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IT
Mobile Apps are changing business
By Ezekiel D␣iaz MSc, Project Manager, Piranha Designs Gibraltar
the general tendency in the last few years. This was already becoming clear when in 2016, a study by Google revealed that 80% of website usage was being done via mobile, with four in ten people searching via a mobile device on an average day.
For a number of years the term ‘mobile first’ has been part of the strategy used in the digitalisation and online marketing of companies. The difference with the past is that consumers are currently interacting with companies on a 24/7 basis from home, at work or even in the hospital waiting room. The increase in usage times of mobile phones has led to an increase of resources and efforts to improve the experience of consumers in accessing content through these devices. The business owners know the importance of being the first to offer their services and products to their clients. This is why they make sure they use a format, presentation and content that is optimised for mobile devices. According to a Google report in 2016, ‘Best’ and ‘right now’ mobile queries have grown by 125% in the previous two years (e.g. best online sales right now, the best phone out right now, best stocks to invest in right now, best SUV lease deals right now).
Website vs App
This present reality has pushed companies to create mobile applications orientated to providing practical solutions with which they can cover the needs of their clients. It is now common for people to use an application even before their first cup of coffee of the day as a way of waking up. They can then recall the day’s scheduled meetings, the weather, look up alerts for newly available properties or the results of the football match the night before. The mobile apps are therefore considered important in the patterns of consumption, being useful tools with which to interact with clients and add value to the process and experience. This was evident as far back as 2015, when Google reported: “Of the 50% of worldwide internet usage that takes place on mobile devices, 90% is spent in apps. This is great from a brand loyalty and engagement
Lil Maquela is Brazilian and lives in Los Angeles. She is 19 years old and an 'influencer'. Lil is considered one of the 25 most influential people on the internet.
On instagram she has 1.6 million followers and has participated in advertising campaigns for big brands like Calvin Klein. Apart from being a model, Lil is also a businesswoman. None of this appears to be out of the ordinary in the 21st Century, except that she is not real - Lil only exists digitally and is a Computer Generated Influencer (CGI).
FaZe Clan, an American eSport team, has managed to increase its value by millions of dollars thanks to the exponential increase in followers, mainly adolescents, who consume their content and simply see the team play video-games.
These are just some examples of how radical changes caused by digitalisation and the overwhelming increase of online content have impacted the way that clientele and companies behave. This has led to the creation of continual content by new industries and different forms of consumption and leisure.
Think globally, act locally
There are still businesses whose growth forecasts are based exclusively on personal
friendships and the connections with their current clients. However, the majority of CEOs and middle managers consider the continuous improvement of their brand’s online presence and the development of their channels of interaction to be an essential aspect of their growth. The quality and closeness of face-to-face relationships are valued for their direct impact on the results of businesses in their local markets. Despite this, it is dangerous to disregard the presence and positioning of the brand towards potential clients within online markets. Digital mediums like corporate websites or mobile applications are tools that help to increase the trust and closeness of the business with its clients and vice-versa.
The exponential growth of the number of online consumers has created new business opportunities in more incumbent markets which have been traditionally limited to offline entry-points. The consumer tends to more often look for online examples that offer them information and solutions. In some industries, the online market has largely trumped the traditional and offline market.
Current tendencies
The use of the smartphone to search for and even buy products has been highlighted as
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