7 Questions Marketers Should Ask Themselves Before Creating Mobile Apps

MacLean says she updates the content daily, so that when mobile users relaunch her app, they find new blog entries, articles and recipes.

3. If a marketer wants to provide services on the app, decide what's appropriate. Companies should question, "Are there aspects of services that the organization provides that actually are able to be provided in a mobile format?" Carfi says. "So we're starting to see a lot of organizations provide and create mobile apps that actually give a small slice of their overall service or their overall functionality, but in a format that can be used anywhere."

In MacLean's case, she can provide advice on food and wine pairings.

4. If the company wants the app to connect back to the business, figure out what connection that should be. "[It's] an opportunity for the organization to really start getting feedback from the customer, as opposed to just pushing messages at them," Carfi says. "But actually engage the customer in a conversation."

Why not let customers provide comments and submit pictures about, for instance, new product ideas? They might have ideas about how to use existing products in a new way, he adds.

5. Set up tracking mechanisms to determine how to follow up with consumers. Gray says he pays attention to how consumers arrive at the app and what they choose to view on it. That way, marketers can note the most appropriate channels to use to address consumers' needs. For example, someone who downloads a travel app might be interested in a white paper or a video on that subject, Gray says. If consumers visit a Web site as a result of the app, Gray says the drill-down can even go as far as sending differentiated messages to consumers based on how long they stay on the site.

6. Set up ways to do what Gray calls "progressive profiling." Ask for no more than four items of data at a time, because more than that might overwhelm consumers, he says.

7. Decide on the app price. If marketers want a large audience, they should really consider providing the app for free, MacLean says. Her first app, which launched in June 2009, cost $2.99. The free app she launched this year had 10 times more downloads.

"I really think that the mobile market is where it's heading," MacLean says of her direct marketing efforts. "I'm certainly not giving up on my Web site. But I think if you want to stay connected to an audience, you need to have a mobile presence."