Mobile Apps in the Modern Business World
|Do you know anyone over the age of 18 who does not possess a smartphone or tablet? Such a person must in this day and age be a rarity. My own mother, who celebrated her 100th birthday last year, has a tablet which she uses not only for email but also is signed up to a number of social media apps and uses ecommerce apps to send her great grandchildren birthday and Christmas presents.
Phone app-website crossovers
The business world has long been aware of the potential mobile apps have for the growth of their enterprises and one consequence of this is that the distinction between internet marketing platforms and mobile apps is becoming blurred. Thus Internet banking and mobile phone banking have become one and the same thing and the same is true of a number of other financial applications. By the same token, Internet business platforms can be accessed on smartphones.
Then there are businesses that incorporate phone apps into their online marketing websites, enabling them to interface and carry out activities with their clients online. Optima is a sales Training Company in Bangkok which has adopted Blended Learning as a mode of delivery for its training. Providers adopting this approach typically use audio-visual communication apps such as Zoom along with educational apps, for example Microsoft Teams or Canvas for virtual group and individual meetings with trainers, and the posting of assignments and paperless training materials. Combined with in-person training sessions, the Blended Learning approach provides not only a more effective way of learning than the traditional classroom based one, it is also far more convenient and flexible.
Apps as tools for businesses
This is just one example of the many ways in which businesses and businesspeople can incorporate mobile apps into their activities. You will be familiar with the value that mobile banking and other financial apps such as Wise and PayPal bring to your business in terms of their ease of use and the convenience they provide. You may not however have encountered the translation service apps, which are of particular value in the Asian business context. Many Asian businesspeople can communicate in English adequately well for day-to-day business purposes and some native speakers of English have similarly acquired an ability to communicate in an Asian language. However, in both cases, when it comes to high- level communication, nuances of meaning can be crucial. Thus, signing up to a reputable translation app can make the difference between a successful deal and a botched one. Depending on what your business is, there are many other apps available that can bring synergy to your company’s activities.
On an individual level, delivery drivers and riders have long been using Google’s traffic app to find the quickest way to their destination and PA’s book their boss’s flights through ticketing apps. However, managers and CEOs themselves can also use a variety of apps in order to make better use of their time, especially when they are on the move.
Compliance with local laws
A word of warning is needed here about MLM apps which may seem an attractive way of expanding market share but while some Asian countries have a laissez faire stance on them, others do not. Singapore, for example, has strict regulations about the extent to which MLM are permitted. Before adopting an MLM strategy for your company, it would be advisable to check the legality of it in your target country.