You Have a Smartphone, Why Not a Smart App?

10 years ago, we witnessed a revolution. A revolution that has forever changed our world — the migration from dumbphones to smartphones. And today, our smartphones give us unprecedented access to a world of information and entertainment — wherever and whenever we want. Today, we couldn’t imagine our lives without them. I know I can’t. Heck, that’s how my kids learned English. Russian is their native language, but that’s another story.

 

There is also a plethora of smart devices being introduced into the marketplace. Each one trying to carve out a piece of our attention — and that’s the real problem. We don’t need more devices to consume our attention, we instead need smart technology to free us from having to interact with them in the first place. In other words, I really don’t want, nor care to speak to my refrigerator.

 

For many of us, the real opportunity is being overlooked. It’s the combination of software and artificial intelligence that will truly liberate us. It comes down to the apps that run on our smart devices. Mainly, the one we never put down, nor go anywhere without; the smartphone.

 

Despite all this, nearly all the apps we have today are still pretty dumb. Your company app is probably one of them, I’m sorry to say.

 

It’s as easy as 123.

 

The process of turning your company app into a smart app is actually pretty simple. Having an SDK, like our LighthousePE product, allows for a communication structure between smartphones, beacons and geofencing. But that’s only the connection part. The smart part is having the AI behind it. Artificial intelligence analyzes location and behavior data to determine what an individual customer likely wants next and ultimately delivers upon it. Once your app can provide an authentically personalized customer experience, on a 1 to 1 basis, at scale, you can truly call it a smart app.

 

Start with the data you have, not the data you want.

 

One of the major issues I see with clients is that they feel they need to first tie in other data sources before turning on a proximity marketing program or an engagement strategy. Certainly, having your POS or customer loyalty program data can be a big help, however, it is far from necessary when it comes to providing better customer experiences and receiving valuable location data. Knowing how many times your customers visit a competitor, and what they do while at your place of business, is invaluable information. Information you can use to make smarter media buys and create programs that are superior to those of your competitors. Furthermore, by having your customers use your smart app, you can communicate directly with them as individuals, groups, or as a whole — for free. The last time I checked, that is even cheaper than email. I assure you that some simple math will uncover cost savings for your particular situation.

 

Finally, don’t be fooled into thinking a simple push notification is enough. A smart app will get to know your customers on a level you never thought possible. Plus, it will deliver the right message, to the right person, in the right place, at the right moment.

 

And that’s pretty smart.