In just a decade the mobile app development industry has grown by leaps and bounds. New and advanced versions of smartphones are being released every year and the mobile app industry has flourished simultaneously. But it was the pandemic that unleashed their full potential and redefined the services and lifestyles of the entire world.
The Rise of Mobile Apps
According to the survey reports of eMarketer, by 2022 the total time spent on digital platforms will account for almost 60.2% of the total US media time. It’s no wonder that nearly every business is tapping into the full potential of the digital world.
A decade ago, there were only a handful of enterprises willing to venture into this arena. Now mobile applications are fundamental to day-to-day business activity, almost every business has jumped on the bandwagon of digital transformation. Mobile applications are an integral part of this transformation.
Several businesses have already harnessed the full potential of the app development industry and have made remarkable profits from it. Be it eCommerce sites or complex CRMs, mobile applications have shown their impressive impact on the enterprise industry.
The Changing Scenario of the Enterprise Industry
Fast and flawless service is the need of the hour and mobile applications have proved themselves quite handy in that section. But there are a few more ways in which they have changed the business ways of the enterprise industry and helped them excel as well. Let’s look at some crucial points.
1. Give Customers Easy Accessibility
Of the many impactful changes brought by mobile applications, the most prominent one is giving easy access to services and products to customers. Nowadays, we have apps for purchasing alcohol online and video consultations with physicians. That’s how accessible the services have become with mobile apps.
The two mobile OS platforms namely Android and iOS have also played a vital role in this. With their cutting-edge technologies and SDK tools, they have helped developers offer customized Android and Swift app development services for the development of both native and hybrid applications. These customized services have made it possible for enterprises to get the best of both worlds.
2. Help in Gathering Loyal Customers
Uber has got its own cult following and for such people, the chances of falling for any other car rental app are low. With its slick interface, efficient design and straightforward functions, Uber has gathered its own niche users. Such is the power of a good mobile app unified with a useful service.
Enterprises that can combine this combination can rest assured that their mobile app will breed loyalty among their customers. Some companies benefit from loyalty reward programs which further improves the rate of repeat customers.
3. Act as Powerful Marketing Tools
Additionally, mobile applications are powerful and effective marketing tools. Most of the mobile apps developed today are integrated with analytical tools and algorithms. Search patterns, buying behaviors along with the personal information of the users can be easily acquired by enterprises. This data can be used to design personalized marketing campaigns.
Furthermore, mobile applications have turned out to be more persuasive than other forms of marketing such as email marketing, or newsletters. It may take hours for users to click open an email and they are often overlooked or discarded straightaway.
An app’s features like push notifications, in-app ads, and CTAs have improved the response time of users. The chances of users noticing your offers and engaging with them are higher in mobile apps. In short, mobile applications have transformed the digital marketing strategies of enterprises.
4. Get Real-Time Feedback to Improve Services
Before we see how mobile apps are helping the enterprise industry with better management and improved customer services, let’s have a quick look at why customer service is valued above everything else.
Microsoft’s State of Global Customer Service Report of 2017 included stats that clearly emphasized the need to focus on and improve customer services.
- According to the report, 96% of participants responded that customer service was crucial for their loyalty to brands.
- It also showed that 77% of customers had favorable reviews for brands that welcomed customer feedback and 68% of customers prefer brands that contacted them with customer service notifications.
- But the most interesting insight was that 79% of millennials favored brands that offered them a mobile-responsive customer support portal.
The last one is enough to support the fact that mobile applications are changing the ways of businesses by helping them discover the points of pain and improve their services accordingly. In one of its articles, Customer Thermometer (a customer satisfaction survey app) stated that more than products or prices, brands service happens to be the factor that brought loyalty among customers.
The modern mobile applications with their rating and review systems have greatly aided enterprises in their efforts to provide better services by enabling users to rate them on factors like app-using experience, response time, and serviceability.
In addition to all these, many apps come with their own dedicated social media pages through which they establish a direct connection with their customers. This has helped enterprises have better interaction with consumers and get real-time feedback from their users.
5. Reinforce Enterprise Mobility
2020’s pandemic has emphasized the need for flexibility in traditional working models and enterprise mobility is doing exactly that. Enterprise mobility is the way in which enterprises, with the help of several networking plans, mobile apps and software, allow their employees to work from home or remote locations.
Mobile apps had a pivotal role in making enterprise mobility a success and they continue to do so. The reports of Allied Market Research showed that in 2019, the value of the global enterprise mobility market was $19.65, which is estimated to reach $151.51 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of up to 29%.
Together with cloud-based solutions, mobile apps have amplified the enterprise mobility solutions and have helped enterprises cut down on their operational expenses and increase the productivity of their employees.
Conclusion
Customer-centric mobile applications have both challenged and changed the conventional ways of businesses. Mobile applications have a profound impact on the enterprise industry and stand as one of the most influential vectors of digital transformation.
The increasing demand for quick, accessible, straightforward, and faultless services has further pushed the enterprise industry towards adopting mobile digitalization and introducing improvised ways of customer experience. So, empower your marketing team with the impact of digitization, starting with app development.
Author Bio:
Albert Smith is Digital Marketing Manager at Hidden Brains, a leading software development company specializing in mobile & web apps. He provides innovative ways to help tech companies, startups and large enterprises build their brand.
