Improve your brand image through mobile apps

In this day and age, there is no shortage of ways to advertise and improve your brand image. Sure, there is the traditional media of web based advertisements, radio plugs, and TV ads. Of course, if you want to be “IN” with the latest trend, the first thing you should consider are mobile apps.

Yes, Mobile apps are basically the biggest attention grabber of the century. While most will not like to admit it, our lives are increasingly centered and dependent on our mobile devices, and within these mobile devices are apps. According to the Flurry Five-Year Report: It’s an App World. The Web Just Lives in It, people spend an average of over 2 hours a day using apps on a smart phone.

The most important bit here is that people tend to use these mobile apps during opportunistic times for an advertiser – during meals, while shopping, on the way to work, and just about every idle moment that a person can have in a day. Its reach is far more penetrative than the average advertising media.

So how exactly can we improve your brand’s reach and image with apps? Mobile Apps can range from a wide variety of forms, which can give you a lot of ways to be creative. Let’s take a look at HasBro’s Transformers and how they did it back in the day:

Step 1: New Autobot toy is created
Step 2: New Autobot toy is featured in the TV show.
Step 3: Profit from sales of new toy that kids saw on TV.

It is the same principle with apps. If you have a new product, like a new toy lineup, a new lineup of clothes, or maybe a new service, why not incorporate it somehow in an App? You can sponsor a development of game that would feature your product. You can even create desktop and keyboard themes that would hint towards your product.

There’s also a more direct approach – creating the official app of your brand. This is becoming increasingly popular, especially for brands that have something to sell. They create online shopping apps for their online store, or even create a loyalty program with the use of mobile app, which is something big names like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s are using. Not only do they put their products closer to the reach of the customer, but they also improve their standing thanks to how well the app worked and through their app based promotions.

Lots of companies are starting to migrate their business closer to mobile apps just like the proliferation of App based Taxi services and app based online shopping and book reading. It is very clear that if you want to have better brand image, recognition, and penetration, then you better start investing in a good app developer.

Venture into Enterprise Mobility: Four Reasons to go Mobile

Mobile technology has played a major role in transcending boundaries in technological advancement. As year passed by, more opportunities are offered by mobile technology in the area of consumerism, GPS, online experience, and gaming. Business and companies have utilized these to market their services and products to better their advertisement and increase their revenue.

Here are four reasons to go mobile for your business.

1)  Most people have smartphones and access to the Internet.

According to eMarketer, 4.55 billion people all over the world will be using a mobile phone in 2014. Furthermore, between 2013 and 2017, an increase of 61.1% to 69.4% of the global population will be seen on mobile phone usage. eMarketer also estimate that the total number of mobile phone internet users will rise 16.5% in 2014 and maintain double-digit growth through 2016.

2) Another form of advertisement and marketing method.

Mobile applications have been one of the innovative inventions in today’s history. Almost 70% of the world’s population has smartphones, and access to the Internet has never been easy via the Wi-Fi technology. These factors led to mobile applications as a form of advertisement and marketing method.

Consumers spend more time on their smartphones rather than on their computers. Most features of the computer are also incorporated into smartphones, with smartphones having unique features of its own. Businesses and establishments who go mobile are likely to increase their return of investment and annual profit.

Apple Inc. launched the iBeacon technology which it calls “a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify nearby iOS 7 devices of their presence.” iBeacon helps smartphones and other iOS 7 devices show notifications of items and services that are on sale, and it can be used to make payments for purchased goods. This technology offers the mobile enterprise an ample amount of opportunities to explore and grow.

3)  Increase brand perception by target audience.

Going mobile through the use of mobile website or by creating mobile applications for your businesses and establishments not only create more attention and advertisement for your products and services but also increase brand perception. According to bMobilized, “mobile searches make up 1/4 of all searches – chances are 25% of your customers as searching for your business on their mobile – if your site is not optimized for mobile, you are essentially invisible to those customers!”

Most searches people made are connected to finding businesses and establishments such as restaurants, hotels, and clubs. Restaurants have outstanding 90% search-related transactions with 64% converting within one hour according to moralmobile.com.


mobile enterprize

4)  Provides information to target audience and potential customers.

TV commercials are expensive especially to new businesses and establishments. Alternatives such as flyers and posters are not enough to disseminate information such as promos and sales from your businesses and establishments. The introduction of mobile technology offers low-cost advertisement that is easily accessible to your customers.

Customers will be able to see information such as locations, operating hours, promos, sales, products from your business. Online payment is also a privilege most customers want to have, avoiding the hassle of waiting over long lines.

Whether it is a mobile application or mobile website, going mobile present opportunities for your businesses and establishments to expand its territories and market its products and services to other potential customers.

One Step at a Time – iBeacon in Restaurants

The newest technology introduced by Apple Inc. called the iBeacon, is the new center of attraction for developers around the world especially in the United States.

Apple Inc. describes iBeacon as “a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify nearby iOS 7 devices of their presence.” This technology utilizes the Bluetooth installed in each Apple products and communicates with them directly.

The main function of iBeacon is to expand the technological capabilities of the retail industry. Point of sales (POS), product announcements, and product discounts are just some of the services iBeacon could offer.

iBeacon has been integrated into different establishments and businesses such as hospitals, universities, and hotels. Some restaurants have also integrated iBeacon into their system, hoping it would increase their sales and attract the attention of potential customers.

A concept was launched by two-man hack team Ray Ho and Mark Watson at the 2014 Tech Crunch Disrupt SF hackatahon, which is integrated into the restaurant’s software Clover and will improve the experience of customers waiting on tables.

Ray Ho and Mark Watson embedded iBeacons into every table in the restaurant so that they can monitor the activity of each customer in the table such as ordering food. The problem of constantly checking the customers for their orders will decrease and staffs such as waiters will have more time for other things such as cleaning tables.

Customers will have the option of knowing the available tables via the SmartTable application, before coming to the restaurant. How convenient it may seems, this does not demote human interaction as customers can still order through the cashier, knowing that their order is being processed.

Another advantage of iBeacons in restaurants is that customers can check their bills at any point before paying. They can check how many appetizers they have eaten and how much all those appetizers cost. Now that’s a convenient thing to have especially for those with awkward social skills.

In Germany, a restaurant has produced another innovative way using iBeacons which track the dining habits of their customers. Christian Mook, owner of the Mook Group that has five restaurants, utilizes iBeacon to record his customers’ habits such their favorite food to order up to their favorite table to occupy.

Customers need to download their application to avail the technology. Not only does this setup benefits the Mook Group, customers will earn rewards by using the application, by ordering foods in any of their restaurants, or just by hanging out in one of their restaurants. Customers will also earn points that can be used for special services and trade for rewards.

This move by the Mook Group was devised to improve quality service for the customers.

iBeacon has been the stepping stone of developers to improve the quality of life and improve the technological experience of many businesses and establishments. Since its release, it has gained popularity and the amount of work invested by different people to reveal all of its potential is massive. It just been a year since the release of iBeacon but the way iBeacon changed the experience of many people is forever treasured.

Developer in Demand – Things you should consider while hiring a developer

The development of mobile technology has been a huge success for developers. The introduction of smartphones was easily embraced by consumers and each year, the features and specifications of smartphones increase. The competition of manufacturing companies in developing smartphones has always been a battle, and developers think of new ways to better their craft.

To be a successful mobile developer, you should have these three E’s:

1) Expertise

A mobile developer should have expertise of his/her craft. Different programming languages for mobile development are available; some of the popular ones are Java, Objective C, C++, and HTML 5. Mastering and knowing the advanced techniques on each programming languages gives you the edge over other developers.

2) Experience

Have you mastered the different programming languages but do not have any experience in developing small to large scale applications? Can you work under pressure and with a limited time? Can you work well with others or in a team? These questions basically answer if you have experience or not, if a company will likely to hire you or not. Experienced developers have an excellent grasp of working well with other developers and their bosses. They will not be constricted with the given time limit and will deliver good results on time.

3) Examples

For developers to have a high chance of getting hired, a compilation of their past works, achievements, and experiences needs to be presented – a portfolio. A mobile developer with a portfolio is likely to get hired than those without one. Portfolios display the competitiveness and years of experiences of mobile developers and reveal expertise of their craft.

With the sudden boom of mobile technology into our society, many people are starting to walk onto the path of becoming a mobile developer. Companies are paying their mobile developers a large amount of sum thus mobile developer has become one of the most in-demand jobs in the world.

Taxi Apps – Mobile Technology in Taxi Business

Mobile Technology has become the centerpiece in the new business model of taxi services. Mobile technology in terms of taxi apps has bring a lot of conveniences both to the drivers and the customers. It has managed to improve income for many drivers, and it is clear that if you are not yet optimizing the use of mobile technology in your taxi business, you are definitely far behind in the curve and the income it generates. Mobile technology has solved a number of issues that drivers and customers has had for years.

Downtime

Taxi’s used to have a problem where there are just days when they would end up wandering aimlessly in the streets and not being able to find a customer. They would end up wasting a lot of gas and time, with no income. With taxi apps, they can now minimize their downtime since there is always a customer in every destination, without having to wander around aimlessly.

Carrying Change

The credit card industry has been trying to penetrate the taxi business for years, but with mobile technology, they finally have that link towards cashless transactions. Taxi apps now allow customers to pay via credit card, reducing the need for keeping a lot of change, and the hassle of carrying cash in the car, which can often be easily stolen.

Communication and Feedback

For taxi companies, it has been very difficult for them to properly screen their drivers. Sad to say, there are a lot of bad drives out there with even worse customer service. For customers, mobile technology gives them a voice. Now they can issue feedback about their ride, and can even put up commendations for great drivers through taxi apps.

Safety and Security

Mobile technology has allowed riding a taxi a bit more secure, especially for someone who is not familiar with the lay of the land. Mobile mapping and navigation services allow customers to be in better control of their route, and they can easily see if the taxi is taking the long way around. Alternatively, taxi apps also allow them to share their current position, plate number, and even the driver’s profile, allowing their loved ones to keep track of their ride, preventing cases of kidnapping or theft.

The advancements in mobile technology has completely changed the battlefield of many businesses. Communication became faster and cheaper, the exchange of data is enterprise is almost seamless, and many businesses, new and old, are moving to the cloud. Mobile technology has become a game changer, and it continues to drive change in a business as old as the Taxi Business.