for your company. At this point you may be wondering what a mobile site has to do with customer retention and that would be a very good question.
What 21st Century Consumers Are Looking For
Oddly, there is a direct correlation between mobile websites and what consumers are looking for. As of last May, Google made the official announcement that more people are now surfing the web and conducting mobile searches than those using the more traditional desktop PC. So the first thing to consider is that today’s consumer is looking for information, products or services while on the run. We are a highly mobile society more so than at any time ever in the past.
Secondly, today’s consumer is looking to engage with the brands they buy from. They want to ‘know’ the company they are spending money with and even though this is an online transaction, they want to deal with an entity they trust. In other words, they want a relationship with businesses they frequent. This leads to customer loyalty. But a mobile site alone just isn’t enough to satisfy both those needs.
A Good Mobile Site Plus a Bespoke App Is the Solution
Starting with a great responsive mobile site, today’s consumer will find it easy to navigate your site. This improves the initial user experience so that once on your site it is easy for that person to find what they are looking for with the ability to view it well because a mobile site is responsive. No matter what size screen they are viewing your site on they will be able to see your products, services and content very well. But is this enough to convert them and then to keep them coming back time and again? Probably not.
Building a Lasting Relationship with a Bespoke App
So then, by providing a downloadable app that offers your visitors something they can use, you are keeping them involved for longer periods of time. This, in turn, leads to building a solid relationship with that visitor. For example, some restaurants simply publish their menu online but those that offer a way to order through a bespoke app are more apt to buy food from that establishment. Once downloaded to your mobile phone, that visitor can create a log in profile so that each and every time your site is visited that user can quickly and easily order whatever they want from the menu rather than calling it in based on what they see. The bespoke app is an interface between the menu and the process of ordering. Today’s consumer is living in the fast lane so cutting corners to order their food is a real plus.
This is why going mobile just isn’t enough to build customer retention. Having a mobile site developed is the way to get visitors to your site but the way to keep them coming back (customer retention) is to give them that something extra they won’t get elsewhere. In the case mentioned above, it’s the ability to order quickly via the app with little need to type any personal info because the app has all that information saved. Want to build a loyal following? The quickest and easiest path to customer retention is with a bespoke mobile app to make the user experience quick, yet personal. After all, that app ‘remembers’ the visitor and has a complete order history. Ease of access with a personal touch is what today’s consumer wants and that’s exactly what a bespoke application can provide.
