Mobility transforms customer engagement in the way that it impacts communication and access over a 24 hour period. Robert Desisto, VP at Gartner, notes that by 2017, most enterprise applications will be mobile or will have some usable form of mobile access. In that perspective, businesses need to consider what apps will drive customer engagement processes and how those choices will create maximum value for your business and its clients.
The goal of any corporation is to maximize profits and overall value for shareholders. So as an inside director (you C-levels out there) or as an executive leader, it is important to ask yourselves how mobile technology will impact your customer engagement processes over the next three years. Furthermore, you should ask yourselves: how might my competition do the same?
As things are today, a “mobile-first” strategy is something that is commonly discussed in boardrooms. It is quickly showing itself as the main principle for which mobile applications are utilized in supporting new requirements surrounding customer engagement.
App Development Doesn’t End at Deployment
Customer engagement doesn’t just begin with user engagement. When deploying a mobile solution, it is important to be mindful of how you will measure success. Analyzing user workflows and identifying key conversion and value points within that flow is critical. Further, it is important to recognize that these variables will not be static. As a business, you should be curious and nearly compulsive in looking out for certain trends and performance deviations over time. This will help ensure that from release 1 on through the umpteenth release, your mobile solution remains powerful.
Perfect Customer Engagement – Analyze and Cater to User Experience
Customers want immediate access to information. Today, it is clear that this is attainable through what our company president, Shane Long, refers to as his “pocket super computer”—an internet-ready smartphone. An effective mobile solution assumes that you have written code only after crafting your business strategy and defining what the value of that information exchange means to you.
Once you are up and running, the analytics and other data you gather along with routine performance reviews and optimization activities will help ensure success in your solution over time.
Things To Consider In User Workflows For Your Mobile App
Consider the following features and functionalities as you design your mobile app interface.
- Push notifications may allow for localized, geo-targeted content distribution for either marketing or internal communications
- A user will not navigate through a cumbersome amount of screens to complete simple or complex tasks within the solution
- A mobile solution is something that must be logical and require no instruction manual for first-time users
- The solution must cater to the predefined business goals and should be custom-tailored to do so
- Fantastic UX/UI will yield better customer engagement
Stick to the Business Goals As They Apply to Customer Engagement
Speaking again to analytics, it is important that your team is able and willing to measure and respond to your solution’s user engagement metrics as they apply to your business goals. If what you are ultimately seeing from the solution is something that effectively serves one of the following, you are on the right track.
- Shortened Sales Cycles
- Improved Customer Service and/or Employee Satisfaction Ratings
- Increased Customer and/or Employee Interaction
Ultimately, the value obtained from mobile apps is either a new revenue channel or boosted profit through reductions in operating costs.
Collaborate With Enterprise Mobile Experts
While there is a great deal of value to be had in this business pursuit, there is also a lot to be lost when this process is carried out ineffectively. Many businesses try and work toward mobility by utilizing a staff augmentation approach. In this perspective, they will maintain control of the process in such a way that it typically forces their internal resources to operate outside of their core competencies.
A better approach, most often, is the creation of a vertical partnership. A true project outsourcing arrangement that allows experts to assess needs and help lead the business goals towards the right mobile solution is the most linear path to success.
Steps Forward
Transforming customer engagement is just one of the benefits of a custom mobility solution. A successful mobile strategy can reap a large ROI and deliver great value for your business and clients.
Based in Dallas, 7T maintains regional offices located in Chicago and Houston. We work with clients in a variety of industries and have the knowledge and experience to smoothly guide you through the mobile app development process. Additionally, our developers are experts in creative UI/UX design, mobile security and mobile analytics. We can help your business find the perfect mobile solution to fit your needs. Contact us today to learn more.