You have a lot of tools at your disposal with your mobile app, but perhaps the most powerful of them all is the push note. Unlike text messages, there is no cost to send push notes and you can send as many as you like. These messages go directly to your customers/clients, and are read, on average, within just 3 minutes of them receiving the push note! What other way can you contact your most loyal customers at the precise time you want them to receive your message?
Imagine a restaurant at 5 p.m. on a Friday looking out the window at the start of a heavy snowstorm. In the old days, you’d send home half of your employees, and prepare to put a complete loss on the books for that night. Now, just send a push note out that says “2 for 1 entrees for app members from 5-7 p.m. tonight!” to folks in the neighborhood, and you’re good to go.
How are those Push Notes Received by your Customers?
Well, unlike text messaging, with push notes, a large percentage of smartphone users have their devices set to receive a push note on silent mode, so it doesn’t interrupt them if they are in the middle of something important. Whereas a text message often pops up under an unknown 5-digit short code, with none of your company branding, the push note lands on your customers home screen in a way that clearly reveals your brand and concisely states your deal or announcement.
A simple tap on the incoming push note, and your customer is brought directly into a fully optimized page view within your app that gives them all the additional details they might need. The push note could also have a link that opens directly to a page on an external website, to a specific tab within the app itself, or to a custom graphic that you can create. And if it’s something like an event you are announcing in the push note, then your customer can just tap to add the event date within the app, and it will automatically give them a reminder on the day of the event.
How to grab the User’s ‘Opt in’
Just put yourself in their shoes, and ask, “What would entice me to ‘opt in’”? An example might be announcing deals and limited offers first or even exclusively through your mobile app. Or announce important events, alerts, new products, special guests, etc. And of course, customers always love ‘free stuff’ (e.g., “The first 10 app users who come in receive xyz …”
When writing your push note (remember you only have 128 characters by FCC law) be creative, succinct, bold, humorous … whatever speaks to your customer demographics. But most important, be consistent! Sending out a weekly push note is much better than sending out just one monthly push note, even if that one push note is a really great offer or discount.
Always remember, the push note is a subtle, quick and easy way to stay consistently on your customer’s radar so they don’t stray to your competitors. So what are you waiting for? Get pushin!