It’s with you during breakfast, while you’re at work, on your commute home, and even when you’re tucking yourself into bed. Users typically keep their smartphone on them 24/7. Nearly 142 million people in the United States own a smart phone (59 percent mobile market penetration) and that number is increasing fast. Twenty-five percent of American households have dropped landlines and replaced them with the use of mobile phones.  As the world is going mobile, a new generation of apps is changing every aspect of our daily lives- from how we shop to how we communicate with others.  

A new, innovative communication channel has 

been created into apps to elevate the opportunity to serve customers and increase their brand loyalty- it is called push technology. It creates direct access to customers, allowing direct communication.  Push technology serves as the voice of the app and it can deliver value at the right time and right place

Unlike other communication channels such as radio, television and print advertising, push messages directly connects you with your customers on their likings. Many users think of their smartphones as an extension of their body, as a personal assistant to their daily lives, helping them set events, look up information, and alert them with reminders.  With push notifications, you can increase the effectiveness of your marketing strategy by creating a virtual system that allows your company to provide them with their own simulated personal assistant. It’ll be a way for you to tap your customers on the shoulders and remind them of the value you are bringing them. This allows your customers to connect with your company in a manner that’ll make their lives better, easier, more productive. Push technology builds a personal relationship with your customer, resulting in an effective way to drive brand loyalty.

In recent research, push notifications can lead to:

•             540% increase in daily app opens.

•             3x faster response time than email.

•             30% increase in social sharing on Facebook and Twitter

                Push notifications can be argued as being the most powerful communication channel out there and will soon be the primary engagement vehicle for consumer interaction. There is a 97 percent read rate within ninety seconds after the pop up. Push allows you to reach out to your customer no matter how deep they are in other apps. Customers will see push as a key benefit in providing them information effortless.  

                More and more smartphone users are opting in into push technology and dealerships are taking notice. Out of all users who downloaded the Jim Click Automotive app, 89 percent opt in for push notifications. Ralph Schomp Automotive has also seen a great opt in rate for push technology. Out of the 12, 835 users who downloaded their app, 8,725 of them opt in for push notifications.  “This form of communication is going to be HUGE for auto dealers worldwide,” says Garland Webb, President and Co-founder of DealerApp Vantage, the strategic mobile app partner that both Jim Click and Ralph Schomp uses for PUSH technology.  “A PUSH notification through a mobile app, allows a dealer to do something that they never had the ability to do, communicate with their existing customer base as well as prospects in the most direct way possible, through their mobile device.  The game has officially CHANGED.”

 Dealerships aren’t the only ones seeing an increase of customer engagement from push notifications. Walgreens has seen an improvement in their customer service and productivity from the use of push notifications. Walgreens use push technology to remind customers when a prescription is ready for pick up, when photos are ready for print, and even reminding people when to take their medicine. This has not only improved Walgreen’s service, but also benefited customers, making their lives easier. You can do the same with your dealership!

There are plenty of amazing things you can do with push notifications to that’ll make your customer’s life easier. You can customize each message so that customers can schedule service, view inventory, or even follow a link.  You can run specials or highlight a particular year, make, or model using your inventory data so you can create better sales and service for your customers. You can even include a coupon or operation code in your service specials so when a customer schedules service you can quickly identify the special and track it.

With this kind of great service, customers will want to reference your company and this system makes it simple to do so. Customers can share your message with their friends and family through email, text, or a social network like Facebook. With this, you will greatly increase your outreach on customers without needing to spend more time, energy, and money on advertising.

Push notification allows you to get your customers attention as they live their busy lives. As customers become accustomed to the constant reminders and alerts they get, the more they will need to enhance their lives. If dealerships are looking for an effective marketing strategy that will only reap benefits and bring significant results, push notifications are what you’re looking for.