Winning ways for apps
AN EASIER and cheaper way for smaller businesses to accelerate online sales launches in May, developed by UK mobile marketing expert ConsultMyApp (CMA), whose clients include Virgin Media O2 and General Motors.
App Marketer Pro puts the power in the hands of startups to mid-size firms, with a self-management service (from £3,000 annually).
This enables them to get a clear picture of what’s going on so they can maximise the potential of their app without having to rely on agencies, spreadsheets, sporadic reports and multiple data suppliers.
The platform is also aiming to be a catalyst for other firms which have shied away from getting the technology, usually because of cost and complexity.
In a digital world, the app is the main touch point for consumers.
Investing in one will cost a business thousands of pounds however, and building it is just the start. It’s what happens next that counts because if an app does not do what a customer wants they will uninstall it, with three days being the benchmark test.
“It’s retention by understanding end users’ behaviour that counts, otherwise it’s money down the drain,” declares CMA founder and chief executive Mike Rhodes.
This key point became the market opportunity that spurred the former data security specialist to set up CMA in 2016.
Today the business focuses on three core areas: implementing app management for clients, growing apps and engaging users. Its advanced AI bidding machine ensures digital app campaigns are maximised using round-the-clock App Store data.
“We help to build strategies, design paid-media budget plans and optimise app campaigns to drive the highest quality traffic at the lowest cost,” says Rhodes. “We know what apps are struggling and can offer tangible alternatives for better results.”
Beginning as a one-man band with £10,000 of savings, the app boom saw CMA grow 170 per cent during 2021 with a £5million plus turnover forecast for this year. Its HQ is now in London’s Gherkin building.
It works in 21 countries, offers 15 different languages and has 45 consultants. “Our hires are based on creative raw talent irrespective of industry stereotypes,” Rhodes says.
CMA’s “expert technical insight coupled with rounded business understanding is geared for the new mobile app world and leverages innovation,” he adds.
For Virgin Media O2, CMA helped its app adapt to home-based lifestyles by offering rewards such as virtual events and online fitness classes. This increased its market share by 78 per cent and app installs by 54 per cent over just three months.
“Showing value is imperative these days,” says Rhodes. “Apps have to pull their weight and that’s what we make them do.”
‘We make apps pull their weight’