There are thousands of iPhone apps available but not all of them aim to drive sales. A good example of an iPhone app that aims to increase sales as well as awareness for a brand’s product is Tiffany’s iPhone app, the ‘Ring Finder.’  Tiffany introduced its first iPhone app earlier this month and among others the app allows users to browse Tiffany’s rings based on size, setting, design and different carat sizes.  Rings are displayed in true-size and users can zoom in on a ring’s various details from different angles.  Once users have found ‘The One’ they can share it with friends and family through email, Facebook or Twitter and save the rings they like. In addition users can schedule appointments and consultations directly from the app to find out more about Tiffany’s rings.

The Tiffany’s app is also educational.  Users can learn about Tiffany’s various ring styles, the qualities of different diamonds and as a bonus the app allow users to determine the size of a an actual ring by placing it on their phone’s screen and adjusting the circle size until it is aligned with the inside of the actual ring.  A handy tool for those guys that want to keep the proposal a surprise!

Along with the iPhone app Tiffany’s introduced a .mobi site that showcase their new store design. According to MobileMarketer.com the mobile site allow users to browse some of Tiffany’s jewellery, provide information about the new stores, list directions to the stores via Google Maps and users can click-to-call a store.  It would be interesting to know what percentage of Tiffany’s total sales is generated through the iPhone app. Below is a video to demonstrate the app’s functionality, enjoy!

Increasingly people are searching for information on the go and not surprisingly the number of users accessing the Internet via their mobile handsets has increased. For many consumers, their mobile phone is their primary Internet access point. Taking all of the above into consideration, it makes it vitally important to have a website that can be viewed easily on a mobile phone.

One of the biggest limitations of using the Internet on a mobile phone is the size of the screen. This has implications for websites with small font and lots of images as they don’t display well when viewed via the mobile web.  There are other things to keep in mind when creating a mobile website, for example:

• Don’t use Flash
• Mobile users are looking for text content, if you have to include images make sure their file size is as small as
• Keep it simple, especially when it comes to navigation

Lastly, make your contact details even more visible on your mobile website.  Chances are if someone visits your website via their mobile they are trying to find out where you are located or how to contact you.  Make sure to have your physical address and phone number easily accessible.

Mobile internet users are looking for information on the go, make sure your website provides them with exactly that.  If your website or blog is built in Wordpress, try the Wordpress Mobi Plugin to optimise it for the mobile web.

Further reading and tutorials:  Optimize Your Website For The iPhone & Other Mobile Devices

Mobile apps that are useful and add value form an integral part of a brand’s mobile strategy, especially in the travel industry.  Why?  Smartphone users make use of their mobile devices whilst on holiday to research various attractions and activities in a specific area and PhoCusWright predict US travellers will spend $76 million on direct domestic hotel bookings through a mobile device this year.

According to this article on Adweek.com there were more than 150 000 applications available in the Apple App Store in March 2010 and eMarketer.com predicts that by 2013 free and paid-for app downloads will have increased to 16.2 million (see graph below).

eMarketer.com also mentioned that travel app users are mostly interested in apps like mapping and trip-planning apps that will help them on the go.  For instance, WorldMate is a popular mobile app that allows users to schedule flights, check flight status, receive weather updates, convert currency and give directions among others.

What can brands learn from the above?  Stay ahead of the curve and come up with an app that will add value for your target audience.  Before launching the app make sure it is easy to use by testing it on a few users.  Think your brand can do with a mobile application but you don’t know where to start? Don’ worry if you’re not that web savvy, just ask us!