7 ways SMEs and Startups can profit from mobile apps

Experts in small business, mobile marketing, and customer experience provide their thoughts and suggestions on how mobile apps can help firms better engage with consumers, keep staff engaged, and increase profits.

Many small companies are increasingly aware that they must improve?their agility?in order to remain competitive in new era. However, being mobile entails more than just having a mobile-friendly website. (However, if you run a retail or service firm, you must have a mobile website.) It entails communicating with mobile consumers and , as well as have them connect with you?(and each other). These seven mobile apps can assist small and medium-sized enterprises in doing exactly that.

Geo-targeting on mobile devices (marketing & sales).

According to Johan den Haan, CTO of Mendix, citing the growth of beacons and geo-targeting.? "It's become increasingly straightforward to target critical users with location-specific, time-sensitive messaging via mobile applications," ? "For example, companies may send special offers to clients who are close to stores by integrating geo-location technology into a mobile application."?Small companies can cut cost, decide on priority, and send tailored advertisements to customers at the proper time and place by employing this method.

Moreover, combining geo-fencing with SMS messages allows you to interact directly with clients who are near your business.? Set it up for your regular consumers and send them a text about a special promotion, a special event, or a flash sale when they are clos?to your business.? You'll make them feel unique, and by combining exclusivity and scarcity, they'll be more inclined to stop to take a look and buy.

Customer loyalty programs for mobile devices

Many companies has already developed a mobile app for their? customer.?These?apps provide?customers with?unique offers, early bird promotions, and other benefits. If?you want to?improve the app's effectiveness, conduct a poll of consumers (or have the app do it) to determine which incentives they like. Not only do you get useful information to improve your business and services, but your consumer also feels loved and respected,?from which you can?increases engagement and income.

Punch cards have long been used to reward loyal customers?with some success. However, tracking the punch card (punches, purchases, lost cards, and zero purchase reporting) proves to be frustrating for both the seller and the customer.? We need?a smarter mobile solution for customers, who is always on their?phone and likes a good discount, and for us, the seller, to gain insight into our regular customers, engage with them, and reward them.

"When our consumers make a qualified purchase in our business, they earn a punch through the mobile app that counts toward a greater reward after 10 punches, [when] they receive pre-programmed coupons," she explains. "For example, if they check in on social media, they may receive a push notice with a discount for their retail purchase that day." Customers who haven't bought at Carolina Clover in a while will receive a birthday coupon and "we've missed you" coupons via the app. "It's fully automated with features we can switch on and off, which we like, and it's clearly a wiser solution than the old paper punch card," says the customer.

Reminders and scheduling on mobile devices

If you run a service business like a salon or an exercise studio, you can use a mobile app to allow consumers to schedule appointments or register for sessions from their phone or tablet. Then, to confirm appointments or lessons and issue reminders, utilize text or SMS messaging.

Payments through mobile device.

"You may have observed [Square,] the small white [cube used for mobile payments] spreading from farmer's markets to companies of all types," says Craig Bloem, creator of FreeLogoServices.com. "Small companies may swipe credit cards and manage other business transactions via phone, tablet, or even a sleek point-of-sale stand," according to Square and similar mobile payment systems. It saves a lot of time because there's no need for a large register or a unique payment system. It also enables companies to accept payments on the fly in a matter of seconds."

For company owners, another benefit of employing a mobile payment system is that "mobile data can be connected with other apps (through the cloud) considerably simpler than traditional ways," according to David Mercer, creator of SME Pals. "Transaction records are directly integrated into other aspects of the business, which are handled by various technologies such as accounting, tax, and marketing applications, making the entire firm more automated, efficient, and streamlined."

Collaboration and communication using mobile devices.

"For small companies, communication and connectivity are critical," says Dan Ward, cofounder of mobile app development startup Detroit Labs. "Slack is an excellent example of a communication tool that may help reduce email and improve cooperation." The mobile version for Slack helps you to stay connected no matter where you are. It is also extremely cost effective for small firms."

"Apps like Slack are fantastic to use on your phone, and they enable team collaboration and project prioritization for businesses of all sizes," Bloem explains. "When everyone is on the go, they allow you to engage with each other, collaborate, and exchange papers and information all in one spot."

"Dropbox is vital for small firms to share documents," Ward adds. "It has private files, shared folders, team folders, and a superb mobile app that allows you to access anything on the road." Gone are the days when accessing a simple document required a dedicated shared drive and a VPN connection."

Customer assistance on the go.

Mobile applications may also assist businesses in providing better service to their clients. "In order to maintain our reputation for excellent service, we need to react to clients within four hours," Bloem explains. "Desk.com enables our customer care representatives to access client interactions from any location, allowing them to keep up with escalating consumer expectations."

Mark Tuchscherer, cofounder and president of Geeks Chicago, states, "We utilize Zendesk for support issues and requests from our clients." "Zendesk offers a native mobile app that allows us to monitor customer support requests and emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Sales and CRM support on the go

"When it comes to customer relationship management, mobile CRM puts a wide variety of possibilities at the fingertips of business leaders," says Anthony Smith, Insightly's founder and CEO. "With a mobile application, you can keep track of tasks, contacts, organizations, opportunities, projects, emails, and your calendar in real time. This eliminates the need to scribble vital information on old receipts or, even worse, try to recollect information from memory."

"Instead of stowing business cards in a drawer," he continues, "company owners and managers can immediately scan and put contact information right into their CRM and make essential notes about their new acquaintance" using a mobile CRM system. "By avoiding manual entry, company owners [and salespeople] may save time that can be better spent on creating client connections," according to the report.

"By using a mobile CRM, your [sales] reps can check-in, access their sales pipeline, client information, past communication, estimates and orders while chatting with a customer in the field," Oscar Macia, founder and CEO of ForceManager, a mobile sales management system, adds. "It saves time, makes you appear more professional, and gives you, the business owner, real-time actionable knowledge into their performance." This knowledge may be used to your sales techniques, allowing you to create a long-term, predictable development plan for your company."

If you are interested in developing a mobile app, BiPlus offer a full cycle of application design, integration and management services. Whether it is a consumer oriented app or a transformative enterprise-class solution, the company leads the entire mobile app development process from ideation and concept to delivery, and to ongoing ongoing support. Our partners will receive usable functions of the app in just 2 weeks!

Contact us via email: [email protected] to get your dream app now.