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Monique Pronk

Monique Pronk

Tales and adventures of our Marketing Manager

Perception of content drives sale of app

Monique Pronk  |  14 Feb 2011, 11:22 AM
Comments: 5

Over the weekend, I overheard a couple talking about the Guardian app. She was using the free app while he had upgraded to the yearly subscription for £3.99pa. He admitted that he couldn’t see much difference between the two versions but was happy to financially support an organisation which he felt provided a good service. As a marketer, I was impressed that the perception a brand's content could influence someone’s buying decision to buy something which was normally free.

What has this got to do with marketing?

“I get it.” That’s what great writing is all about. The moment when your audience are on the same page as you, when they understand your ideas and your message – when they get what you’re all about. Working with professional writers can directly impact the success of your marketing campaigns, because they understand how to develop copy that resonates with your customers. They’ll steer you clear of jargon, polish up your grammar and put your message in words your audience will remember.  Not only does quality content ensure your audience “gets it”, but they'll even pay for it .

5 Comments:

  1. 18 Feb 2011, 04:35 PM peter wrote:
    Hi Monique. Nice post. The point about the Guardian app is a good one. The earlier version will be discontinued from the middle of the year. What's interesting is the way that you can still get Guardian content for free on the web site. But what the publishers have learned in the past year or so is that they have a loyal and relatively captive audience for the iPhone app. And they've concluded that this audience will pay an annual subscription for the experience. Compare this with other models, such as News International, where you pay for the content whatever the channel. I think that the experience path will be most successful.
  2. 22 Feb 2011, 10:42 AM monique wrote:
    Ha, I didn't know that the Guardian app will be discontinued in a few months time. Shame! My gut instinct is that I'll change news providers rather than pay for a service which I knew was free in 2010/early 2011.
  3. 22 Feb 2011, 12:39 PM monique wrote:
    Update: Hmm, I may not have much choice as the Telegraph reported to be exploring content charging http://bit.ly/hw90TO (via @nmalive)
  4. 25 Feb 2011, 03:50 PM Anonymous wrote:
    Good point Peter. Another key reason people will pay for an iPhone app for something like this, is the simplicity of setting it up. Apple's trump card was setting up one-click (or certainly very fast) purchases through the iPhone and iPad. it makes even something like this an impulse buy - no long forms to fill out with your bank details. Instantly you’ve got a much higher conversion rate.
  5. 25 Feb 2011, 04:03 PM monique wrote:
    And further to your point Jonathan, the apps are quite cheap so it is easy to justify the expense. I read the other day that more providers are restructuring their payment scheme; moving away from free or low cost "one off" payment to a "monthly payment" (http://bit.ly/fnpJBV). This will increase the expense for consumers, but it may also help Marketing Managers convince their internal stakeholders of the value (and profitability) of mobile applications. Interesting times ahead!

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