7 Mobile Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid

Get mobile marketing wrong and you can do far more damage to your brand than the worst email or marketing campaign imaginable. When using SMS, be sure to avoid these seven deadly sins in order to ensure maximum impact from your campaign.

1.       Forgetting a call to action

Don’t forget to tell the customers what they have to do next, and remember to include relevant contact details. 75% of people prefer to receive offers over any other form of call to action. Be sure to add either

·         A reply option

·         Address to visit

·         Website to visit

·         Coupon to present in the store and

·         A number to call

2.       Forgetting to test and check

In the haste to send a message, don’t forget to test and check it for errors first. Think you are a customer receiving the message.

·         Does it make sense?

·         Are the details correct?

·         How could it be improved?

Remember to check the text, contact details, web addresses, spelling and grammar and phone numbers.

3.       No Option to Unsubscribe

By omitting an unsubscribe option, you are not only infuriating your clients, you are also breaking the law. Unsubscribe options include a link to a preference centre, a link to automatically unsubscribe, allow replies of ‘stop’ or ‘unsubscribe’. Also, include a number to call.

4.       Treat everyone the same

With mobile you can segment your customers into far smaller and precise categories, allowing you to give your customers services that they want.

5.       Overloading customers

By their very nature, bulk SMS’s are intrusive. So don’t overload customers by sending them lots of text messages all at once. The rules to follow are:

·         Don’t repeat a message exactly

·         Don’t  include a call to action that has been completed

·         Make sure you wait to-3 weeks before sending more texts

6.       Focussing only on selling

Add value to what you do, rather than just relying on sales. Alternate message types by using local information relevant to the recipient, useful information about your niche and interesting videos relevant to your niche.

7.       Developing a pointless app

Unless your app is providing something or genuinely useful to the customer, then it’s really not worth going through the pain, cost and distraction of developing something that most users will ignore.

If you can avoid these, then you can assume that you are well inside the safe zone.

How You Can Ensure Mobile Security in Your Organization?

A majority of IT firms today allow Bring your own device (BYOD) due to the consumerization of IT in the modern workplace. That the mobile phone has become a can’t-do-without in today’s life is a reality that cannot be ignored. When employees are given the choice of using their own consumer-based devices in the workplace, it is imperative to counter theft and move towards ensuring security and control. Recent surveys underscore the seriousness of the problem data pointing out that four out of 10 businesses being affected by a security breach.

Well, Mobile security actually begins with protecting the actual mobile device. Today, a plethora of apps exist to prevent data theft on case a mobile has been stolen. It is also possible to track down the device with iPhone’s having special apps to track them.  But what do businesses actually do when faced with security issues?

1. Maintain and control security settings in one central location. It is important to never rely on devices that allow the user to make security decisions. It would also help if organizations require enforceable access control on all mobile devices i.e. users should not be able to disable the access control that IT has put in place.

2. Always use two-step authentication for devices and apps where possible. This makes it necessary to provide both a password and additional information such as a code sent to an email address in case the device is lost or stolen.

3. Have regular Consultations with various departments such as finance, HR and legal departments about their needs. This is because your mobile device policy doesn’t affect just the IT department.

4. Establishing cloud-based servers or URL filters for websites that are either blocked by the company or known to be malicious. This precaution will help to protect the endpoint by not allowing an employee to visit websites that could compromise security.

5. Frame a policy for mobile devices depending on your requirements and the company’s exposure to risk. Although BYOD has now more or less become the norm, it does pose a higher risk than policies such as choose your own device (CYOD) and corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) which may be more appropriate.

5 Mistakes You Should Avoid In App Development

Creating engaging and innovative apps is an article. It’s also a systematic and steady process that involves ingenuity, perseverance, attention to detail and above all, the zest to achieve. That was about what you needed. But what should you avoid? What are the common pitfalls that developers encounter when they set out to develop mobile apps? And how can you avoid them? That’s what we’ll be looking at in this article.

Mistake #1 Not focusing on end users 

Mobile apps must be building keeping user experience firmly in mind. You must never once take your eyes off it. You may have put a lot of work into building your app but all of it will go down the drain if the end user doesn't find your app engaging. At every stage of development ask yourself, how is this going to benefit the user?

Mistake #2 Not using existing Smartphone functionalities

Don't develop an app just because you want to see a profit. You must come up with an idea that is new and offers some value to the end users. Innovation is very much appreciated by the new mobile users and you should give precedence to this when you develop your app.

Mistake #3 Not understanding the difference between development environment and real world.

An app may work in the lab, but need not do so in the real environment. Mobile app development is typically done in a simulated environment and even tests are carried out on emulators. So, you may not be fully aware of the problems that an end user might encounter. So, do extensive research before your app goes live.

Mistake #4 Ignoring scalability and integration issues

Your apps must be scalable and ‘integrable’. By ‘integrable’ we mean your app should require very few tweaks post release. Your app should be loadable on different devices running the same operating system and users must not feel that the app is actually behaving differently in another device. The mobile app development company should be able to ensure that the app remains usable even after multiple operating system upgrades.

Mistake #5 Not knowing how to limit app features

Extensive mobile apps are good, but there are thousands of feature rich apps that are untouched mainly because they are too complex to comprehend for end users. The mobile phone app development should have a single focus for every single app and adding a few customization options is acceptable. However, pushing it too far will only bore the end users because they won't recognize the purpose of the app.

5 Great Android Apps to Make Money While Shopping

Shopping can either be a truly joyful experience or an extremely harrowing one based on whether you are truly shopping with the right tools. On the app front, Android apps help you save money and increase your efficiency in shopping. These Android apps make shopping a really new experience based on their power and functionality. In this article, we take a look at 5 great Android apps that make your shopping experience a truly memorable one.

 SnapTell

If you ever wanted to know more about something you saw on the rack, just use SnapTell to scan the barcode and you’ll get all the information you possibly needed. Information like how the price compares with other distributors can be done in seconds. This app could be a big time money-saver for you if you take the time to use it.

Key Ring Reward Cards

This app is very handy if you want to consolidate all your clutter in your purse while making sure you don't lose valuable loyalty cards. You just need to take a snapshot of the barcode of your reward card and enter a little basic information about the store and voila! You’re ready to use your phone as your reward card at that store in the future.

Our Groceries

This is the perfect app for the happy family of Android phone users. You can purchase items as easily as you can remove them on this app. This is a must have app to have for the new-age hyper busy, hyper tech families that are looking at efficiency.

OI Shopping list

OI Shopping list, much like the Our Groceries app, is for the singleton folks. Not that a family wouldn’t benefit from the app, but just that it’s got more features and it's not a perfect fit like the other app is for families that need a simple solution to keep up on their latest shopping needs. That being said, this app is a powerful workhorse and can really end up saving you countless hours and some decent cash at year's end.

eBay

This official app brings eBay to your Android phone. It might look a bit odd, but this UI is better than the actual website on my computer. It actually gives you an idea that this Android app was developed correctly and really hits the mark. That is, if you're an eBay fan; if you're not, apologies!

5 Questions You Should Ask Your Mobile App Development Company

Companies jump into the mobile arena to attract more customers, and to ensure greater visibility for their companies. Most companies hire a mobile app development company for this purpose. But just as deciding upon a business venture requires careful analysis, it's important for you to ask the right questions before committing to a mobile development company. Here are the five questions that you must ask: 

1. where are your developers and engineers located?
One common trait among mobile development firms is to place a liaison to the development team in a particular market to claim the company is "local". But in reality, the designers and developers would be based in another country. So be sure the company which claims it is "local" actually is.



2. What are the project costs, as well as future updates?

Obviously, you'll want to have a clear idea as to the total project will cost. Mobile app developers might not be able to give you an exact figure before they start to work on the app, but they should be able to quote reasonably based on their experience. Also, make sure the developers provide you with updates, as apps can become obsolete within a matter of months.

3. The platforms and the company’s experience?

You'll have to determine if your app will be available for Android, iPhone, Windows, and/or Blackberry devices. If you want your app to be multi-platform, get the cost estimates beforehand. And make detailed enquiries regarding them before you commit yourself.

4. How will users be able to download my app?


Beyond building a user-friendly website, you must also know which third-party sites will sell your app to the end users. Also, if you want your app available on iTunes, and the mobile development firm can’t give you a reasonable guarantee that it will be approved, then that is not a company worth its name. Just move on.

5. of all the company’s previous projects, which one(s) are you most proud of and why?

Mobile app development companies, like everybody else, will want to showcase their strengths, so they will show you what (they think) their best work is. If what is shown doesn't seem very appealing to you, then you should think long before signing them. This is because it's often more easier to design a goody-goody app than to create an effective, functional, user-centric app. A good thumb rule for an effective app is that it should be easy for your mom to use.