Over the past few years businesses have scrambled to make the most of the rapidly growing smartphone market, even those who sat at the back rolling their eyes have now seen the error of their ways…well most of them!

But until recently the ability to do much more than build an app and see how many times it has been downloaded has been very limited. Huge gaps in mobile CRM capabilities have arisen, which have left apps to be demoted in the marketing stakes rather than embraced as part of the wider CRM strategy.

Who doesn’t want more data!?

The issue is similar to that in the early days of web marketing; websites where complicated, new technology which were difficult to understand unless you were an IT wizard. Although those IT wizards are still needed to build and make technical alterations, content management systems have moved forward so that marketers can update and analyse websites to fit with their marketing strategy.

The mobile CRM market is growing, with predictions of further rapid growth to come. Whilst Salesforce and other big names in CRM are involved, there are many lesser known small companies doing good work in the niche market too. So what sort of information does mobile CRM currently offer?

User data
Rather than simply knowing how many people are using your app, it’s imperative to know who. There is a plethora of data available about the people using your app which may open your eyes to a whole new target market or affirm the fact that the app was a step in the right direction.

Performance management
Understanding how your app performs is crucial to user retention. There may be periods when the app runs slower or when it is most likely to crash. There are CRM options out there which will provide a system log enabling you to trace and track issues, in the hop that you’ll catch them before you lose users over them.

Communication
Once you know who your users are, you can segment them and send targeted messages. Push notifications are a great way to offer customers deals or remind them of deadlines, but they can get irritating when not targeted correctly.

Analytics
Just like the analytics in a website provide key information as to how users interact with your brand, mobile app analytics will do too. Finding out how your app is used, how long for, at what time of day and detailed ‘shelf life’ information will assist with future app development.

CRM is a crucial aspect of web marketing and as mobile CRM moves toward similar solutions, it is likely to transform the user experience of mobile apps, as well as provide huge insights and increases in ROI to the brands and companies who own and maintain the apps.

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