117: Apps: Auction Marketing Tools

Mark Pauley of PhoneAxiom, LLC

Recently, The Counts Realty & Auction Group hired Mark Pauley of PhoneAxiom, LLC to develop a smartphone app. Since I design a good portion of that auction company’s advertising media, Mark and I shared multiple phone calls to discuss both the product and the process of building it.

With more small businesses developing apps and others considering it, I asked Mark to go on the record for a few questions for the benefit of my email subscribers and blog readers.

RG: How would you describe the benefit of an app over an adaptive website?
MP: Adaptive and responsive websites are great and absolutely necessary. Having your very own mobile application that is native to iPhone and Android takes it a step further. User engagement increases. A responsive website is only available in a browser and when the user inputs your web address. A native mobile application resides in the list of apps on the user’s phone or on the home screen of their device. This gives the organization with the mobile app control over user engaging features such as push notifications. That could very much be the determining factor of whether that user engages in some sort of activity with the organization or not.

RG: How does app development compare to website development in terms of cost and time of production?
MP: In terms of production time, a month of development time should be sufficient depending on the features desired. The cost for getting your own smartphone app developed on both platforms (keep in mind that it is literally two separate applications) can have a very broad range. It really all depends on if you just want the basics or a complex application developed. For example, one advanced feature would be automated push notifications, generating badges or alerts when a new piece of your content (such as a posting of an auction) is published online. This would update your users without you doing anything differently than you do today.

RG: What key features do you think an auction company’s app should include?
MP: An auction company’s app should be designed to increase user engagement and ultimately get more bidders to show up on auction day. This could ultimately boost the final “gavel price” of the auction. If that is not being achieved, the app is worthless. The app should also be able to give the user all of the auction company’s upcoming auction listings, past auctions, and have the ability to potentially do live bidding (if that is something at the auction company is currently involved in). It should most definitely have in-app bidder registration.

RG: What did you learn about the auction industry in developing your first auction app?
MP: In developing our first auction app, we were able to ascertain what key features interest auctioneers. In that research we found great recommendations of features that would add direct value for bidders and, thus, indirect value to the seller and auction company.

RG: Operationally, are there any indirect benefits of having the app?
MP: One significant benefit would be “Nothing.” Nothing is good to most companies. By that, I mean that nothing is necessarily done differently than you do today. Our intent is not to disrupt daily in-house operations and pile on additional work and thus labor costs. If your company is part of a larger system where your auctions are published, we can, in most cases, tap that database to make listings automated and push right into your app. This would not interrupt anything that you are doing today—while working to get more bidders to your auctions.

After my conversation with Mark, I began to brainstorm other ways that an app could be used within the auction business. In addition to auction posting, push notifications, registration, and online bidding, an app could be used

• as a tag scanner (like QR code) with shortcuts to online lot descriptions
• with location services to display auctions from multiple companies near the user
• for instant messaging a sales rep or a company support staff person
• to display local real estate comp and/or demographic/community maps (like Trulia does)
• to pull a feed of curated auction stories such as those posted in a company’s social media streams
• to allow app users to sign up only for specific email, mail, or push notifications (by asset category)
• to generate “what if” bid amounts at a multi-parcel auction (live or online)

Even with only basic capabilities, an app’s simplified, browser-free interface makes it more convenient for the mobile user. The value of those push notifications can’t be understated, as it all but guarantees that even a passive audience will see each of your auction notifications at least once. Few media can say that. With editable location services, I could see an app having great value to the members of the growing number of affiliate networks or even state associations in the auction industry, too.
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Just as an app makes it easier for people to learn about a company’s products or events, I’m encouraged by how many churches around the world are working to make it easier for their local communities to learn about Jesus. One pastor that I know even spent over a year polling unchurched people about why they avoid church—and then (where it didn’t interfere with Scripture) created a church culture without the negative attributes found in the study.

Many churches are replacing midweek services with other, more relational environments. Others are taking that one step further with topical, life stage, and even gender-specific small groups. Some churches are starting coffee shops and other gathering places, while still others are developing apps, study resources, or interactive media.

On a personal level, it’s a tall goal to make Jesus easier for others to see and understand—let alone easier for them to want. Yet that’s what we’ve been called to do: to make the Jesus and the gospel more approachable. Typically, that’s more about authenticity and movement than it is perfection. Still, that requires that we keep moving toward Jesus, no matter how long we’ve been on the journey. Our growth isn’t just for us. It’s also for those for whom we can make it easier to follow Christ.

[footer]Photos provided by PhoneAxiom, LLC[/footer]