7 Ways Mobile Apps Are Driving Revenue for Businesses (Part 1)

Read this article recently on Mashable written by Ryan Matzner and thought it would do you good. But due to the length of the article I'll be posting it in two parts for easier reading.

From leveraging specific features like GPS all the way down to the mere fact that people are walking around with Internet-connected computers in their pockets, smartphones open a whole new world of opportunities for marketers at businesses from large and small. The following are some key ways businesses are getting an extra boost via mobile apps.

1. Geo-Targeted Push Notifications

Back in 2010, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt talked about how the future of mobile would be autonomous and serendipitous. That is, mobile devices would present users with information about the world around them in an automatic way. In Schmidt’s example, as he walked around a particularly storied neighborhood of San Francisco, an app would passively display information about the history of places he passed. But the technology has become a reality, and a boon to business. Here are some ways businesses could use geo-targeted push notifications.

• A band on tour could notify fans in a particular city that tickets there are nearly sold out or remind concert-goers to show up early so they don’t miss the opening act
• A national chain could easily send city- or region-specific notifications about special offers based on what users in that area are interested in
• A restaurant could boost loyalty by sending a special offer to customers who had been in the past year but not in the last two months
• A store could announce a sale on umbrellas coupled with a weather alert to nearby users when it’s predicted to rain soon

2. Additional Sales Opportunities

One of the single biggest opportunities for businesses to leverage mobile apps is that smartphones have opened a whole new world of shopping and engagement opportunities. Interactions between customers and businesses have grown to become geo-agnostic. The morning commute, waiting in line for movie tickets and sitting in a doctor's office are all places people could be using their smartphones to shop your store or engage with your brand.

These pockets of free time that were previously biased toward reading, can now be used by consumers for so much more. A mobile app maximizes opportunities for reaching users in these new pockets of time. A push notification might remind users of a nearly abandoned shopping cart, bringing them back into the shopping experience. A more seamless experience of stored login and billing information means an easier path to transact.

3. Geo-Targeted Advertising

The classic targeted ad story goes something like this: A potential homeowner is stuck in traffic on his daily commute home and looks out his window to read a sign on a new housing development that says, “If you lived here, you’d be home by now.”

Now multiply that times a billion and you’ve got the power of modern, smartphone-powered targeted advertising. These smart ads can target users by their specific location, displaying ads that are geographic and contextually optimized. Businesses can make on-the-fly tweaks to campaigns based on what works in a particular geographic location. They can also display coupons to potential users nearby or help users find the business by advertising directly on a map.

Via Mashable