The rise of smartphones and tablets has increased the ability to stay connected, wherever you go. If you’re an entrepreneur, this means that there are plenty of awesome apps out there that can help improve your efficiency and productivity in your business endeavors. Here are 8 great apps every entrepreneur needs to have on their smartphone or tablet.
Table of Contents
Employee Self-Service (ESS)
Many employees prefer to use their mobile devices to access company data and perform business-related tasks. An employee self-service app allows you to give employees access to data via smartphone, without needing your IT department’s assistance.
ESS apps can be used as standalone tools or paired with other business software; they often allow users to submit time cards and expense reports, check inventory levels and track projects, among other things. Employees can use self-service apps in a number of ways—from using them during work hours while on site at your location or remotely from their own devices outside of work hours.
Self Service Transaction Processing (SSTP)
Everyone’s favorite automated teller machine, or ATM, is really just a mobile app. What many people don’t realize is that ATMs run on an open-source software platform called SSTP. This concept of using a mobile app to process credit card payments through a traditional POS system could be very powerful in today’s digital age.
If you’re interested in creating business apps for iOS and Android, an open-source platform like SSTP can help you get started quickly. Plus, if your company plans to launch an internal mobile app program (iPad carts anyone?), SSTP will keep costs low by helping you avoid licensing fees and costly custom development efforts.
Crowd Sourcing
The best way to answer that question is to open up a contest for mobile app development. You can offer your own prizes, but most businesses will run these contests on sites like CrowdSpring or 99designs. You’ll get lots of submissions and can easily narrow them down to a few winners.
Then, you just need to pay out your winning submissions and release them—easy peasy! Note: Try not to limit yourself to paid solutions; it’s tough to find really great, free apps that cater exclusively to business needs.
Lead Generation
Of course, nothing is more important to a business than acquiring new customers. Today’s businesses know that it’s no longer enough to rely on word-of-mouth marketing or mass advertising. Without mobile apps, you could be missing out on potential customers who prefer to access your business through their phone or tablet.
So what kind of app might work best for your business? Ask yourself what sets you apart from other businesses in your industry, and how those attributes can translate into a successful mobile app.
Customer Service Application
If you’re in customer service or offer customer service, a mobile app can be a very helpful addition to your business. There are tons of apps out there that range from answering basic questions to helping solve issues and even find new customers. And they’re all free and easy to use! Think about how much easier it would be if your customers could instantly send you pictures of problems with their order or products without having to call or email—and eliminate having to take pictures yourself, too.
This could save a ton of time in many industries, especially on really busy days when call volumes are high. Make sure your customer service app is user-friendly so that you don’t lose any customers because they can’t figure out how to use it.
Marketing Automation
While many businesses use email marketing, doing so manually is a tedious process that requires lots of work. Automating your email marketing, on the other hand, allows you to perform tasks faster and at scale. One tool I’ve used with success is ActiveCampaign.
It’s one of our highest rated tools on G2 Crowd, and while it might not be as popular as MailChimp or AWeber, it has great functionality that lets you run automated campaigns to help keep your business running smoothly and more profitably. (Disclosure: The company is an active G2 customer.)
Health check-up and food planner app
We all know about apps like MyFitnessPal, which allow us to keep track of what we eat and how much we exercise. What if you could also use an app to schedule check-ups with your doctor and receive an at-home consultation on what’s best for your health going forward? That’s just one possibility. For example, a business owner who is also a doctor might create a mobile app that lets you book appointments and explains health issues.
Also Read: Healthcare Mobile Apps are Changing the Healthcare Industry
Travel-planning app
A business travel planning app could help businesses manage their employees’ business trips. The app would enable business owners to monitor, schedule and approve employee travel plans, identify potential problems with these plans—such as flight cancellations or missed connections—and track how much money they’re spending on trips. It would also be a good way to provide employees with real-time information about their flights and share tips from others who have made similar journeys.
There are many Flutter Developers who can build you an amazing Travel-planning app. This is just one example of an App idea.
Here are some questions you might want to answer:
– Who is your target audience?
– What problem does your mobile app solve?
– How will people use it?
– What are its benefits over other solutions already available in that market?
– Who do you consider your competitors, and what makes your product different from theirs?
Hire Flutter Developers to develop your app idea and make it a reality.
Tourists helper app
You know those often confused-looking tourists with maps and guidebooks, who seem to ask everyone where they can find such-and-such building or restaurant? And you just feel bad that they’re so lost, and wish there was a simple way to point them in the right direction.
Well, say hello to your new app idea: A tourist helper app! Take pictures of landmarks (or snap a photo of a map), and then add an audio narrative of how to get there.
Tutor searching app
There are many ways to use a mobile app to assist you in your daily life. If you’re thinking of creating an app, there are quite a few different options available. You could create an app that can help make traveling easier, such as one that helps find nearby places where you can stay while traveling on business.
Alternatively, you could create a mobile-app platform that allows users to search through tutors and schedule online appointments with them.
Alex is fascinated with “understanding” people. It’s actually what drives everything he does. He believes in a thoughtful exploration of how you shape your thoughts, experience of the world.