smartphone applications
Mobile Apps for the Equipment Business
Does it Apply to Your Business Yet?
Yesterday, I participated in a webinar led by two thought leaders in the mobile app space. The conversation centered around statistics, trends and practical applications (like, almost everyone can use one, but they might not think about it… yet).
Good equipment marketing and marketing service companies should think long and hard about some practical application and customer needs.
Shocking Statistics Not Heard By Many
You’ll see plenty of upcoming posts on mobile applications from us, but for now, take a look at some statistics that should get your attention:
- There are currently over 5.3 billion mobile phones compared to 1.5 billion PC’s
- There have been over 100 billion “push” messages sent to mobile phone users (ads pushed to smart phones with a clear “call to action”
- 97% of “push” messages reach their intended audience, most are viewed completely within 5 minutes
- Current email open rates run around 4-10% (10% on a VERY good day)
- There have been over 18 billion downloads from Apple’s “APP store
- There have been over 10 billion downloads of Google’s Droid apps
- There are over 1 million smart phones being turned on every day!
- It is estimated that within 18 months, there will be over 2 million smart phones being turned on every day
Mobile Marketing is the most powerful media ever invented… The New York Times
So What?
The way people consume information is fundamentally changing. Mobile apps and tablets are taking over as people (yes… your customers!) are now looking for apps to solve problems instead of using Google to find information.
There are four basic drivers of app creation that customers (this means you and your business) care about:
- Leads: How will mobile apps generate leads?
- Customers: How will mobile apps create more customers?
- Sales: How will mobile apps help increase sales?
- Exposure: How will mobile apps increase exposure to our customers?
Plan Your Future
In the past mobile apps post we discussed ways to think differently about this opportunity. It does and will continue to apply to your business.
Don’t be that guy that thinks it won’t apply to your business and equipment marketing plan. Take charge and start planning for this today!
To Your Success…
Smart Equipment Technology: Better Ways to Create and Manage Customers
Your Digital Marketing Lab
Over the last few years, we have been hard at work building relationships and understanding how and why technology impacts our business, customers and bottom line. Equipment marketing is changing! Over the next month, you’ll see some exciting new changes coming to our website that reflect new service offerings centered around technology that can help our great equipment business create new customers and manage existing ones.
What’s To Come
Not only will you find what we do here at EquipmentFX a living, breathing laboratory of good marketing and technology, we’ve surveyed hundreds of customers, asked about their pains and challenges and have come up with a free video series called “Technology Accelerators for Business”. It is specifically centered on low cost, practical solutions that help us turn complete strangers into paying customers. Some of the subjects include:
- Getting Organized: How to keep all of the stuff coming at us organized when we all have to do more with less
- Database Management: How to clean up our existing databases without making a big deal about it
- Website Design & Development: How to understand and screen web companies that are tasked with helping you create more customers
- Search Engine Optimization: How to understand exactly where you are and build a road map to out rank your competition in the region you do business in, for all your products and services
- Lead Management: How to build a world class lead management system for a few bucks a month without the cost or complexity of a full blown CRM system
- Follow Up Marketing: How to build an e-mail campaign on auto-pilot that guarantees each and every visitor to your website that completes a contact form is contacted 12-16 times per year without worrying about whether the sales staff follows up or not
- Social Media: How to build and manage your social media profiles in a few hours per week and turn casual fans into paying customers
- Mobile Applications: How to understand the business case for mobile applications, look for areas to use them and get them built cheaply but effectively
The Rules Have Changed
Nothing we teach or preach has not been tried and tested. Equipment marketing and equipment marketing service companies need to understand the fundamentals these days to make the phones ring for the sales staff and generate new leads at all costs. It is the lifeblood of any sales organization and we’re excited to show you what we’ve been working on!
To Your Success…
Equipment Marketing Best Practices: Practical Tips Using Video
The Facts are Facts…
Video marketing is becoming very big, very quickly. Many in our industry still see it as somewhat of a gimmick, a “hmmm… maybe at some point” initiative or have a “where would we start and what would we do” reaction. Let’s talk a few hard facts first:
- Fact #1: Every minute of every day, 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube
- Fact #2: Using video, customers and prospects are 53X more likely to find you
- Non-Fact But Well Informed Opinion: Cisco systems thinks that in 3-4 years time, 90% of all content on the internet will be video
Practical Tips to Think About
When considering equipment marketing, think of video creation, use and distribution as a key part of your marketing mix. To get you thinking, I’ve listed a few handy tips to think about:
Tip #1: Define Your Goals
- Increase direct traffic to your website
- Educate people about your company, product and services
- Build inbound links to your website
- Recruit new employees
- Demonstrate the diversity of your existing customer based and how your solutions fit those that don’t know you
- Build credibility with testimonials
Tip #2: Determine the Type of Video
- Testimonial: Customers are great advocates, so let them tell you you
- Product Demonstrations: Your off your product line, features and benefits of in the application, 24/7
- Event or Conference: Make a video summarizing a special event to show off a new facility, seasonal special or a special customer function
- About the Team: Everyone loves to know they’re going to be supported, so show ‘em!
- Tips & Tricks: Create a series of videos showing customers how to solve everyday challenges. It’ll keep ‘em happy and your employees focused on creating and managing more customers
Tip #3: Include a Clear “Call to Action”
- Make the Call to Action Obvious: Not unlike the sale, ask for the order! Tell them what to do… visit your website, call you or?
- Be Consistent with the Behavior You Want to Target: Don’t have them do something or go somewhere and leave them wondering where they are or what they are supposed to do
- Create a Sense of Urgency: Give your audience a specific time to get something or do something. Maybe a “spring special” tied to maintenance specials or something
Video Marketing for Equipment Dealerships
The time is here and now to understand this aspect of your equipment marketing. The technology is cheap, it’s effective, ANYONE can learn how to do it and it will significantly enhance your equipment dealership’s ability to attract and retain more new customers or prospects. To learn more about technology and equipment marketing services, visit our blog at http://blog.equipmentfx.com.
To Your Success…
Mobile Apps for the Equipment Business
An Interesting Conversation…
I met yesterday with a very professional APP developer to discuss the business case for mobile applications. It seems the word “APP” is the rage these days, and with good reason. If you’re not making your business “smart phone friendly”, you’re missing out on literally millions of dollars of opportunity.
Today, however, the focus, and least in our industry, and the focus of equipment marketing, has been on making “mobile websites”, those that render on your phone like you see on your desktop. Which is fine, but only part of the equation. Let’s talk APP for a minute. The real BUSINESS reasons for developing an APP are the following:
- Improve revenue by engaging more customers
- Decrease costs by making a costly process more efficient
- Improve customer satisfaction by making their lives easier when engaging your customer
Use Your Imagination
With that in mind, think about all of the possible opportunities to engage customers and make their lives easier. There are literally hundreds of “touch points” within the equipment industry that beg for good mobile apps. A few are listed here, but it’s fun to think bigger:
- Games & Giveaways: Each time a customer has an experience with you, they can be encouraged to play a game to stay in touch for rewards or prizes. This gives your company and a customer to continue to engage.
- Service Department: Design a field work order that is rendered on a tablet whereby approval is instant and is e-mailed back to the service department for processing
- Service Scheduling: Use an APP for customers that allow them to schedule service, directly connecting your company to your customer when those service bays need filling and you can offer “specials” to get them in the door
- Customer Service: Imagine the possibilities with this one. An APP that is developed that allows a customer, in real time, to take a 4 question survey in which the results are automatically scored and charted allowing management to view the feedback in real time
Equipment Marketing and Mobile Applications
This is the first in several upcoming posts about this exciting technology. EquipmentFX is pioneering some very cool ways to use mobile applications to make our lives easier and more productive. Look for more posts on this subject…
To Your Success…
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