Mobile Apps and their role in creating an Omnichannel Experience

Brick-and-mortar stores used to be the place where retailers did business. Nevertheless, consumers were always the ones who did business. Perhaps a man saw a TV ad promoting the newest television. He pondered the need for a new television after thinking about his old one. He may have asked a friend about his old television. Comparing the prices of televisions at windows may have occurred to him.

Once he had decided on a brand, he wanted to check what models were available in the newspaper. He then travelled to several shops to compare the prices, warranties, and after-sales support of several models.

Nowadays, almost all of these steps are performed online, but the world we live in is not much different. Businesses are now conducted online across multiple devices, rather than being located in multiple physical locations.

To provide a consistent user experience across all possible devices, businesses are increasingly adopting omnichannel application architecture.

When a customer clicks on a Facebook ad that takes them to the mobile version of your website, today’s sales process could start on a tablet at the kitchen table. They also want to explore your web page later in the day so they can get a feel for your brand and see what products you have. When they are waiting for an elevator later, they may download your app to compare models or read reviews written by previous buyers. They may switch between these devices as they wait for the elevator.

It is eventually going to lead to sales if the client feels comfortable.

Through the sales pipeline, it is no longer possible to track a single device representing a single customer. There is a good chance that each customer has several devices including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The vast majority of online retailers have failed to fully leverage omnichannel applications despite this new reality. Almost every day, customers are searching for products and seek frictionless and engaging experiences across multiple devices.

An omnichannel marketing strategy is increasingly reliant on mobile apps. An average user spends more than 202 minutes per month on the mobile app instead of only 11 minutes on the mobile site once they download the app.

This statistic is most shocking because it shows that users are not simply switching from a tablet to a phone to access a website. The phone app is causing them to spend more time online in general.

When creating mobile apps, maintaining consistent branding is key to maximizing the omnichannel user experience. You must provide the same kind of customer experience no matter what channel you use, whether it is a shop, a website, or an app.

Particularly if you have a brick-and-mortar store, it is essential to drive your customers there. By the time customers set foot in your store, they should already be familiar with the brand, its logo, and its images.

Using the official shopping app, for instance, users can scan barcodes to get more information about items inside stores using their phones.

In this way, customers can receive notices from the store based on the items they scan, so they are informed about sales on those items, popular accessories that go with them, new collections they might find interesting, and other promotions.

Providing real value to customers not only helps to convert them but also builds loyalty and informs future marketing campaigns by providing valuable data.

A consistent shopping cart experience for your customers between desktop and mobile versions, as well as the app version, is crucial if you are focused on online sales. Any less can feel out of place and spook otherwise willing buyers, as most customers are used to an omnichannel experience.

Mobile apps have become part of many people’s daily routines, particularly if they are customized to meet their specific needs.

When deciding on content for the app, marketers should prioritize the utility for the customer rather than simply putting out ads. Customers will return to your app if it makes their lives simpler by giving a highly tailored and engaging experience with the correct message at the right time.

According to Google research, consumers are eager to return to an app on a regular basis if it makes their lives easier. Walgreens’ mobile app, for example, is designed to only deliver information about sales to customers who are already in the store. Rather than being inconvenient, this function helps the user save money while purchasing something they already desire.

They may also know how effective each suggestion is by linking this data to a Walgreens loyalty card. This enables them to fine-tune the communications to target the precise goods that the user is most likely to purchase, or even offer factory coupons from other companies, resulting in a significant increase in customer interaction.

The ability to track everything is another benefit of omnichannel in mobile app development. Marketers may use the data accessible through mobile applications to lead customers through the sales funnel is the most effective way possible without infringing their privacy.

Traditional campaign measurement is substantially less exact than apps’ ability to track campaign success over time through behaviour. As a result, you’ll be able to give them customized messages and offers via the most appropriate channel. This can be done directly through other channels’ marketing, or in a way that makes the customer feel that he or she is discovering something new.

Tracking app events, from installations to major interactions, provides critical data that may be used to categorize new or current customers and run marketing across several channels. The installation of a mobile app might trigger a personalized SMS message, or a specialized social media ad. Consumer behaviour may then be tracked to analyse the ad’s performance, improve the customer experience, and compute ROI for future advertising.

Mobile apps may also include data from other sources to help users make more educated decisions. Customers’ email addresses can be linked to their app activity or browser history by asking for their email addresses during in-store transactions. Marketing teams may design more successful campaigns by combining this data.

Consider owning a coffee shop and being able to link a customer’s credit card information to his phone by verifying the email address provided on in-store transactions made through an installed app. You use a loyalty program to track transactions at your stores, and you observe that one client buys a coffee every morning at 9:00 a.m. You send him an SMS voucher for a complimentary croissant the next morning at 8:45 a.m. He sees the offer, scans the coupon code on your app with his phone, and receives his free gift.

The client is ecstatic because he received true value in the form of a complimentary croissant for downloading the app. He discovers that he likes his coffee and croissant together after enjoying them that day. He switches up his morning habit the next day, having a croissant and coffee once more. It doesn’t matter if he gets one every day, every week, or perhaps once in a while; it’s better than not getting one at all. Not only that, but he also informs his co-workers that if they download the app, they would be eligible for free snacks.

This is how omnichannel marketing can help marketers not only better understand their customers, but also assist them through a journey. This move from spectator to facilitator provides the customer with a seamless shopping experience, allowing them to take advantage of all your organization has to offer, including deals on things or services they already want.

Using an omnichannel strategy in apps necessitates considerably more than a working knowledge of programming languages. It will take a development team with competent business analysts that understand the function your app will play in your marketing team’s overall plan. Omnichannel development experts are comfortable conversing in the same language as your marketing team, adjusting to their priorities, and doing extensive UX testing to meet your major business objectives.

This also means collaborating on whatever material will be sent to each user and how it will be delivered. This necessitates specialized expertise and varies depending on the device they’re using, their location, and the rights they’ve granted.

Data from all sources, including online services, legacy systems, and websites, may be combined, and orchestrated with an Omni-platform strategy. You can give consumers applications that are continually new and take advantage of the opportunities presented by wearables and the Internet of Things if you do it this way.

You can construct an omnichannel mobile app that smoothly fits into your existing marketing plan and provides a consistent branding message by working with an expert developer like E2logy. We’ve worked on tools to help you figure out what your consumers need and when they need it, so you can take charge of the buying process and direct them to the solutions they’re already seeking.

When you are focused on omnichannel, your strategy should be built around your customers, not your platform, to ensure that you can have meaningful interactions across all your devices. It’s not just about engaging users in different ways. Making all those touchpoints feel seamless is key to making all the user experiences seamless.

Your omnichannel strategy requires the right mobile app essentials. These are necessary for identifying customer location, conversion, and retention. Furthermore, mobile apps increase brand awareness and loyalty to your business and put you closer to your target audience.