The extensive use of mobile apps over websites by today's generation suggests that apps have the required user-engaging parameters. Still, the advantages offered by an application cannot undermine the quality of user experience (UX) it offers. You probably can't opt for an app with a complex design and UI that makes the app hard to understand and use, even if it has all the required features. Thus, app developers must focus on the user experience by considering what the end users need. Taking this perspective helps you create an app with features that satisfy requirements and benefits business while being easy to use. Here are some of the foremost priorities, developers should consider
For app developers to withstand all of these drawbacks, they should understand how to facilitate optimum performance even at the worst possible times. And a quickly modifiable backend error detection tool should be maintained to fix flaws in no time. If you feel this needs some more elaboration, suggest measures, and if you have any queries related to the topic, feel free to ask questions. Optimizing your App store doesn't have to cost a cent. With these free and useful tips, your enterprise can potentially increase app rankings and also attract new users. In already crowded app stores, follow these guidelines to ensure your application's success: 1. Attractive icon An app's icon is the first thing that users will notice. Having a clear, simple and visual icon will help users identify your brand. Use the right sized icon and keeping it consistent across platforms will make it easy for users to locate and download it. 2. Novel name Selecting an appropriate and effective name for your application is a very important aspect of app store optimization. A basic search remains to be the most common ways for individuals to find your app. Thus, it is a good practice to keep it short and SEO friendly. 3. Simple Screenshots Some users may pass off an otherwise useful app if there are no screenshots available. A new age must have, screenshots are a great indicator of the functions and features present in your app. Something that highlights the utility and experience of your app is an excellent promotional tool as well. 4. Clear Categories Apart from the other suggestions in this article, choice of the most suitable category for games or apps is a good practice as well. Inclusion under the right category also makes it easier for users to find your you on the app store. 5. Ratings & Reviews Many of us tend to check ratings or reviews before purchasing anything online. The same goes for apps. Having favorable reviews can convert prospective users into loyal customers. A good rating on the app store can convince users to download your app. Digital transformation or digitization is the need of the hour. The term means using technology to radically improve existing business processes. Advances in mobility, social media and analytics combined with a better use of existing systems have all fueled the growth of digitization. As a new age organization, here's an easy primer to encourage your enterprise set its digital transformation goals for 2016. Three elements of Digital Transformation: 1) Altering the Consumer Experience: Organizations have begun to make investments that help them understand distinct market segments and geographies. Social media too is being leveraged to understand what makes customers happy or unhappy. Apart from this technology is also driving in-person sales pitches. For instance, insurance companies use tablets to make presentations to prospective clients. All these modifications are making a positive impact on the way customers and clients engage with businesses. 2) Improving Business Operations: While revamped customer experiences are the most obvious of changes, companies have also begun to see the benefits of streamlining internal processes. This is achieved by digitizing workflows, employee enablement and better performance management. Automation helps firms and workers to concentrate on the more strategic tasks. 3) Transforming the Business Model: Businesses are not only automating internal functions but are also changing the way these functions interact with each other. The boundaries between organizations and activities are blurring rapidly. In addition, companies are also beginning to transform from multinational to being truly global. Technology along with integrated information is enabling businesses to take advantage of going global while staying locally responsive. Financial management is at the heart of any small business. Still, it is also one activity that gives business owners sleepless nights. With the advent of new technologies, the accounting and financial planning processes have been automated and are now handled by software. While generating invoices may have become easier, these tools are not without their limitations. Take QuickBooks for example. It is a great product for SMBs but its older versions have had some drawbacks. Limitations in Previous Versions of QuickBooks
What's new in QuickBooks 2016 for Accountants and Small Business users? Delete Unnecessary Transactions Quickly A large number of transactions can be deleted simultaneously with the new version of QuickBooks. Users can either use the option of erasing the entries altogether or void them if required. If your business needs to remove dated accounting records from the system, there are a number of filters that can simplify the selection of the transactions that need to be removed. In addition, businesses can also check the linked transactions. Accidentally deleted an important entry? With the integrated data backup, so lost transactions can be easily retrieved. Generate Intuitive Business Reports There are a number of new reporting features that have been added to QuickBooks 2016. For example, for the company filing activity, QuickBooks provides a list for updating, verifying and re-creating data so that there are no errors. In addition, users can also use the data filter to view accounting entries from the current financial year to-last month for reporting. Improve Bill Tracking The 'Bill Tracker' is a brand new functionality that's available with QuickBooks 2016. Such a feature hasn't been seen in the previous versions of the product. With redesigned dashboard, all bills (including the overdue and pending ones) can be viewed on a single window. The user interface and overall management of Bill Tracker is similar in many ways to the Income Tracker feature that has been a part of the older versions of the accounting software. Apart from tracking bills, users will also be able to quickly act on those that demand immediate attention. Intuit, the company that owns QuickBooks has greatly reinforced accounting efficiency for its users with each new version. With QuickBooks 2016, users will also be able to work with multiple files at the same time. Likewise, team members can collaborate on the same files with separate copies and also carry out any accounting related communication with each other. In addition, like previous versions, QuickBooks 2016 can also be integrated with CRM tools in the market. It is clear that all these enhancements when bundled together make it one very powerful accounting software. SMBs and larger organizations will be able to carry out their operations better with this reliable and robust enterprise solution that streamlines financial management and accounting processes. It is no lie that technology has made our personal and professional lives easier. Today, it is difficult to point out any particular industry that doesn't use an automated system to improve its business processes. Hospitals and healthcare organizations are sometimes late adopters of IT technology, but they too have begun to realize the benefits of using technology for improving healthcare efficiency and better customer service. Luckily, IT advancements like online appointment booking or even a staff scheduling software are available in that market that can make healthcare administration a lot simpler. If your health organization hasn't adopted any tech solution, they should consider automating one of the most cumbersome but important activities– planning staff schedules. Let us take a closer look at how you can benefit from using a healthcare employee scheduling software:
Increased Scalability by Eliminating Manual Processes A commonly accepted view of many health organizations is that manual scheduling is the right way to plan shift and call schedules for a hospital or a practice. While this usually works when it is a small clinic with a staff of <10 people, once the size of organization grows, this becomes unmanageable. In large establishments, setting shift timings is a stress-inducing process. Every time a new employee joins, they need to be added to the schedule and this increases the workload for administration staff at many different levels. In addition, any new staff has to be familiarized with rules, assigned shifts, and the schedule may have to be moved around. At each stage, there is a scope for human error. Most automated solutions not only eliminate the risks of human error but also help in saving time. All the administration staff has to do is, enter employee data once and the software's built-in algorithm adjusts shift timings, sets call reminders for doctors/nurses and so on. This enables admin staff to spend more time on other tasks that really need their attention. Improved Operational Efficiency & Cost Saving How many times have you heard a doctor or a nurse grumble about how unfair their call schedules are? Most likely, at least once. Another common complaint of employees in a health organization is - they do not get the time off when they need it. A robust staff scheduling solution can get rid of these problems by ensuring full transparency. It can distribute shifts evenly, show why a request for time-off was not approved and balance vacation credits. When workers have complete access to all this information, they can focus better on their tasks and this eventually reduces workplace conflicts. Overall, the operating efficiency of the organization improves. While it is clear that a schedule management software cuts down on manual error and drives up efficiency, it can also result in cost optimization. Organizations tend to hesitate when it comes to making an investment in a new way of doing things. They are also slow to realize the long term financial advantages of adopting an automated solution. However, automating certain workplace functions can translate into huge financial gains. Take the case of the employee scheduling software. If you are a cash strapped hospital with resource constraints, technology really is your best friend. With an automatic shift planning solution, the need for individual/s to work long hours to plan call timings diminishes. In a different scenario, the need to recruit additional people for the staff-scheduling process goes down even when the organization has grown in size. Thus, any avoidable human resource related expenses can be cut down. Hence, choosing a digital scheduling solution can make a big difference to a healthcare organization's productivity. It can help them carry out their operations more efficiently without straining their budget. Anyone who has ever walked through the streets of New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles knows how important taxis are to get around town. In some of the busiest cities in the US, Taxis are an essential part of the transportation system. With more than 13,000 cabs operating daily in New York City and thousands of passengers who use them to travel, managing the fleet would be a nightmare without the help of software that specializes in tracking and effective management of taxi transport and control. When so many people rely on cabs, fleet management efficiency should be the top priority of every taxicab company. With the ever-increasing cost of fuel and at times a driver shortage, it has become very important to manage your cab fleet. Doing this helps to control operating expenses, improve fleet availability, increase driver efficiency, and gain customer satisfaction. If you’re a cab company owner grappling with the troubles of manual fleet management, take a look at the advantages of investing in a taxi management software. Cab Fleet-Management Software as a Business Intelligence Tool Knowing where your drivers are at any time, gives you insight into their performance and helps you track vehicle whereabouts. The Taxi fleet-management software gives you access to accurate information about the time a driver takes to drop off a fare at their destination. You can take this actionable information and compare it with the average time it takes to reach that place to reduce your fuel costs, overall transportation time, and accommodate more customers. Increase Operational Efficiency With real-time location updates, it’s easier to check who is on the job and who is not and, assign new pick-up points to facilitate more passengers. GPS features in your fleet management software give you a bird’s eye view of the entire fleet, and let you stay updated on the current status of your drivers. Improve Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Constant monitoring and reporting of vehicles can help you identify vehicle idle times that often result in excessive fuel bills. Real-time monitoring of your fleet can help prevent excessive idling, over-revving, hard braking, and improper shifting. This helps you maximize profits by minimizing fuel cost. Security and Control Technological innovations not just help consumers in ensuring their safety while they are on the road, they also make it easier for taxicab companies to manage their fleet better. In case of vehicle theft, advanced security components in the latest cab fleet-management solutions allow you to bring the stolen vehicle to a dead stop. The remote vehicle disabling systems also decelerate a vehicle by downshifting, limited throttling, or bleeding air from the braking system to prevent accidents or over speeding. Improve Driver Performance You can stay updated on a driver’s shift hours and check how many jobs they have completed. Based on that knowledge, you can also determine whether a driver needs a break, to reduce the probability of accidents or poor customer dealing. During peak hours or in crowded areas, you can alert your drivers on traffic and recommend alternate routes to prevent delays. Faster Arrival at Pick-up Points With a well -controlled vehicle network, effective booking and dispatching, elements such as refueling and vehicle maintenance can be done without wasting a passenger’s time, and drivers can get to pick-up points earlier. Are you using a cab fleet-management solution for your taxicab company? Based on your experience, what’s the most challenging aspect of running your own taxicab business without reliable software? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading! The mobile world is evolving. When you plan to develop an app for your business, an inevitable question that arises is, would it be cross-platform or native? Needless to say, if you plan to develop your app for just one platform, then native is the way to go. However, the real challenge is making an app for all three major platforms - iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile. You need multiple teams of skilled developers, specializing in each platform to address all your requirements. This is complex and time-consuming, and slows down your development process. One way to cut down this complexity is opting for hybrid mobile app frameworks such as Appcelerator Titanium, Apache Cordova, and Kendo Mobile. However, the easiest and most efficient way to build mobile apps is using Xamarin development environment and C#. Want to know how it can simplify, and speed up your development process? Let's take a look. Why Xamarin? Xamarin is an app development environment that lets you build, test, and monitor applications. Codes can be shared across multiple platforms, and the C# codebase can be used for Android, iOS and even Windows Mobile without any problems. You don’t have to change the coding, APIs, and data structures for each platform. Xamarin uses a single development language for iOS, Windows, Android, and any other compatible OS. Here are some of the features that make Xamarin suitable for custom mobile application development:
How It Works Building the Application: Xamarin automatically converts application code written in C#, into relevant code for iOS, Windows, or Android OS.
Maintaining Apps: Real-time monitoring is feasible with Xamarin and you can get detailed reporting for your apps with a single line of code. Xamarin Insights and mobile app selection enables you to see an overview of crashes and check the warnings and issues generated by your app. You will have access to a full report of affected devices for your complete reference. These features make Xamarin one of the best mobile app development platforms available today. Do your developers use Xamarin? What features do they like the most? Please share your views about the app development platform in the comments below, and thanks for reading! Sharing your location with friends in the past required calling or texting to let them know where you are, with the directions. Nowadays, thanks to our smartphones, location sharing has become very easy. Not only has it become a fun way to share your activities with your peers, location sharing apps have also made it possible for businesses to market their products and services by allowing their customers to geo-tag their location. This also helps them collect location-based content that helps in further refining their marketing campaigns. Astounding Growth in Location-Based Apps A number of companies are investing in development of mobile app based on location to grow their business. The number of location-based applications available on each mobile platform is also increasing considerably. Almost every social application tracks their users’ locations and gives them advertising and marketing content relevant to that place. Location is now embedded in everything an online user does. A trend report by GlobalWebIndex suggests that Tinder, a location-based dating app, is predicted to reach a $1 billion valuation this year, while Momo, a Chinese location-based social app has reported a record-breaking $3 million valuation this year. What originally started as a way to focus on active check-ins, rewards, and recognition has now become one of the strongest tools in location discovery and user interaction. The user’s location has become more than just a wandering blue dot on the street map; it now means the places we go, the people we meet, and the relationships we develop. The Evolution of Location-Based Social Apps The most recent development in location-based apps is the ability to navigate the environment. Locations help in discovering useful information about our friends and colleagues nearby that readily connects us with them and fosters new relationships based on shared locations and likes. Location based apps such as Yik Yak, Twitter, Swarm, Foursquare, and Circle have already been compiling content based on proximity. Last year, Foursquare, one of the earliest location based social apps, announced that they would launch a new platform for discovering nearby friends and seeing who is up to what. The Foursquare app would focus on check-ins, earning badges, and finding a good place to have dinner, but the Swarm app would focus entirely on the social element. As geo-tagged information is becoming more readily available, location-based apps have also entered the realm of journalism. Apps like Banjo, Sonar, and Geofeedia are designed to help journalists find stories, new ideas, develop new sources, and track news events through posts from the scenes. Vyclone, an iPhone app, takes video clips of events and turns them into video footage, covering that event. What's Next? The recent trend in location-based apps highlights the importance of location data for ad-targeting and consumer marketing. This indicates why some large platforms like Apple, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft are rushing to strike licensing deals with smaller, location-based mobile platforms. This year, as more and more predictions by IT Gurus about the trends in location-based apps are coming true, it is expected that location-based, social, and mobile commerce solutions will become even more popular. This would help businesses increase their profitability by letting users know about special discounts, deals, and the availability of limited stock items around them. Based on this, a plethora of new social apps will likely hit the mainstream as the time passes. Is your business using location-based services to communicate special deals to customers? Is your application tapping into the potential that location-based social interaction and mobile commerce can offer? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading! Gone are the days when email marketing, QR codes, or SMS adverts were used for marketing promotions. Now the best time to reach a consumer is when they’re close to you.
In today’s fast-paced world, what’s available at arm’s length is usually what catches a consumer's attention immediately. This is where proximity-based apps help businesses reach the right customers, with the right offer, at the right time, and the right place. Proximity apps notify you when something or someone of interest is nearby. Businesses use consumer location to distribute advertising content to the targeted consumer market and notify them as soon as they enter the target location. Combined with social media marketing, a business can take great advantage of such location-based apps to achieve better results. Let’s take a look at how smaller shops and businesses can tackle the challenges of proximity-based apps, and compete with the giants in the market. Reach Them When They Are Near From browsing products, price comparison to carting and purchasing things from online stores, smartphones have become an integral part of our shopping experience. Studies suggest that 80% of consumers use their mobile phones to have a better in-store shopping experience. The increasing number of smartphone users, and of those, the ones who use mobile apps for a better in-store experience are rising. This trend will only continue to grow with time. Businesses can leverage this upward trend by creating proximity-based apps to woo customers nearby and engage them into browsing things they like. Allow Immediate Purchase Apart from reaching customers within range, proximity-based apps drive people to an immediate purchase as well. This technology gives businesses a way to connect with customers nearby by sending them offers to entice purchase or buy coupons through messages. This increases chances of a successful future purchase. Notify Latest Promotions When The Customer Is Around While a promotional mail to a customer’s house can go unread, a notification that pops up on their phone from an application when they’re nearby gives businesses a better shot at securing successful purchases than any other marketing technique. Analyze and Study Customer Behavior and Preferences Contrary to the common misconception, luring customers within the vicinity is not the sole purpose of these apps. Businesses can also have access to the real-time analytics of consumer behavior, foot traffic, new trends, and a customer’s shopping preferences. These insights are highly useful for businesses to determine which promotion or campaign worked in attracting them, and what areas need more attention. Allow Customers to Check-In to Your Establishment One of the first things most people do nowadays is checking-in on social media as soon as they get to the mall or café. So, when a customer "checks-in" to your business premises, they unwillingly advocate your business to their social media circle. It is widely estimated that most people find it comfortable to go to places they have heard of through friends, over trying out new places. In a world where people look for more meaningful experiences from the brands they are loyal to, businesses can use proximity-based apps to improve their brand equity significantly. They can do this by providing a more personalized and engaging shopping experience to their customers, and ultimately differentiate themselves from the competition. So is your business using proximity-based apps? How has this affected your bottom line? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading! |
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