Small businesses are a very large group, and it can be hard to generalize about them. When it comes to adoption of new technology, this is certainly true.
On the one hand, you have traditional local business owners that are reluctant to try new things, and that prefer to stay the course. On the other, you have energized entrepreneurs that are looking to gain an edge on the competition by shaking things up.
Well, when it comes to mobile apps, small businesses are unified: they can’t get enough of them.
According to a recent study issued by Research and Markets, small business mobile strategies, especially use of apps, are at all-time highs and still continuing to climb. Let’s look at a few figures:
• 11-20% of the average small business’s tech budget is now devoted to mobile technology.
• 68% of small business owners expect mobile spending to increase in the coming year.
• A whopping 91% of small business owners are using mobile solutions.
In addition, in the words of R&M, “SMBs are also ramping up use of customer-facing mobile apps and mobile-friendly websites to enable customers to do things such as schedule appointments, make payments, and access customer service.” [emphasis added] And that’s only the tip of the iceberg! With a service like ours, the amount of features available to be deployed in a small business app is huge, and covers a wealth of features that are useful to industries from legal services, to hospitality, to entertainment.
With mobile apps, customers are able to interact with small businesses in dozens of ways, no matter where they are. They can provide referrals using social media platforms, submit online orders, participate in loyalty programs, check up on event calendars and submit RSVPs, submit photos to online photo galleries, hear about promotions . ¬. . the list goes on and on.
As you can see, some of these features are supplemental ways to do things customers were already doing, while other features are opening up new functions that weren’t possible without mobile technology. Despite this wealth of features, however, we also think that small businesses are just beginning to explore what is possible with mobile apps. In the future, we imagine that businesses will request the development of inventive features and functions that support the specific needs of their industries, and we can’t wait to help lead the way as the world of small business mobile apps continues to grow and evolve.
