6 Steps to building a Long-Term strategy for mobile app

If your business is online and lacks integrated mobile commerce capabilities, you’re missing out a great opportunity for sales. Regardless of whether you have a live mobile app, it might be an ideal opportunity to reassess. Organizations have worked quickly to take care of the demand for mobile app and go after the billions of dollars up for grab, however many have hurried into M-Commerce without understanding that success depends on the correct technology.

1) Begin with a Clear Strategy

Is your primary goal to provide customers with a research tool to help them in the purchase, or would you say you are hoping to boost customer loyalty? Are you adding a new channel to catch more sales? Would you like to draw in smartphone users, or would you say you are hoping to give a one-size-fits-all answer for reaching an extensive group of audience? There's no correct answer or single solution. Rather than changing your objectives to what's accessible today, you have to construct your mobile methodology around what's appropriate for your business in the long term and also where you expect that mobile app utilization will be in the following 12 to 18 months. 2) Select the Right Mobile Environment Once you've defined your objectives, you have to gain an understanding of where and how your interested audience is interfacing with the mobile channel. Mobile sites show up inside the browser on any internet-enabled mobile. The upside of mobile sites is that 99 percent of web-enabled gadgets can access them. Mobile sites do not require the user to download anything, and if set up properly, they can detect the user’s device and automatically format the content for optimal viewing on that platform. Mobile applications require a gadget specific download from a marketplace like the Apple App Store or the Android Market. Since applications use native capabilities, they provide improved functionality, for example, GPS-enabled location service, filtering, and the capacity to cache content for offline usage. Separate applications have to be built for every mobile platform, so you have to prioritize build-outs based on the device usage of your audience and the greater market.

3) Prioritize Devices

Once you've chosen the environment(s) you want to develop in, you have to concentrate on which gadgets you intent to support. The initial step here is to figure out which platform your target audience uses. Then you must reconcile that with the behaviors of the larger customer landscape to determine which device will bring the greatest impact. It should come as no surprise that in the United States, iOS (iPhone, iPad) device users have the highest engagement with the mobile channel. Android-based phones are a close second, followed distantly by Symbian, RIM BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile OS–based devices. 4) Choose Whether to Own or Outsource technology Technology will fill in as the foundation of your mobile app initiative, and you can choose from a variety of options. These range from completely outsourced to service-driven solutions and homegrown technologies built and managed internally. Numerous companies battle with the innovation choice. Will a low-cost, outsourced solution have the capacity to help long-term growth? Will invest resources into a robust infrastructure cost too much up-front? Accessible to-enlist individuals with mobile app skill sets are rare, which is the reason most by far of companies have drawn in providers.

5) Figure out What Technology You Can Repurpose

In most cases, you shouldn't need to make huge investments in new technology to support mobile extension. If you have a Website, you can and should use its core technologies (E-Commerce platform, promoting tools, content management system (CMS) customer reviews, product information) in the mobile channel. Regardless of your methodology, reach out as much as possible with your existing technology into the mobile channel to utilize the investments and simplify management. If you need to go outside your existing E-Commerce systems for pieces of your mobile offering, you should still strive to incorporate the tools used to manage your Website user experience.Your mobile storefront should be as actively analyzed and managed by your internal business users as your regular Website. Integrating these tools into your mobile offering will not only amplify the value of your current technology investments but also ensure guarantee consistency of the customer experience and branding efforts across all of your channels.

6) Adjust Your Technology to Short-and Long-Term Goals

To boost your financial plan and get projects moving, you have to adjust the development of mobile service to your business strategy and after that stage your mobile build-out in accordingly. Odds are, you will not have the financial plan or assets to work out your whole mobile program in advance. Rather, you will likely require quick outcomes to secure extra finances and future help. Ensure you're choosing the correct innovation to help your mobile objectives and long-term strategy. If your objective is to drive sales through mobile, incorporating good customer reviews or putting resources into a streamlined checkout process will demonstrate more productive than barcode scanning. Rate what is most vital to your strategy, alter build-outs as needs are, and emphasize in the light of how your clients are interfacing. Keep re-assessing, and return to your strategy each quarter.

Conclusion

To stay competitive, you should have a long-term mobile strategy and emphasize frequently. For the best possibility for achievement in the mobile channel, root your strategy in technology lined up with your mobile objectives, the usage patterns of your target audience, and your financial plan. Building a phased mobile strategy, and leverage much as could of your current technology to get projects moving, maximize budget, and extend a consistent experience into the mobile channel.

Tags: e-commerce, sales, technology, m-commerce, mobile application,