Push notifications are a vastly underutilized marketing strategy that has the potential for real benefits. Brands who are able to successfully add push functionality to their app will see better ROI and customer engagement in the long run.
With just a few simple tasks that even the most tech-averse employee can perform, brands and users can enjoy an instant, frictionless connection any time communication is desired. Here are some specific reasons why the rarely-tapped potential of push notifications could be boosting your brand:
Prolong the Life of Your App
There is a consensus that a large number of apps are used once then never again, although few can agree on the specific amount. Quoted numbers range between 20 and over 50% of all apps.
No matter where the number actually falls, the take-home is that apps tend to have a short lifespan. A Tech Crunch survey found that an app will see regular use for only 30 days on average. For brands who have invested in creating a custom app or integrating into an app platform like Belly, having your app set aside and forgotten after a month is a poor method of obtaining ROI.
Well-implemented push notifications can revitalize apps that would otherwise become stale, increasing their effectiveness and their likelihood to be continuously used. Customers find themselves checking into the app more often, and they will be able to get more use out of it thanks to the regular updates of timely, relevant content.
Capturing Customer Interest at the Right Place and the Right Time
Timely marketing messages are the best way to dramatically increase conversion rates. Our always-connected digital age means that customers feel that they can explore branded messages at their leisure. Since they have the internet in their pocket all of the time, branded messages that sound intriguing but not urgent can wait until they think about it later while browsing.
Unfortunately, “later” all too often becomes “never.” Without a sense of immediacy or timely relevance, the customer’s interest could simply fade from memory.
When using right place, right time offers instead, customers suddenly have an incentive to act now. These offers tend to either:
â—Be available for a limited time
â—Correspond to the time of day, such as a coupon for coffee before the morning commute
â—Correspond to the location, such as when a customer walks by a retail display containing an interesting new product
â—Correspond to trending interests, such as merchandise for a hot new superhero movie releasing soon
All of these types of offers have much more potential for the customer to focus on considering them and take the next step in the sales funnel without procrastinating or eventually forgetting. Push notifications also ensure that the customer does not miss these messages, which could make them feel like kicking themselves later when they realize a great offer passed them by.
Push Notifications Are a Lot Simpler for Both Brands and Customers
First, compared to SMS charges and the expense of using email servers, push notifications are practically free. They are easily used with existing software platforms, and they can be configured with any app or user settings with minimal effort.
Integration into iOS and Android means that users have a simple way of noticing the notifications right in their interface or dashboard. A consistent look with other apps means that push notifications are an accepted form of communication compared to a unique — and possibly unwelcome — app function. Customers are able to see the push notifications when they occur and get a summary of them when they do not check their phone for a while. Opening up a push notification is also simple, usually requiring only one tap.
The end result is that push messaging is frictionless and becomes a seamless part of the customer’s browsing habits. Brands who are able to set up rules like geoposition, loyalty program thresholds or schedule messaging queues can essentially automate that entire component of their digital marketing strategy.
When done correctly, push notifications can become a crucial element in omnichannel customer engagement. The key is to use analytics to personalize the types of notifications sent and respond to your market’s preferences. Consistency is also important; push notifications should work within a larger branding strategy.
Brands that want to tap the potential of push notifications while achieving these omnichannel and precision-targeting goals should consider Digital Social Retail’s convergence platform. It can manage functions like beacon push notifications and their associated analytics, along with other elements like digital screen content management and social media posting at the same time. Visit our product page to learn more about how this platform can help you harness the power of push.
