June 2011 article in Mobile Marketer. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida launching mobile app.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida recently launched an iPhone and Android mobile application to provide members and non-members an enhanced experience on the mobile device.
The healthcare company launched a mobile Web site last year with the goal of helping consumers make better health decisions. The new Florida Blue mobile apps for iPhone and Android smartphones are part of a larger mobile strategy that will eventually include more apps as well as an SMS program.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida is following a best practice. Companies, and usually key executives, want to quickly gain the exposure and “coolness” of launching an iPhone app in the Apple iTunes store. While the temptation is attractive, this can be a mistake. Why? A smart mobile rollout starts with getting the Mobile Web site right first. Mobile Web pages – the content, organization of the content, the experience and utility – act as the foundation to any mobile application. In addition, your mobile Web site will get far more use than an application. The only exception is for those applications which drive tremendous utility for the end-user to download and repeatedly use. For me, such apps are The Weather Channel for accessing weather on my iPhone and the WSJ iPad app for reading The Wall Street Journal.
Does your company have a mobile strategy? Are you following best practices?
Read the full story on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.
Visit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida’s mobile information page.
