“Things were just spreading by word of mouth.” Buffington
In 2016, it is expected that Mobile Application market will be a 46 billion dollar market by growing 5.5 times. Apple Store with its 1.5 million apps and Google Play with its 1.6 million apps are the biggest of this market. It doesn’t make any sense to leave something to chance when we talk about such an important market. We all know, implementation in marketing field of Word of Mouth -as old as time in reality- is how essential. According to George Silverman -one of the authority for this scope- Word of Mouth (WOM) is thousand times more effective than other traditional marketing implementations. Moreover, WOM, which protects its own place and importance, is one of the most powerful marketing method when it comes to spreading your mobile app as well. When people talk about an app to their friends and family, they perceived it as advice rather than advertising.
[Tweet “WOM is one of the most powerful marketing method when it comes to spreading your mobile app.”]“9 months after the app’s launch, the founder’s mom told about the app to the founder’s cousin, who was a student at a high school in Orange County. He then told their friends about it and the app spread throughout the school. Then other high school students in Souther California picked it up, and the number of daily users grew from 3,000 to 30,000 in a month. Then the press picked it up as well, and a New York Times article was responsible for helping SnapChat reach the top of the App Store chart, but it was initially SnapChat’s success that drew the press’s attention.”
For mobile developers the biggest challenge is getting downloads. Yes, developing a mobile app is difficult, but spreading the word about a mobile app is not easy as well. App developers need to be creative more than old time in this competition. You can see the graph below that shows how people find out about apps they download.
It is obvious that % 77 is nonignorable rate. No matter how fantastic your app is, mobile users considerably mind advices of people around rather than the other things. Moreover, don’t forget; “Dissatisfaction” spreads by word of mouth more swiftly. According to researches, a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience.
Well, how can you create “Word of Mouth” to leverage your mobile apps marketing strategy?
- Using Shareable Content
First of all you have to give content to users that is so compelling that they want to share it among their network. Because, make people share something on their social media accounts is getting harder unless you do give them something really valuable.
- Telling a Story
Having a story is a big deal to establish emotional commitment among you and your users. For instance, if your app has really benefited a user, and they take the time to send you a message or create a testimonial, you can share that message with your audience. When you post a testimonial from a real user, you can touch to global audience on a much deeper level. This is how you motivate your users to pass on positive word of mouth advertising for you. By taking the time to do the right thing, you are rewarded by users who feel compelled to share that story.
[Tweet “Having a story is a big deal to establish emotional commitment among you and your users. “]- Getting Social
Social Media has positioned itself as an irreplaceable part of our daily life. No wonder, it is crucial for overall marketing strategy and mobile-app marketing too. You know, in social media platforms people can stay connected with each other time and place independent. This is the same when you engage with your customer for your mobile app. You can attract their interest through a contest or just a sincere sharing. It leads to stay active in that platforms and grow your network as well.
- Focusing on Quality
We all know that content is your key actor to connect with people and it is not about brand, it is about your customers. After you’ve established strong bonds with them thanks to your content, they will become easier your promoter and want to talk about your mobile app to others. But how? It is possible by focusing on quality. When your content, your customer services and product or service has great quality and users had great experiences thanks to your app, they undoubtedly will support you by positive Word of Mouth.
- Customer Service
When you take care of your customers problems or satisfaction in detail, they will feel more valuable themselves, establish emotional bonds with you easier, and become “Happy Customers”. Certainly, happy customers help spread the word about your mobile app.
- Aiding Referrals
Incentivizing your users to spread the word may be an important part of this process as well. For instance, PayPal paid cash to each new customer and the ones who referred.
- Using the Right Tools
Spread the word about your app is not so easy without any helping tools. There are some tools that can be helpful when your word of mouth process occurs:
- Thanks to KnexxLocal mobile app, you can market your own mobile app via social channels. You can take a photo, send it to specific customers and receive feedback in real time.
- SpotOn is a unique program that delivers rewards for loyal customers. App developers can send reminders or e-cards to customers who haven’t interacted recently. This tool is helpful for user retention once users download your app.
- Glassmap, edo Marketplace, and Signpost are other helpful tools for it. All these apps are hyper-local, but can be used globally as well.
We’ve tried to draw a frame and give our advices about creating Word of Mouth in mobile application market. Human factor is crucial issue in any dimensions of marketing and we can not ignore it. Others thoughts and advices are inspirational and important for us in every time. Ultimately, we have to use the power of Word of Mouth in new era of marketing correctly in order that do not miss positive sides of that human factor.
Good Luck! 🙂
