Mobile applications in business: 14 examples

Over the last 30 years, we have had the opportunity to see how fast and dynamically technology is developing. It’s no longer an area reserved for the IT industry. The entire business community is already using the latest technological advances, and the pandemic has further accelerated the digital transformation process. There are many applications of IT systems – they can be used for logistic purposes, work and time management, sharing information, customer service, or internal communication. Recently, mobile devices are gaining popularity. Currently, most internet activity is generated from smartphones.

The internet’s invasion into the everyday life of ordinary users isn’t the only element of technological development of the past decade. The internet itself has also undergone a huge transformation in recent years. Today, most of the traffic generated on the internet comes from users using mobile devices. The first such breakthrough took place relatively recently – in 2018 – and the rise of this trend has continued since then. When talking about mobile devices in this context, smartphones are the primary source of traffic since tablets only have a small share in these statistics.

To quote a research study:

“The number of internet users in Poland in September 2020 amounted to a total of 27.7 million, of which on desktop computers and laptops (personal computers used at home and at work) – 22.4 million, and on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) 24.4 million.”

This state of affairs isn’t a big surprise because most businesses, even those with a local reach, have at least partially expanded their activities to the virtual space in the form of a website or online store. To meet the changing expectations of the market, most companies have opted for dedicated mobile applications created not only for a single user (purchases, loyalty programs) but also to improve the work and functioning of a team or even an entire organization.

The mobile application market can be compared to a vast ocean: the possibilities are abundant, the depths are unexplored, and the horizon still seems distant. So what should we consider when choosing an application for our team? First of all, you should take into account the area in which the application will support users. Here, too, we have many options to choose from: from work management and time management, through messaging, to specialized applications. There’s one goal behind all this – to strengthen the positive image of the company by ensuring the maximum level of user service quality, regardless of whether it’s our colleague or client.

Project management is the everyday reality in every organization, regardless of the work methodology. There are many applications on the market that are a perfect addition to both agile and other methods. The project size and the individual needs of the team are also important. Here we can choose from more complex applications, such as Freshdesk or Beekeeper, and simpler ones, such as Trello andGoogle Calendar. All these applications are accessible on iOS and Android. They also have a desktop version in case a user wants to use the application on a laptop.

The mobile version of Freshdesk allows you to provide the highest level of customer service quality from anywhere in the world. Thanks to this tool, communication with the customer, answering inquiries from multiple channels, and solving potential problems are even easier. The user has the option to refer directly to the knowledge base of the organization and provide the relevant materials to the client. You can also forward specific reports to the appropriate person or add notes to them. The Freshdesk mobile application allows you to handle requests from various communication channels, such as email, telephone, chat, or social networks. You can also respond to inquiries flowing through your company’s website.

Beekeeper is an extensive project management platform that makes communication and cooperation in a team even easier. It’s primarily intended for customer support teams, but it will function well both in a small enterprise and a large company. The advantage of this application is the open API, flexible administration structure, and ability to customize the appearance of the application so that it’s consistent with the visual brand of your business.

Trello is an easy-to-use application for smaller teams that allows you to manage daily tasks in an easy and transparent way. By arranging cards with tasks in columns, you can, at a glance, assess the project’s progress. In each tab, you can pin people responsible for the task and add comments, attachments, due dates, and lists of subtasks. All users receive a notification about changes in the form of a push notification on the mobile device and via email. Additionally, Trello is a very flexible tool – you can use it to manage projects in HR teams, sales teams, in the marketing department, but even daily household chores.

The Google Calendar application ensures that you don’t miss any meetings or appointments anymore. In addition to saving important events, you can create reminders and automatic alerts by connecting to your Gmail account. It’s a very popular tool, so many other applications offer integration with Google Calendar. For example, when booking a hotel via booking.com or visiting a beautician in the Booksy application, we can automatically add an appointment to the calendar and create a reminder. You can add several calendars in the application, share and edit them with your colleagues. By adding a private calendar only visible to you, you will never have to worry about overlapping meetings and appointments again.

Efficient communication is the foundation for the proper functioning of any organization. In the category of communication applications, the most popular solutions are WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which in the first quarter of 2019 exceeded 150 million downloads in the Google Play store. However, business communication requires more professional tools and a more varied form – depending on the goal we want to achieve. The most popular tool for internal communication is Slack. Thanks to Zoom Cloud Meetings, we can conduct videoconferences, and WhatsApp Messenger Business facilitates communication with customers. SurveyMonkey comes in handy for carrying out surveys among employees, customers, or other users – and analyzing the collected data.

Slack is a communicator that is just perfect for communication inside the company while allowing contact with customers or external workers in selected areas. Conversations can be held privately or in the form of dedicated themed rooms that can be open to everyone or available only to invited users. Thanks to the option of pinning and saving messages, the user can easily and quickly find all the most important information. It’s also possible to make a voice call or videoconference, which is a very useful function, especially for dispersed teams. Slack also allows you to upload attachments in various formats, and you can connect it to applications such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or Zendesk, among others.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic and the transition of most organizations to remote operation, ZOOM has grown in popularity significantly. According to the Gemius research, in the first half of 2020, ZOOM increased the number of real users from 200,000 to 3.7 million. This platform allows you to organize virtual meetings of any type and webinars with the possibility of Q&A sessions. It’s successfully used by teams in their daily work. It can also be used to contact clients and partners, but also to organize training courses. ZOOM is ideal support for HR departments during the remote recruitment process. In addition, you can use ZOOM in less formal meetings that replace everyday conversations at the coffee machine – in Deviniti, some teams meet once a week for a virtual coffee meeting, thanks to which we maintain good relations in the team and strengthen the feeling that we’re working towards a single goal, even if we work remotely.

Unlike WhatsApp, this business application improves the effectiveness of communication with customers and thus has a positive effect on business growth. In WhatsApp Business, the user can create a company profile with all the data that facilitate the customer’s contact. In addition, the application can be integrated with a landline number and the option to set automatic information about closing hours. Of course, all the basic features that WhatsApp Messenger offers are also available in the business version.

The changing situation in the world means that many actions and decisions have to be taken to constantly adapt the business to the new realities. It’s not always possible to make the right decision without first examining the moods and opinions of employees, customers, or users. In the case of SurveyMonkey, the size of the organization doesn’t matter. Thanks to this tool, you will learn the needs of your recipients even on a very large scale, and the analytical module will allow you to quickly analyze the collected data. The application is available for iOS and Android, so all users can take part in your surveys directly from their smartphones.

Until a few years ago, mobile applications were created mainly for entertainment purposes, and no one thought of them as promotional and sales tools. This approach has also changed – as a result, nowadays, e-commerce applications can take very different forms. The e-commerce industry has been developing strongly since 2018, according to the Gemius report:

The percentage of internet users who shop online has increased compared to last year’s survey and amounted to 56% (54% in 2017). The number of internet users buying abroad has also increased i – according to the latest data, they rank at 23%, i.e., 7 percentage points more than a year ago (16%). A positive change may be caused by the growing trust in online purchases: over a quarter (26%) of respondents consider online shopping as completely safe (14% in 2017), and almost half (49%) as easy and uncomplicated (41% in 2017).

The best-known e-commerce app examples are platforms that aggregate sales, such as Allegro, Olx, Aliexpress, Zalando, or Vinted. There, each user can not only buy but also put up clothes or other items for sale. Applications for making broadly defined reservations, such as Booking.com, Booksy, or Moment, are also gaining popularity. Every marketer will also appreciate the advantages of the Google Analytics App and the possibility of mobile mailing management with the help of Mailchimp. A good idea for the development of your business is to create a custom application that may include sales components (online store), marketing (push notifications), or help in building a relationship with the customer (loyalty program system).

Social media also plays an important role in the area of ​​e-marketing. Ads on Facebook or Instagram, activity on LinkedIn – it’s difficult to imagine the functioning of internet marketing in 2020 without them. Managing each of your portals can be difficult, so it’s a good idea to use one tool to control all your corporate social media profiles.

This free app available for iOS and Android allows you to comprehensively monitor your business website traffic, including user behavior and preferences, conversion rate, and real-time data. Thanks to this, you have access to the latest statistics always at hand and can react to them on a regular basis. The application also allows you to generate and save reports, perform a comparative analysis of any indicators, and create your own reports taking into account individually selected parameters.

Conducting mailing campaigns is an activity that doesn’t end with the 8 working hours. The MailChimp application allows you to manage email campaigns from your mobile device with just a few clicks. You can view the progress, edit the contact list, and create reports on individual activities without turning on your computer. Automatic emailing isn’t everything. Thanks to this application, you can also create entire marketing campaigns, ads on Instagram and Facebook, select target groups, maintain contact with customers, and create marketing creations in line with the brand concept. You will also receive hints that will help you make the right decisions regarding the promotion of your products and services. Mailchimp also provides solutions supporting e-commerce, such as automatic reminders for customers about products added to the cart, notifications about making a purchase, or monitoring customer and user preferences. The application is recommended primarily for servicing smaller companies.

Many companies from various industries decide to be present in social media. In most cases, this is the right step that allows you to build awareness and reach an even wider audience, and thus potential customers. The Buffer mobile app is a truly powerful tool that can make anyone a Social Media Ninja. Comprehensive management of all platforms is simple because it’s done with only one application. Planning and sharing content on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest, planning Stories schedules, ability to customize visuals for each platform, scheduling comments with hashtags, tagging users and locations, collaboration with your team, and professional support are just some of the features of this app.

Whichever app you choose for your business, it’s clear that mobile apps are the future. Business development depends on the selection of appropriate tools that facilitate the company’s work. However, you should remember to use common sense in this mobile madness. Too many tools or applications that don’t fit into your team’s day-to-day workflow can backfire and certainly won’t increase productivity. The choice of a mobile application should be preceded by a business analysis in order to identify the individual needs of the team and choose a solution that will actually support users. It’s also a good idea to create your own solutions or customize existing ones – sometimes, even small changes can bring huge benefits.

Smart Shop is a mobile application designed for the retail industry. Thanks to this solution, store owners can monitor sales data, get registers from cash registers, manage active promotions, and efficiently change the pricing of discounted products. The application was written using the latest trends in the UX zone, such as Dark Mode support. It’s compatible with both iOS and Android thanks to the use of the cross-platform Flutter technology.

The Dekra Eye application is a dedicated solution that optimizes the work of auditors. The tool supports the performance of certification audits by allowing you to create, assign, and manage surveys. Additionally, the application offers offline work and the possibility of data synchronization.

Mobile applications can facilitate a team’s work and provide an advantage over the competition in the market. Thanks to the significant possibilities of customization, you can create an application with functions that perfectly reflect the needs of a given business. The only limitations are your budget and imagination.

Read more about Deviniti mobile applications: