Mobile apps are an increasingly important component of every credible business. Consumers enjoy engaging with apps because of the immediate connection they experience. Is it essential for each and every business to have a customised app to promote their brand?
In this post, we take a look at some inspiring B2B mobile app case studies.
App analytics provider, Flurry released a report earlier this year that revealed mobile app usage in 2014 has increased, whereas mobile web surfing has decreased. The data shows users are spending 2 hours and 42 minutes per day on mobile devices – 2 hours and 19 minutes of this spent on mobile apps and just 22 minutes spent surfing the web.
What are the benefits of mobile apps?
- Gives additional information to customers, available at their fingertips
- Serves users in an enhanced way
- Reminds and pulls users back to your product
- Users can engage with your brand from the comfort of their sofa
- Appeals to customers constantly on the go
- Builds loyalty
- Increases brand visibility
In today’s market, mobile apps are an important part of a multi-channel content distribution strategy, allowing businesses to connect with customers that are constantly on the move. Offering an app can position your brand as a champion within the industry and enhances responsive / mobile-friendly websites and social media activity.
What are some ideas for B2B mobile apps?
- Thought leadership app – this could work for you if you’re an industry expert and can share pearls of wisdom and provide a specific insight to consumers.
- Networking app – you could create an app that uses location tracking to help people within your industry to network.
- Event app – if you host regular events, you could create an event-specific app which alerts users of your forthcoming events, encourages registration, shows event details including maps and contact details, timings and schedules, speaker bios and social media networking.
Examples of inspiring B2B mobile apps:
Cardmunch
This is a mobile app for collecting and organising business contacts. Users can scan and upload business cards. This information is subsequently followed up by someone in the team who sends out a LinkedIn invite to the new contact. The information also goes into CMS and is automatically set up as a contact in Outlook. It’s an enhanced networking method and simplifies business contacts.
Please note: Cardmunch is no longer available - LinkedIn have now teamed up with Evernote for business card scanning. Please find out more on the Evernote business card scanning feature here.
Salesforce1
This is a mobile app that connects users’ apps, devices and customer data. The app allows users to run their individual business from their phone – including closing deals, servicing customers and delivering marketing campaigns from anywhere on the go.
And in the news this week…
The Singer Takes It All premiered last week on Channel 4 – a new singing game show, hosted by Alan Carr. The at-home viewers have all the power, voting contestants into the show and deciding their fate via real-time engagement with the mobile app.
A series of promotional advertisement aired in the weeks leading up to the show, which showed Alan Carr plugging the download of the app (available on iTunes and Google Play). The app is imperative to the functioning of the show. There’s no panel of judges, instead it is the app users that decide who goes through, voted for in real-time.
As the show started, Carr insisted the new show was a move away from The X Factor and a focus on “the viewer experience” instead.
Last Friday, Twitter exploded with real-time tweets #singertakesitall.
There were a few teething troubles and technical glitches with the app during the first show, to which Alan commented: “Uh, the app wasn’t working that time either… It’s live, what can you do?”
Earlier this week, The Guardian commented: “If you’re watching The Singer Takes It All and you really want to do something interactive and responsive, your only real option is the off-button.” Will the essential interactive element be better tonight, with the tech team having had a week to work on it? Let’s wait and see…
The Singer Takes It All returns on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm. Don't forget to download the app and live tweet #singertakesitall.
