It is more than three billion humans who are active on their mobile daily. Imagine the opportunities that companies have to get in touch with these people? On the other hand, imagine how difficult it is to be relevant when you get in touch with that many people; no one is the same!
In this context, mobile push notifications have been created in order to intervene in the daily life of an individual. Whether shopping, waiting in line, or during a coffee break, there are several opportune moments when the latter will be inclined to use one or more applications.
Moreover, it is almost 50% of people who say they are ready to use an application after receiving a notification aligned with their preferences. This is then directly related to the pet peeve of mobile push notifications. How do you recognize the preferences of your customers to ensure optimal use of them? It is by using a tool capable of managing a high level of customization that everything will be possible.
What is a mobile push notification?
Let’s start with the base. A mobile push notification is an application-related pop-up message for mobile devices. They are similar to SMS and mobile alerts, but they can only reach users who have installed the app. In addition, they must have chosen to receive them, often during the installation of the application.
What are the benefits of push notifications?
The main advantage of mobile push notifications is that the application does not need to be open for the messages to be delivered. They also make it easy to attract the attention of consumers, who reach for their phones more than once a day.
Push notifications are also a great way to improve convenience (use) and value (what it represents) to customers. For example, a user appreciates an airline’s alerts about a delayed flight, or an app that encourages him to do his daily physical activity.
Why it’s important for companies offering a mobile app
Push notifications have several purposes, and can definitely support an organization’s marketing strategies. Obviously, businesses must think about the expectations regarding these. To return to my two examples above, they do not necessarily encourage the user to take concrete action. On the other hand, the sending of discounts, news, launches, registration to events (etc.) can significantly increase the commitment of these (compared to a simple News section in the application).
They are also an excellent complement to other communication channels, such as e-mail and social media, to inform and engage a client. I would even say that mobile push notifications are more advantageous than social media, and equal to e-mails, since they make it possible to personalize the content.
Here are five of the benefits that I am sure will make you want to take advantage of this marketing tactic.
1. Increase sales by push notifications
I would say that the first benefit that passes through the minds of marketers is the fact that they can increase the number of sales, especially if the notification offers a level of customization.
Looking at the example below, a company offers Kate an attractive discount, which makes her think that she is the only person who can take advantage of this wonderful offer.
In fact, she is probably part of a group of people who have been selected according to very specific criterias. It could be according to activity rate (or inactivity) in the application, or to whether it is a woman (sex) who lives in a certain geographical region. In a good marketing tool, the possibilities regarding choosing criteria equal the creativity of those who plan their campaigns!
A good tool then makes it possible to do several things, like personalizing the name in the text, make an allusion to a piece still in the basket, include a specific codes, or even establish a period of use for the discount.
2. Provide relevant and useful information
The most used mobile apps are necessarily the ones that bring value / utility to those who use them. It is recognized that a good percentage of mobile applications are forgotten after being downloaded. To avoid this situation, there needs to be some kind of reflection regarding the use of the app, while reminding the user what he is missing. Only notifications can do that.
In the best examples out there, let’s name banking and airline applications. In the latter case, airlines companies quickly realized that their website was useful for shopping and buying airplane tickets, while it was not something that was favored by customers within the application. They observed the behavior of customers, and understood that the app was mainly used to look at the state of a flight and make registration. It was therefore useful right before taking the plane, and especially once at the airport. The companies then redesigned access to the information in the application, and sent notifications based on these elements.
So, if your organization understands what the app can do for its customers, it can definitely take advantage of mobile push notifications!
3. Re-engage contacts
One of the biggest benefits of mobile push notifications is being able to re-engage a contact for a variety of reasons at any time. For example, in using a good tool for managing push notifications, it will be able to send an alert depending on the period of inactivity, uncompleted purchases, or missing information on a profile.
Furthermore, this approach can be added to other alerts that may be relevant, such as e-mail.
4. Build and improve the customer experience
Customer relationship is now one of the most important marketing concepts nowadays. Even the smallest actions can improve the relationship between your brand and your customers.
Looking at the example below, here is one that does not appear in my cell now: a summary of the temperature, and I am very disappointed by that! Here again, we notice a touch of personalization since the alert mentions the name of Morrisa Ann directly.
What is even better is the way the temperature, a subject rather drab, is expressed. These are small touches that will mark users, and accompany them each morning. Nothing prevents you from making alerts like these for your own customers!
5. Engage individuals according to their behaviors
This is the last benefit, but certainly not the least! Commitment based on the past behavior of your users is frankly essential. Take advantage of the data that accumulates from your app to enhance the return of users. For example, product suggestions based on past purchases can be very effective.
Beyond the information accumulated from your application, do not hesitate to suggest messages based on the real-time location of an individual. Here too the customization is unbeatable and will delight those who receive offers like the one from Starbucks.
Conclusion
Do not miss the opportunities that push notifications offer. Above all, think about the possibilities your organization has in term of messaging. Sometimes the messages are related to the purchase, but any potential contact with a customer can better the relationship it has with one of your touchpoint.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can easily use push notifications, I invite you to watch our webinar about what’s new on the Dialog Insight (DI) platform on October 9th (format in english). You can register here.
DI is an easy, smart and malleable tool that will meet your expectations on all levels of relational marketing!
