:: Diwiyne Johnson, Vanity Point ::
Recent research suggests that Millennials (or Generation Y) are the group most likely to engage with companies via smartphone apps. This segment of consumers encompasses those individuals born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s. This is the next generation that marketers need to focus on in order to flourish.
Millennials are the next top target for businesses, but attracting them to your content, brand, service or product is no easy job. Marketing to this Internet savvy generation requires a unique approach that marketers have not used before. This is especially true if you are relying on conventional marketing techniques such as display ads, email marketing, billboards, Radio, TV, etc.
Since these young people practically live on their mobile devices, they need to be approached differently. They are the largest category of people who currently own smartphones. And these devices have become part and parcel of their everyday life. Smartphones are the go-to tool of choice for young consumers, whether they are looking to tweet about a recent sporting or entertainment event, tap their social networks or message friends, you will find millennials regularly on their smartphones.
So how do you sell to these valuable consumers?
Marketers need to get a bit crafty when it comes to attracting millennials to their brand. You need to engage them by going digital. You must employ mobile applications if you really want to capture and hold their attention. In fact, mobile apps were designed specifically with young people in mind. People born between the 1980s and 2000s like things to be fast, intuitive and sociable - all things that can be neatly packed in a single app.
It cannot be denied that mobile apps have become a necessity for nearly every modern business that wants to reach and attract millennial consumers. Consequently, for the vast majority of young consumers, these apps are becoming the real face of the businesses they are interacting with. With that said, it is important that companies should focus on delivering an effective and appealing experience to the individuals they serve.
The importance for companies to make a positive impression on users via their smartphone applications cannot be underestimated. In addition to this, businesses need to understand that millennials will cease using an app for a number of reasons, including poor performance and poor design.
Millennials liken the experience they get through a mobile app with the quality of the brand behind it. The user interface, performance, speed and functionality of apps today have become the most important factors when it comes to retaining millennial consumers. Businesses that do not take this into consideration have slim chance of standing out from the competitors.
The user interface of a mobile app plays a critical role in determining the success or failure of the app. If the app is not well designed with an innovative and interactive UI, the younger users will not install the app and share it with their friends. Mobile apps are not meant for the tech-savvy alone.
Intuitive Design lets everyone pick up a device and use it. If that isn't the case with your app, hire a user interface expert to streamline it. Millennials prefer things to be intuitive. Thus, the app needs to be easy to use and comprehensible to less tech-savvy individuals as well. There are tons of sleek and attractive Android and iPhone application designs to draw inspiration from and most of them focus on the preferences of the Generation Y.
Another thing that people know about the current young generation is that they like to talk about themselves. Therefore, it is imperative to incorporate social media into a business app.
These days people love to share their daily thoughts and experiences with their friends on social media. They will also want to share your brand with the world. What retailers must understand is that they share only what they think is worth sharing, not necessarily what your business wants them to share. If they come across a hilarious commercial, for instance, their main goal is to be the first person to share it on the social media, so that their friends can also see it. That's even more effective than paid ads.
Marketers used to promote the sharing of content by the word of mouth. Today however, we talk about sharing content via text messaging, social media and so forth.
Research from Oracle reveals that millennials are using iPhone and Android applications for a wide range of activities, from playing games to transferring money. Mobile app use is high with 75 percent of respondents responding that they have uploaded media content from a smartphone or tablet in the past few weeks. Additionally, 61 percent said they normally transfer money to others via a mobile app.
Most millennials use smartphones to complete tasks as opposed to tablets. Undeniably, tablets are less convenient to carry than smartphones. Add to that, most tablets rely on WI-Fi connections, thereby limiting their functionality on the go.
According to the same statistics, 72 percent of millennials say they like to purchase products or services via a mobile app. Similarly, 71 percent say they appreciate the ability to raise complaints or issues to a business via an app. Also, most of them said that they are favorable to push notifications for location based services that are personalized to their needs.
Keep in mind that when interacting with the tech-savvy generation, you are interacting with a group of individuals who have the entire world at their fingertips. They expect marketers to speak their language. Mobile apps are a useful way to engage them and meet or exceed their expectations.
The best apps are reliable and intuitive, and are designed with the person who will be using them in mind. Importantly, it has become very crucial for companies to reach out to this generation via the mobile devices they prefer. Mobile applications have become the channel that links businesses to the younger generation.
Author Bio: Diwiyne Johnson works with Vanity Point - a Mobile App Design and Development company in Phenix. She has a deep rooted obsession for content writing and loves to read technology books. In her free time, she writes articles and shares new updates through various social media channels. You can follow her on twitter @DiwiyneJohnson.