A mobile presence is vital for small businesses looking to retain customers.
So says Lee Hartman, CEO of Connecto, who adds: "It's now widely accepted in marketing circles that reaching customers on their mobile phones is essential." This is because ensuring easy contact on a tool that is always at hand allows a business to become the default option for its customers, he says.
This, according to Hartman, is the "secret to success for most small businesses".
"Repeat business and referrals are the foundations of success," he states. "The goal of any business should be to build a long-term relationship with each customer."
A key driver for repeat business is to ensure customers think of a certain business by default. "Instead of saying 'I need a plumber', they should say 'I need MY plumber'," he explains.
To make the most of that moment, says Hartman, small businesses must ensure their contact details are always within easy reach. "Once you are on someone's phone, your business becomes their default provider. The result is more repeat business.
"If your customer has to turn to Google, you are competing against every other service provider in town," he says. Of course, businesses could rely on customers taking the initiative to store contact details, or develop an excellent mobisite to be bookmarked in a browser, but Hartman highlights the benefits of a mobile app. Rather than having to scroll through contacts, or navigate to a bookmark and then seek contact details, an app is always easily at hand.
"You need to make things as quick, simple and painless as possible," he adds. "The more action steps a person has to take before they can contact you, the more chances there are for getting distracted or going somewhere else. The goal should be to eliminate the gap between 'I need my plumber' and dialling your number."
Apps also allow for continuous engagement with the customer. "In-app messages are read four times more often than e-mail," he says. "This makes it a uniquely powerful communications tool."
Small businesses can benefit from a service like the Connecto mobile app, says Hartman, which compiles a customer's business connections within a single app, providing the benefits of an application without the downside of having to convince a customer to download a dedicated app for a single business.
Hartman concludes: "Most small businesses list their customers as their biggest assets, but they aren't making strong enough connections with these customers."
Share