Utilising apps to manage and grow

Businesses, regardless of their size or function, should consider utilising applications for agility and efficiency.

PowerCom Pty Ltd's CEO, Alisa Amupolo, made these remarks during her presentation titled 'Utilising apps to manage and grow your business', at the Economist Women's Business Breakfast held in Ongwediva recently.

“Apps can be used for advertising, promoting businesses, managing businesses, more productivity, as well as gathering business intelligence from the market in order to remain competitive,” she said.

Applications, commonly referred to as 'apps' by consumers, can serve varied purposes in commercial environments.

If utilised correctly, business owners can benefit from the low cost and maintenance that comes with mobile or computer-related apps, which have a tangible impact on both the consumer experience and commercial management activities, Amupolo said.

Advancements in technology have enabled businesses to utilise different mobile, tablet and web-based apps.



Relevance

These range from business, social media, productivity, health and fitness and gaming, through to banking apps.

Although these types of apps are all available, it is important that businesses still determine which apps are relevant to their operations and tailor their efforts accordingly.

Amupolo went on to highlight the research and development required for businesses to bring new products to market, and the opportunities that apps offer to access that market and leverage those networks to optimise delivery.

“Apps such as social media have location-based and targeted advertising features. If the app is easy to use, at low or no cost, and has the capability to reach out to customers in different towns, without physically going on foot to sell, that app is right these days, and you can promote a product in the language your customers use, for example.”

Businesses experience the positive impact of apps in several ways. For instance, they can be used to lower the costs of operational expenditure within a business, by reducing the IT spend, which increases profits.

“Using dedicated content that is easy to navigate, apps require low IT skills, if at all; enabling entrepreneurs to have more control over their value chain, from supply to service delivery and access to markets,” Amupolo explained.

She highlighted examples of efficiency-improving apps.

These included local banking apps, Google's own integrated business apps, plus social media apps such as LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

All these apps are gaining traction in terms of advertising and access to market. The apps most frequently used by entrepreneurs are for bookings and scheduling, customer relationship management, accounting, banking, productivity monitoring, surveying, and meeting planning.

The modern business owner no longer encounters any opportunity costs that come with waiting in banking queues, when mobile banking is implemented within a business. Equally, app-based personal assistants are available across the globe at a low cost, via artificial intelligence (AI).

Voice command options on our smartphones, for instance, allow you to search for information without actively inputting the query into your phone.

Amupolo was careful to caution business owners that despite the numerous benefits associated with apps, many of them demand internet usage and cannot operate effectively offline.

In remote areas with unreliable internet access, entrepreneurs may experience challenges utilising apps.

Therefore, emphasis should also be placed on acquiring internet connectivity and smartphones that have low internet consumption.