Why Mobile Apps are Crucial for a Successful Business

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• Understand how apps can increase not only sales but also deliver process improvement, automation and enhance employee and customer engagement.

Today businesses need to keep up-to-date with the latest developments hitting the technology industry in order to continue to be competitive and successful. Developments in mobile are taking place faster than ever and it is imperative that businesses keep up. For example, how many businesses are aware that customers now use mobile apps six times more than websites? (http://www.abmobileapps.com/why-mobile-applications-for-business/)

Some of the latest and greatest digital developments however pose difficult questions for organisations, in particular medium sized businesses who sometimes don’t have the same size budgets or resources as their larger counterparts. So how can businesses keep from falling behind the competition?

You might have guessed where I’m going with this – a mobile app – that’s how.

Today 64% of mobile phone time is spent on apps (http://www.abmobileapps.com/why-mobile-applications-for-business/). Using a mobile app as an innovative business solution can revolutionise how you manage customers, colleagues, and the organisation in general. It can turn a relatively time consuming task into a few clicks, all in a sleek and branded package. Just think of the apps you use every day instead of the company website.

With custom app development, you can ensure that your brand, message and business offerings are fully integrated within the final product and geared towards achieving your business’ goals – from servicing customers to improving internal processes. Let’s face it, there is no better way to reach your audience than through the device they use day in, day out and carry around with them everywhere. A mobile app can bring your product or service into the digital age and ensure that your business is at the forefront of your customers’ and staff minds.

Your app can also be integrated with many different systems, pulling information from your current databases into an easy-to-use solution. It can turn those lengthy tasks into a seamless transition from one screen to the next, with an intuitive interface optimised for usability. Apps of this nature are also just as much about creating efficiency or productivity gains internally through better employee engagement processes as they are for engaging externally with customers.

Here at Pocket App, our specialist team has worked on over 250 projects in the last five years. More and more businesses are recognising that creating mobile apps can not only attract a wider range of customers, it can also help you to engage better with employees as well as create a whole new approach for businesses to engage with those customers and employees.

Having said that security is an area that we are regularly asked about. Rest assured all of your information and every business file can be stored in an app behind encryption and secure storage. Not bad for a device that fits in your hand.

Equally, we are often asked about the expense of building an app. The honest answer is that it depends on what you are hoping to achieve but whatever your budget we will work with you to ensure a rapid ROI. An app is almost always a worthwhile investment for your business, but if we think another mobile solution would suit you better we will tell you – that is why we are a trusted mobile specialist for so many businesses. There are also different ways to approach app development via phases to make the process more palatable from a financial perspective.

One question we often get asked is what can an app do for my business? So to help you answer that question here are just a few diverse examples of projects we are currently working on

• For a printer manufacture, we have created a sales engagement tool
• For a drinks brand we’re developing an audit tool for trade reps
• For an FMCG company we’ve launched a trade engagement and promotion tool
• For a well-known bank, we are designing an employee engagement tool to replace the little used intranet
• And finally for a SaaS company, we’ve built a mobile version of their successful monitoring tool

Working with our bespoke app consultants to meet the requirements you set is an incredibly dynamic and iterative process. We don’t just deliver an ‘out of the box’ solution, with Pocket App you and your business team work alongside our consultants to create a tailor-made app that is your own.

Ultimately apps increase efficiency, improve the uptake of a particular service, and as mentioned earlier can add to the overall impact of new or existing technologies, systems and processes.

The app development and mobile space shows no signs of slowing down with more and more businesses are realising that mobile is the way forward. Therefore investing not only your hard-won resources, but also your confidence in apps, is the first step towards delivering a successful business initiative that will deliver a real return on investment.

Paul Swaddle

Chairman, Pocket App