This Week in Small Business: Capitalizing on our Love of Apps

By Kim Honjo

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the average smartphone user has 65 apps on their phone and the boom of app usage. We’re hearing more and more about apps in the news everyday from new app launches (Microsoft Send) to the new ways apps are being used everyday (Xiaomi’s Uber delivery partnership). Designing and publishing apps has become more accessible than ever, and many small businesses are already capitalizing on this growing movement. This week, we look at how apps are solving all kinds of problems and how you can use this information to your advantage. Read on!

• Small businesses are well-equipped to generate customer loyalty since having fewer customers and employees means that it’s often easier to understand customer expectations. Having some useful technology on your side doesn’t hurt either. Read up on the 8 apps that will delight your customers. [via Medium]
• Recent research found that 85% of young people (ages 18–34) own mobile devices and that ads aren’t driving them, but apps are. It’s easier than ever to design and publish an app, so if you’re a small business owner, you can generate a lot of interest from the important millennial market by developing a valuable app. This article from Patrick Schock shares more of the research results and the functions millennials prefer to do in-app rather than mobile browser. [via Entrepreneur]
• Despite feeling like we can’t live without our mobile devices, the mobile space is still in its infancy. DoubleDutch is a mobile networking app for events and conference that can capture insights from attendees using sentiment analysis. We spoke with VP of Mid-Market Sales Russ Hearl on life-changing apps, the growing demand for on-demand services and why having the best app doesn’t guarantee success. [via Medium]
• Speaking to the newness of the mobile industry, it’s an understatement to say that the mobile landscape is ever-changing. One crucial step to adjusting to a mobile-first reality is to let go of misconceptions. In the article Founder and CEO of Moburst Gilad Bechar shares the 5 business myths about the mobile industry and why app competition is a good thing. [via Entrepreneur]
• One of the biggest problems that small business marketers have is not having the time or resources to generate engaging social content consistently. Enter CultureSphere, and interesting iPhone app that launched this week. The app creates an ad hoc social network among company employees, where they can share content like pictures and videos. In essence, the app provides a way for companies to leverage all of its human, creative assets instead of just a few marketing people. Employees can upvote the terrific content, and ‘curator accounts’ can select the most popular content to share. Could your company use an app like this? [via VentureBeat]

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