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6 Reasons To Use Artificial Intelligence In Mobile Apps

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AI or artificial intelligence in mobile apps has many appreneurs, businesses, and developers asking questions. Many of these questions surround the feasibility and implementation of this trailblazing technology in today’s apps. There are also concerns that artificial intelligence is currently in a hype bubble. 

The good news is that leading large language model (LLM) platforms like Bard, ChatGPT, and Copilot make implementation easy via their well-documented application programming interfaces (APIs). But the bad news is that there’s significant hype driven primarily by AI evangelists and the media. This hype often misleads users, developers, and business leaders into thinking that AI is a silver bullet to their problems.

While there’s little doubt that AI can radically boost efficiency, productivity, and workflows, it won’t necessarily deliver the desired results. You can use ChatGPT to write an elaborate blog post about any topic imaginable, but it won’t always be factually accurate or contain the most up-to-date information. You’ll still need to fact-check all the information in your post, read through it a few times, and make several edits before you have an article that’s worth publishing.

As you can tell, some level of human intervention is still necessary regardless of how well LLMs have advanced. But you should still use artificial intelligence in mobile apps to deliver solutions that will make life easier for your customers, employees, and users. The solutions will automate arduous tasks, minimize business costs, and help users boost their creativity.

Mobile apps that facilitate the right mix of human interactivity and generative AI output will change the game in 2024 and beyond. Here’s why you should use AI in your upcoming app project.

1. Stay Ahead By Implementing Artificial Intelligence In 2024

The media may make you think generative AI is enjoying wide adoption, but this isn’t the case. It’s still an emerging technology that had a breakout year in 2023 but hasn’t quite hit the mainstream yet. Will 2024 be the year that this happens, or will the pundits be proven wrong?

Forrester analysts provide several predictions and arguments in favor of adopting generative AI soon:

  • More than 90% of enterprises plan to implement generative AI for internal uses and customer service. 
  • Almost 50% of enterprises predict that generative AI will help them attain their productivity objectives. 
  • Approximately 60% of employees will undergo prompt training in 2024. 
  • Bring your own AI (BYOAI) will become commonplace in many enterprises in 2024. 
  • AI will heavily impact the human resources (HR) departments by analyzing employee data. 
  • AI bots and tools will continue to enhance developer productivity, but companies should not ignore potential security issues.
  • Data protection and privacy will play a central role in 2024 as authorities push for legislation to deal with the risks associated with AI. 
  • Governance is essential to deal with copyright violations and to ensure a safer and more ethical environment involving generative AI. 

2. Artificial Intelligence In Mobile Apps Facilitates Efficient Content Creation

Businesses, marketers, and influencers must post regularly on social media to build and sustain a reasonably-sized following. Back in the early days of social media — this was easy — due to the minimal availability of feasible mainstream platforms. Just posting on Facebook and Twitter (now X) was enough to gain visibility. 

Nowadays, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have become indispensable for targeting Millennials and Gen Z consumers. So, you must be constantly active on at least five platforms to maximize your reach. But that’s demanding, as you must also post quality content relevant to your audience. Can you do this consistently while running your business or leading a team?

You’ll likely burn out wearing multiple hats during the workday, negatively impacting your health and productivity in the long term. One solution is to hire social media marketing experts to handle all your social channels. They’ll create content, post regularly, and engage with your audience, but all this is costly. Expect to pay between $500 and $5,000 monthly for these services. 

If you’re a small business owner or starting as an influencer or creative, even a $500 monthly fee may cause you to overshoot your budget over a long period. However, generative artificial intelligence in mobile apps can lead to a remarkable content creation and social media posting solution. If you team up with a reputable studio like NS804, you can build a generative AI-powered app custom-built to your needs. 

You may use multiple generative AI platforms to train your models based on your own text, images, and videos. Then, by inputting a sequence of prompts on your custom-built app, you can generate and post on-brand marketing copy, images, and videos across all your social channels with minimal work.

3. Create High-Quality Videos With Generative AI

We’ve already discussed why you should utilize more social media platforms, particularly the newer impactful ones. But you must create distinctive and humorous short-form videos to make it on TikTok and more in-depth and professional-level videos to captivate YouTube fans. For professional results, you must invest in video production equipment and lighting. Then, learn the skills to use these effectively with video editing suites. 

But that’s not enough, as you’ll still need to write a video script, build a set, and hire a cast and a crew. Of course, you can outsource most of this work to a professional video production company. Depending on the quality and length of your videos, you could pay as little as $500 and possibly over $100,000. Some production companies will work with you on yearly contracts and charge between $15,000 and $100,000.

As you can tell, it’s cost-prohibitive to compete with top trending video content creators and deep-pocketed enterprises. However, things have changed, especially after OpenAI announced Sora — a trailblazing text-to-video tool designed for generating intricate scenes. 

Sora shocked and amazed the entire video production industry and even caught the attention of Tyler Perry. The world-renowned filmmaker decided to stop the expansion of his studio since this would no longer be necessary with generative AI tools like Sora. He reportedly claimed that these tools save costs but will cause many job losses in the film industry.

While this sounds grim, Sora and similar tools will democratize professional video production soon. And this is an excellent reason to use artificial intelligence in mobile apps aimed primarily at video generation. These apps will find traction in most business environments but also with content creators seeking cost-effective solutions that simplify the entire video production process.

4. Generative AI Enhances The Employee Experience

As a business leader, you want your employees to perform at their best, even when facing organizational change or unsatisfactory task distribution. In more extreme cases, you want employees to perform adequately when key staff members aren’t available. So, you’ll need to implement the tools and methodologies to ensure all your employees stay on track under these scenarios.

Implementing communication and project management platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Trello is a first step. But your business is unique, so you still need a custom solution that addresses all its needs and covers the blind spots other platforms miss. That’s why you can’t ignore the power and versatility that generative AI brings forth. 

You can train your generative models on employee data by including their work roles, productivity, and skills. Your AI model will help you look at your employee data holistically and help you pinpoint any potential productivity bottlenecks or staff shortages early on. Be sure to comply with data and privacy legislation in your region when collecting and analyzing employee data. 

Another benefit of analyzing employee data is you’ll detect notable workforce trends that impact your organization. If you employ a large workforce, it’s often difficult to accurately determine employee retention rates and the overall success of your human resources (HR) department. Traditionally, you’d hire expensive consultants to figure this out for you — but now — your generative AI model will deliver detailed reports in record time and at little cost. 

Building a custom internal app allows your employees to collaborate and complete all their tasks, and you can pull all this data in real-time. The app can also let your employees provide feedback that will help you improve work conditions and the overall employee experience.

5. Use Artificial Intelligence In Mobile Apps To Transform Customer Service

It’s no secret that AI chatbots are very effective at offering customer service around the clock. But how well do they resolve customer complaints and deliver satisfactory service to rival a human agent? It ultimately depends on the capabilities of the AI chatbot platform you decide to use. 

You can choose from several notable chatbot platforms available today, like Botpress, Dialogflow, and UChat. Botpress is ideal for creating conversational chatbots for organizations of all sizes. Dialogflow is Google’s feature-rich solution for building versatile and scalable chatbots and voicebots. Then, there’s UChat, aimed at digital marketers and small business owners who want a simple solution that integrates with all their social channels.   

Of course, there are many more AI chatbots in the marketplace. But instead of trying to find a solution that’s a good fit for your organization, you could always build a custom solution that addresses all your needs. Moreover, you can avoid the monthly fees and limitations these chatbot platforms will subsequently impose on your organization. 

More importantly, you have some control over the intelligence of your custom AI chatbot solution. Before the availability of generative AI chatbots, traditional chatbots weren’t particularly smart since they followed set rules. Thus, these could never convince anyone that they were nothing more than customer-facing bots. 

Once the GPT-5 LLM is available, convincing human-like interactions will become the norm. But you can achieve impressive results depending on how well you train your AI chatbot using GPT-4. You’ll need to collect large datasets of human interactions and then prepare these for training by removing unnecessary datasets. After you train your model, evaluate the results before deploying to all your customer-facing channels.

6. Improve Order Fulfillment With AI

While your organization doesn’t have control of the entire supply chain, it can impact the order fulfillment process. And this segment of your business should run like a well-oiled machine that responds to all types of scenarios like delays, stock shortages, and logistics issues. As a first step, you must implement an order management system (OMS) that’s right for your company structure. 

Then, you’ll need to pick an order fulfillment strategy your organization can handle. For example, if you have enough storage space, employees, and skills, you’ll go with an in-house order fulfillment. But if you don’t have these resources, it’s better to outsource fulfillment to a third party. 

Regardless of your strategy, you should become proficient in forecasting and planning every step to avoid wastage and costly interruptions in order fulfillment. However, you can drastically reduce the guesswork by integrating AI into your order fulfillment operations. Of course, it’s best to do this from day one of your operations, but there’s little harm in integrating AI in due course. 

Using artificial intelligence in mobile apps that aid order fulfillment will help your staff quickly ascertain all current and future inventory levels. They can accurately predict when they’ll run low on inventory and when to order from suppliers. Thus, your company won’t have to turn away customers due to unavailable stock. 

AI-powered order fulfillment is essential for large organizations, but small retailers benefit also. For sustainability reasons alone, retailers must reduce inventory waste. A well-trained inventory model will alert them when they’re ordering too much or too little of a specific item. They can further improve the accuracy of this model with sales and store visitor data.

The Bottom Line

The hype surrounding generative AI is astounding, but so is the technology. We expect future iterations of LLMs to improve and impact even more industries. Also, we expect the use cases to grow exponentially as appreneurs, businesses, and users embrace AI in 2024. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you build and use artificial intelligence in mobile apps that will drive growth from now on! 

Lead Generation In 2023: Why App Development Is Mission-Critical

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The overall success of your business-to-business (B2B) endeavors rely heavily on lead generation. But you may have noticed that generating valuable leads is incredibly challenging nowadays. Over a decade ago, you only needed a reasonably presentable website and some social media presence to grow your leads.

But in 2023, a website and social media aren’t enough for lead generation. And the reason this has happened is due to the way the Google Search Algorithm functions, which is complex but impacts whether or not potential clients will find your website. 

Furthermore, social media platforms have become walled gardens that severely limit the amount of traffic leaving these platforms. Instead, they strive to keep users engaged for long durations, causing them to be less interested in visiting websites unless there’s a compelling reason to do so.

But where does that leave your B2B efforts in light of all these developments? Well, you could launch advertising campaigns for the sole purpose of generating leads. Yet this is expensive, with plenty of trial and error involved to achieve optimal results. And while we’d never dissuade you from running ad campaigns if these can help your business — we also want you to consider other options!

Consider that mobile apps still engage users and drive innovation in 2023. A good example is TikTok, which has radically transformed how users consume and interact with video content. It’s had such a huge impact that it forced YouTube to introduce short-form video content via Shorts to remain relevant. That’s a testament to how powerful and mission-critical app development has become, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.

SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION WITH AN APP DEVELOPMENT EXPERT TO GET A CUSTOMIZED QUOTE!

Mobile App Development Shows You Mean Business

Not every business invests in a mobile app, which will place you in that rarified space of leading brands with their own custom apps. Not only will it increase the prestige of your business, but also its trustworthiness.

And if you’ve created an app with an excellent user interface (UI) & user experience (UX), a well-integrated chatbot to respond to inquiries, and watertight security — lead generation will become significantly easier. Besides, it’s more convenient, personalized, and safer for users to interact with your business via your mobile app than through your website.

Qualify Your Leads

One of the most crucial things about developing and releasing a mobile app is that users will ultimately download it. And while that may seem obvious, it’s one of the most powerful aspects of having a mobile app. Once prospective leads download your app, you’re in a position to take things further.

After all, what’s the point of lead generation if you don’t qualify those leads? You can request their contact information or even for them to create a profile. To reward them for completing these actions, you can give them access to exclusive content or features. Thus, you’ll likely impress them and drive them faster down the lead funnel.

USE OUR APP COST CALCULATOR TO ESTIMATE THE COST TO BUILD YOUR APP!

Automate The Lead Generation Process

It’s likely you’re on a tight budget and must limit the number of staff to interact with prospective leads. And considering that the global economy faces a recession in 2023, it’s wise to streamline business operations. Fortunately, mobile apps are ideal for automating the lead generation process.

A well-implemented app can consistently keep prospective leads interested in your products and services. The app can offer suggestions and special offers based on a lead’s preferences, purchase history (if any), and app usage. It can also send reminders when necessary and commence with the follow-up process. The latter is crucial as leads often turn cold when businesses fail to follow up.

The Bottom Line

Mobile app development facilitates the lead generation process but also supercharges it like no other methodology. And given how it enhances the status of a business, streamlines its business processes, and automates lead generation — it simply can’t be ignored in 2023. Contact NS804 to learn how we can help you build apps that will grow your leads exponentially!

Are There Mobile App Developers In Charlotte?

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If you’re looking for mobile app developers in Charlotte, then you’re in luck! Yes, there are indeed talented developers in North Carolina’s Queen City. And one of the most prominent mobile app development studios is NS804.

But what makes NS804 so special to make it stand out from its peers? As an award-winning and highly-rated developer, according to Clutch, we work tirelessly to deliver quality apps to our clients. Furthermore, we ranked as one of the most reviewed app developers in Denver by The Manifest.

While recognition for our efforts is always appreciated, we strive to improve and stay ahead of the curve. App development continues to evolve, and clients regularly demand outstanding and innovative apps. And that’s why we never rest on our laurels and are always willing to tackle new projects, no matter how challenging or unique these may be.

But what does all this mean, and what can a studio such as NS804 offer you? You’re always welcome to arrange a meeting and visit our Charlotte, Denver, and Richmond offices. And you’ll have the assurance that you’re dealing with an established development studio and not a fly-by-night or freelancer. 

However, there are several other reasons to connect with one of the most notable mobile app developers in Charlotte, NC. We’ll discuss in more detail below what you can expect from NS804 in the long run.

SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION WITH AN APP DEVELOPMENT EXPERT TO GET A CUSTOMIZED QUOTE!

We’ll Help You Scale As Your Business Grows

Growing a business is challenging but necessary to stay feasible in the long term. Thus, you’ll need to scale at some point and have the right partners to help you out. But are there any mobile app developers in Charlotte that can fill this role? NS804 certainly can, and here’s why we’re the right choice for discerning entrepreneurs:

  • Interested in your business: We care about your business and brand while helping you achieve your goals. 
  • An impressive portfolio: We have a substantial portfolio of completed and successful projects and plenty of happy clients. 
  • A focus on design: We care about all aspects of design, from the user interface (UI) & user experience (UX) to the minimum viable product (MVP) design process. 
  • Building relationships: We’re here to build a long-term relationship with you that’s not limited to designing and developing your app. But also assist you with advertising, marketing, and maintaining your app, even for long durations if necessary.

Track And Tweak App Performance

You’ll need a team of experts to measure all the key performance indicators (KPIs). NS804 will implement crash analytics, performance monitoring, testing, and in-app feedback. We’ll know how your app is performing every step of the way. And immediately make the necessary improvements to increase your app’s performance.

Also, we’ll look at the number of downloads, active users, frequency of user sessions, reviews, ratings, retention rate, and churn rate of your app. If anything is impacting these KPIs negatively, we’ll be there to offer advice or implement the required changes.

Dealing With The Complexities Of Multi-Platform App Development

You’ll likely want your app to come out on Android, iOS, and possibly the web. But multi-platform app development is challenging as you’ll need to deal with various development environments. This means you’ll need to use an entirely different integrated development environment (IDE) and programming language when targeting Android and iOS.

While many cross-platform tools allow you to target several platforms from a single codebase, these are not ideal. You won’t get native performance and a coherent look and feel. So, it’s better to work with an experienced studio that can deliver quality native apps following best practices.

USE OUR APP COST CALCULATOR TO ESTIMATE THE COST TO BUILD YOUR APP!

Work With One Of The Best Mobile App Developers In Charlotte

Charlotte is a fantastic city for work and play and is home to many talented developers. NS804 stands out from the crowd and will certainly remain one of the most prominent mobile app developers in Charlotte for the foreseeable future. Contact NS804 today to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal apps, and feel free to arrange a meeting with us in our offices in Charlotte! 

Mobile App Developers In Charlotte, NC

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Charlotte, in North Carolina, is a populous and exciting city. It currently has a population of approximately 899,000 inhabitants and is ranked as the third fastest-growing city in the United States. Not bad, considering it had little more than 11,500 inhabitants in 1890. 

But where does this bustling metropolitan area get its name from? Surprisingly, it owes its name to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a German princess who became the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland in 1761. And even the local public school education agency is named after this Queen.

While Charlotte boasts a fascinating past, it’s also a city set to succeed now and in the future. And that’s because it’s a major financial hub, with Bank of America, Truist Financial Corporation, and Well Fargo & Company having headquarters here.

Furthermore, all these financial institutions have embraced mobile app technology wholeheartedly. And to serve their clients efficiently, quickly, and safely — all three institutions have released mobile apps of extraordinary quality.

However, Charlotte’s not only a wonderful home for banking giants but also for other key players. Adecco Staffing, American Airlines, Atrium Health, Daimler Truck North America, Duke Energy Corporation, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lowe’s, Novant Health, and Wal-Mart all have a strong presence here.

All these companies, and even smaller businesses and startups, require the services of reputable mobile app developers to remain competitive. And since NS804 has an office in Charlotte, we can conveniently offer our expertise and services locally.

But what should businesses expect from one of the leading mobile app developers in Charlotte, NC? Below, we’ve compiled a list of what we can provide to all our clients.

1. Cross-Platform Development Experience

One of the perks of working with NS804 is that we’re a cross-platform mobile app developer. And beyond that, we also specialize in native app development, which means that we can deliver maximum performance to both your iOS and Android apps. Moreover, we ensure that the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) remain native to the target platform.

2. Custom Apps That Suit Your Business

NS804 develops apps predominantly for small and mid-sized businesses, including startups. And we have a deep understanding of what makes these businesses tick and what kinds of apps will help them succeed. Should a store owner need a retail app to serve clients, we’re able to build a custom app that’s crafted to the store owner’s specifications.

3. Expert Implementations

Whether you need to integrate a relational database or implement an application programming interface (API), you’ll need the expertise of a professional studio. These implementations are complex and can pose a significant security risk if not done correctly. So, never go it alone, and instead, rely on the expertise of a professional developer to handle these tasks for you.

Why Mobile App Developers In Charlotte, NC?

If you’re located in Charlotte, then it’s better and more convenient to work with a developer established in your city. But more importantly, you need to work with a mobile app developer that’s built a reputation for professionalism and quality. Contact NS804 today to learn how we can help you create phenomenal apps that will help boost your business!

Education Apps and Your Business: The 4 Signs It’s Time to Consider One

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Education apps are an exciting avenue that more businesses should explore. And by business entities, we mean all types, from small home-based businesses to large international enterprises.

But what are education apps, and how do they benefit businesses? In short, they function primarily as powerful learning tools. They help to fill in knowledge gaps that business leaders, entrepreneurs, employees, and even clients — in specific cases — may have. And in more extreme cases, these apps may cover an entire staff training program of an enterprise.

More importantly, given the interactive nature of education apps, they offer a more engaging learning path. Quite understandable considering that wading through thick employee training and development books or watching cheesy training videos may put off most people. Furthermore, education apps can become considerably fun with well-implemented gamification features, making learners look forward to upcoming sessions.

Now you may be wondering if these apps are right for your business. Short answer: you likely do if you require a cost-effective and effective way to train staff. And you most certainly do if your staff works remotely and across various time zones. However, there are several more reasons you should consider developing one or more education apps for your business — read on!

1. Education Apps Enhance Existing Training Materials

If you’ve been in business for some time, you likely have a sizable amount of training materials already available at your disposal. And your staff has likely become accustomed to learning from your existing training modules and their respective formats. These formats could include books, documents, or even audio and video lectures and presentations, to name a few.

So developing an education app might make you think that you now have to replace the above. But that wouldn’t be wise, especially if you’ve already spent a lot of time and money on these. And that’s especially true if your staff enjoys learning from these training materials, and they do so effectively.

However, it’s worth developing an education app to serve as the central repository for all your training materials. And you can start by converting all your training books and documents into a Portable Document Format (PDF) or a proprietary format. Then, you may store these digital documents on your servers, and your app will retrieve these when the user requests them.

Furthermore, you’ll have complete control of the dissemination of these files. For example, only your sales staff will have access to sales-orientated training materials, and your technical staff won’t have authorization. You may also decide to limit the time staff will view these files or keep track of how long it takes for each staff member to absorb new or existing learning materials.

You can also digitize all your analog-based audio and video presentations and upload them to your repository. But if you’re worried that these contain company secrets that could leak out to competitors, you can secure them. Apply a Digital Rights Management (DRM) lock to all your content, considerably limiting what an unscrupulous employee can do.

2. Run Live Training Sessions

Perhaps your business specializes in a highly technical field that changes regularly. A good example would be a custom PC building company, which deals with an ever-evolving range of computer parts that regularly hit the marketplace. But the latest computer parts often require additional know-how to install correctly without damaging any components.

High-end cooling components, graphics cards, motherboards, and power supply units (PSUs) can be finicky and expensive to replace if damaged. And things get more complicated every time AMD and Nvidia release their latest graphics cards or when manufacturers have to update their motherboards to stay compatible with the latest central processing units (CPUs).

An experienced technician may have little trouble putting a system together, but inexperienced staff will likely struggle. Ideally, you want these staff members to level up their skills to be as competent as your expert technician. And you want them to gain knowledge of the latest installation methodologies every time a manufacturer releases a new component.

But how do you keep all your staff up to speed? And what happens if you have staff that comes into your workshop and some that work off-site?

You can solve both issues with an app that helps you run live training sessions. Your expert technician can live stream himself working on a new PC build while explaining each step of the process. The other staff members will follow the stream and use the app’s built-in chat function if they have any questions.

And this gives the expert technician the opportunity to explain things further and interact with the other staff members. Furthermore, the other staff may be working on their own builds concurrently and now have the ability to receive help directly from the expert technician even when not in the same building.

3. Engage And Teach Your Clients

Believe it or not, you can engage and teach your clients with the right type of education app. Moreover, you can further build brand loyalty. But how do you do this with an education app, and is it even possible?

Well, you should evaluate whether or not your product or service offering requires teaching. If you’re running a dropshipping business, there isn’t much need for an education app that will interest your clients in any conceivable way. But if you own a popular restaurant with meals prepared by a renowned chef, there’s plenty of potential for such an app.

Your clients may want to know how your chef prepares that tasty dish of pesto pasta. And quite possibly, many other items on the menu. So, you can fulfill that wish by creating an app where clients can access cooking videos and even live training sessions. They can follow your chef’s pre-recorded or live-streamed videos and prepare these meals from their homes.

Now, you may think that it’s unwise to share the recipes of your restaurant’s choice dishes. After all, you don’t want to reveal secret recipes or have clients stop visiting your establishment. But you don’t need to give away your most valuable recipes. A small sampling of menu items or slightly altered recipes should please most clients. And you may decide to put these behind a paywall or allow access via a subscription fee if the training sessions prove popular.

4. AR & VR Are The Perfect Education Technologies

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) work incredibly well as educational tools. That’s due to their ability to simulate real-world environments, objects, and scenarios. Furthermore, they offer a more convincing and immersive experience than any other technology.

Thus, if you need to train staff and put them in realistic or stressful situations, VR will do the trick. A VR application can have your staff repairing gas lines, operating heavy machinery, or undergoing mine training. In all these scenarios, staff won’t experience any physical risk, even though the training sessions closely emulate real-world dangers and possible outcomes.

And an AR app can help staff gain greater insight and awareness when training in a real-world environment. A staff member may need to change engine parts on an actual car. But may have difficulty remembering the names of all car parts and where each part fits. The AR app will overlay the relevant information inside the AR/VR goggles, AR glasses, or on the smartphone screen while still providing a clear view of the engine.

The Bottom Line

Businesses constantly evolve, so they need to train staff on an ongoing basis. Fortunately, education apps make this possible, as it’s more cost-effective and easier to create training programs in digital form than the more traditional methods. And mobile apps are the perfect vehicle for disseminating and accessing training content. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you develop phenomenal education apps for your business today!

4 Reasons Why Retailers Should Be Using Mobile Apps

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Retailers don’t have it easy, as they need to navigate a competitive and uncertain business environment. And considering how much Covid-19 has impacted the retail space, the old ways of doing business no longer apply.

So what should business leaders do to sail the rough seas and come out ahead on the other side?

Firstly, all business leaders should learn about and embrace the latest mobile technologies. Secondly, they should assess how these technologies will fit their business needs and fulfill goals. And thirdly, they should work with an experienced developer, such as NS804, to create the right solutions for their needs.

For retailers, mobile apps can radically transform their businesses for the better. These apps can automate and enhance specific business processes, excite and expand the customer base, and introduce several m-commerce opportunities.

But it’s not only brick and mortar businesses that can benefit from mobile apps but also online retailers. And by online retailers, we don’t only mean those that sell and ship physical goods but also those that sell digital products. The versatility of mobile apps makes them ideal for a variety of businesses.

Now, we understand that it’s not always easy to pinpoint how mobile apps can serve your business. So we’ve compiled this handy list to help you identify the pain points your business and customers may experience and how mobile apps can mitigate or solve these issues.

1. Build An Ecosystem That Serves Your Business Entirely

Have you noticed how big tech companies have built walled gardens to herd their customers? Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others have gained tremendous leverage by locking users into their platforms. And even smaller players such as Funimation, Netflix, and Spotify have monopolized specific segments of the media streaming market.

Sure, all these platforms offer numerous opportunities for savvy businesses. But consider for a minute that you’re running an indie record label that has signed up several promising artists. You decide to make available recordings of these artists on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube Music. And this isn’t necessarily a bad move, as all these platforms have huge audiences you can reach.

However, you’re also driving business to these platforms, diminishing your brand, and limiting your potential revenue. And that’s because your customers can only get hold of your music on these platforms and not directly from you. Furthermore, the branding of each platform holder will always overshadow your brand. And with streaming services such as Spotify, you’ll receive a pittance every time a user streams songs from one of your artists.

The good news is that you can avoid all these issues by building a mobile app that your customers can download. Within the app, you may allow your customers to download or stream music and even purchase physical copies (on CD, tape, and vinyl) of albums. And any time you release a new album, you can notify your customers via in-app and pop-up notifications.

Ultimately, you’ll establish an ecosystem that serves your business and yours alone, which means that your customers remain yours. And a third party doesn’t get to determine how much you can earn, how you market your music, and how you reach fans.

2. Increase Your Cross-Selling Capabilities

Let’s stick to the indie record label example for now. And let’s consider how a mobile app can increase cross-selling of your products.

But you may ask, “How does cross-selling benefit a record label?”

It’s likely that fans will want to purchase merchandise such as caps, t-shirts, and posters of their favorite artists. It’s even possible to upsell, such as enticing a fan that has added a digital album to the cart to purchase the limited-edition vinyl release at a reduced price.

And how you go about cross-selling merchandise can take several forms with a mobile app.

You may notify fans with in-app and pop-up notifications whenever you have new merchandise available. And if these fans have opted in to receive emails, you can cross-sell merchandise via this additional avenue. When done right, an email marketing strategy can effectively drive customers down the sales funnel.

But since your mobile app will also have a database on the backend, you’ll have an accurate record of all your customers’ purchases. For customers that have bought one or more albums of a particular artist, you can target these customers specifically with merchandise. Thus, you don’t have to waste your marketing efforts on customers that prefer other artists or don’t bother purchasing merchandise.

Another way this data may aid you is by identifying the locations of your most loyal customers. And if you have the necessary funds available, you may decide to have artists perform gigs at these locations and set up a merchandising table at all live venues.

You may also set up a pop-up shop at a fair or mall for short-term selling and cross-selling purposes. In all cases, your app will serve as the hub to inform fans and merge your digital and physical endeavors.

3. AR & VR Benefits Clothing Retailers

Now let’s shift gears and focus on a more traditional business, such as a clothing retailer. If you’re running such a business, it’s likely that you’re operating out of a physical location such as a store in a mall or shopping street. And most, if not all of your customers, need to visit your store to try on and purchase your clothes and accessories.

While this is a common way clothing retailers do business, it’s not very efficient or forward-looking. But what will it take to change course and deliver a more convenient shopping experience to your customers? Thanks to the advent of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), it’s now possible to serve customers that live far away from your store.

You can craft a mobile app with AR or VR functionality that contains accurate 3D models of all the clothes and accessories you have in stock. And if the app has AR functionality, it will utilize the accelerometer and cameras of the phone to detect the customer’s physical form, angle, and view orientation.

Then, the customer will pick a clothing item displayed on the app, which will then show the item superimposed on top of the customer on the phone’s screen. The customer will also have the ability to adjust the fit, size, and color (if available) of the item on the fly. Once the customer is happy with how the item looks on them, they can add it to their cart or initiate a one-click purchase.

Now, you can ship the order and conduct an in-app survey soon after the customer receives the item to ascertain their satisfaction or lack thereof. Having this information will help you make changes to the products you offer and service levels if necessary.

4. Mobile Apps Power Up Fast-Food Restaurants

Finally, let’s focus on fast-food retailers of all shapes and sizes. Mobile apps have already proven their worth in this particular market segment. And with the many excellent food delivery apps available, customers have a growing appetite for quick and convenient food purchases.

A well-conceived fast-food mobile app allows customers to view an outlet’s menu and place orders with as few clicks as possible. Furthermore, all food items, descriptions, prices, images, and UI elements must be clear and crisp so that elderly customers and those with vision impairments can easily discern these and place orders.

But this mobile app isn’t only for placing orders, it’s also a powerful promotional tool. Instead of printing thousands of expensive full-color glossy flyers, you can promote your latest gourmet burger directly inside your app. Moreover, you can utilize animations, motion graphics, sounds, and a step-by-step video of how you make your gourmet burgers.

Not only is this more impactful than using printed materials, but customers can also tap on this visual promo, which will take them directly to the checkout page to complete their order. And that’s powerful because fast-food restaurants rely heavily on impulse sales.

In Conclusion

Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses through to online retailers can all benefit from having their own custom mobile app. The examples we’ve described above present a few of the possibilities that help enhance businesses. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create a mobile app that can transform your retail business for the better!

Do You Need A Custom App? Here Are 5 Signs That You Do

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Deciding if your company needs a custom app may seem like a no-brainer. Then you come across online articles that sing the praises of off-the-shelf solutions. And these articles may convince you that the cost savings and ease of implementation of these turnkey solutions will have you covered. 

But that’s not entirely true, especially if you need a solution that must address specific business processes unique to your organization. That doesn’t mean that you should never use turnkey solutions, but keep in mind that these have a one-size-fits-all approach. 

So, they may be good at addressing problems experienced by businesses in general. Yet they seldom solve problems exactly the way you want, as they pertain to your organization’s needs. Thus, there are many ways your business will benefit by going with a custom app, which we’ll cover in more detail below. 

1. A Custom App Will Address Unique Business Needs

Every organization is different, so why rely on generalist solutions? And that’s also a question you should be asking if you need to solve complex problems. 

Let’s assume for a minute that you need to develop a mobile app that must collect a lot of data. Not only that, you want the data made available in JSON, XML, and your in-house encrypted and proprietary file format. And you want to retrieve, store, and transmit these files seamlessly across all your existing systems. Systems that may be outdated but still serve your needs perfectly. 

Now that’s a cumbersome problem — but will you find turnkey solutions that will solve it? If you look hard enough, you may find several off-the-shelf solutions that may work. And you’ll likely need programmers to make these diverse solutions function correctly. 

But things will get messy, and you’d better hope your in-house programmers or outsourced team are up for the task. If competent, they’ll likely cobble together a workable solution, but one that’s a Frankenstein of a creation. But if that’s not the case, you’ll have sunk time and money into a failed project. 

However, you can avoid such an outcome by working with professional custom app developers, such as NS804. You can discuss and outline your needs and the specifications that the custom solution must meet. And you can rest assured that the finished app will have all the features you need while meeting and even surpassing your quality standards.

2. Scale Your Custom App Only When Necessary 

Developing a custom app gives you total freedom to decide its future. Perhaps, you’re happy with your app and have no plans to scale up for the foreseeable future. But if you go with an off-the-shelf solution, you may not have this luxury. And the reason being is that many turnkey vendors like to lock in customers to the way they do business. 

Many operate as a Software as a Service (SaaS) and rely on subscriptions with a tiered pricing model. So, you may miss out on features or receive additional features that you don’t need based on your tier. Worse still, vendors may remove mission-critical features or enforce version upgrades at the most inopportune times while offering no tangible benefits. 

And then, there’s no guarantee that these vendors will be around for the long haul. You may want to scale up your app two years down the line but find out that the turnkey vendor has gone out of business. Or they may abandon specific APIs and toolsets essential to the continuous development of your app. In some cases, they may break compatibility with earlier versions of their own solutions or even operating systems, such as Android and iOS.

In a nutshell, relying on off-the-shelf solutions presents many risks. And if you’re a startup, you shouldn’t be wasting money on solutions that bring too much or too little to the table. It’s better to work with a custom app developer to scale up your app only when necessary, as this will free up funds that can go into other areas of your business.

3. Enhanced Security That Surpasses That Of Turnkey Solutions

As a business leader, you want your mobile app to have the tightest security possible. That’s especially true if you need to pass around valuable company data or handle payments. But that’s only possible if you have a clear understanding of the underlying technologies and security protocols. 

That’s the beauty of custom app development, as you’ll know exactly what technologies power your app. And there won’t be any hidden surprises if the custom app developer and your in-house security team work closely. Furthermore, they can further tighten security immediately after encountering a vulnerability. Something that’s not always possible if you were to rely on turnkey solutions.

Apart from the additional control over your security, you’ll also enjoy the benefits of improved integration. There’s no guarantee that off-the-shelf solutions will integrate with your existing systems. And even if they do, it’s unlikely that this will result in an elegant and optimally secure process.

4. Unlock A Plethora Of Marketing Opportunities 

Your mobile app won’t only help promote your brand but also give you a direct marketing link to your users. And you may decide to initiate your marketing campaigns via well-planned push notification strategies. After all, push notifications are powerful at delivering value, driving sales, and enhancing brand loyalty.

But if you take the custom app route, you can optimize your direct marketing endeavors. And you can increase or widen your marketing pipeline according to your needs and do this at any time. Furthermore, you won’t deal with any limitations imposed by turnkey vendors or wait for them to introduce the marketing features that you need. 

Another reason why you want to have complete freedom over your direct marketing channels is that you want to build long-term relationships with your users. Thus, you don’t want a third-party vendor to become an intermediary that gains access to your users and their data. There’s always the risk that they turn out to be a bad actor or suffer from security vulnerabilities down the line. And it’s not just their reputation that will suffer, but yours too.

5. Deliver A Superior User Experience

Nobody knows your users better than you do, so you’re in a position to create an app they’ll find appealing. So the most sensible choice is to develop a custom app that will meet or surpass your users’ expectations.

You want to create an app that allows users to complete tasks with as few taps as possible. A quality app with a well-designed user interface (UI) will reflect positively on your brand. Moreover, this will build brand loyalty and help with retention, so getting repeat business will be much easier.

And you can also improve the perception of your organization by allowing users to connect via the app. Thus, allowing them to communicate, give feedback, and lodge complaints, directly and quickly. If users see that they can resolve issues inside the app without being inconvenienced, they’ll likely keep it installed on their phones and recommend it to others.

The Bottom Line

Developing a custom app is usually the right choice for most organizations. And that’s because the end product will be far superior to that made with turnkey solutions. It will be more secure, run smoother, have better custom marketing pipelines, offer scalability when necessary, and deliver a better user experience. Contact NS804 today to learn how we’ll help you create cutting-edge custom apps that will engage your users! 

Why Android App Development is Becoming More Popular for Businesses

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Taking a Closer Look at the Rise of Android App Development

There’s no such thing as a strictly domestic economy anymore. Rather, domestic economies are now a part of the international economy. In other words, in thinking about business internationally, one must consider a multitude of perspectives. While iOS systems are name brand, if you will, that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in Android systems. In fact, Android systems are more popular on a worldwide basis for business purposes than iOS systems. There are a few factors that play into this. However, with the current rise of Android business applications, it’s important to consider why there’s been a rise in Android app development.

Factors Behind the Rise of Android App Development

First and foremost, one of the most appealing traits of Android app programming is the flexibility. While iOS systems are well known for their robust security programs, sophisticated aesthetics, and proprietary software; Android applications give the creator much more flexibility and versatility. This allows designers and developers to be more creative in the solutions they create and the applications they deliver. In turn, this also brings about a more unique user experience to various applications and systems built to run Android.

Additionally, Android applications are typically cheaper to develop. This is because of two main reasons. The first is that Android applications use multiple languages; unlike iOS systems that solely read python. Beyond the accessibility of development, however, Android app development is also generally cheaper because of the required expertise and the devices that normally utilize Android. In other words, cheaper equipment leads to lower costs.

However, saving money isn’t the only reason that businesses are choosing Android systems over iOS. Between the heightened flexibility of Android development and the lower costs involved, this makes it even easier to customize Android applications. Since the programming is slightly easier, and the expertise is lower, it often gives designers more time to run trials and truly pinpoint the end result they want.

Finally, there’s the global factor. As mentioned above, there’s no such thing as a domestic economy anymore, and this means that, to some extent, the majority rules. More precisely, this just refers to the concept of accessibility. Businesses and organizations want to be accessible to the people who rely on them. This not only means the stakeholders and consumers, but also the workers, employees, and staff. One way to boost accessibility, especially to a global audience, is by being available on the most globally popular operating system that exists: Android.

Wrapping Up With Final Thoughts

There are a lot of reasons that businesses are choosing Android app development over iOS. From the flexibility that Android offers both designers and developers, to the less expensive costs associated with Android development, and the unbeatable accessibility; it makes sense that organizations all over the world are choosing Android.

Join the modern era and prepare your organization for the coming wave of digitalization. For more information on Android app development, or anything else app development-related, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the mobile app developer of the everyday appreneur.

How COVID is Changing Custom Business Apps

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Ways COVID is Changing Custom Business Apps Permanently

A recent study into the post-COVID business climate revealed some insight into the draining effects of Zoom meetings. Zoom, of course, is the popular video-conferencing application. Businesses and individuals have turned to using Zoom all over the world because of the pandemic. However, with such up-close pictures, and a limited range of mobility, Zoom meetings have proven to be even more stressful than their in-person counterparts. Zoom isn’t the only business application getting attention, though. Rather, custom business apps are becoming more and more popular as the work-from-home wave continues on.

Custom business apps are changing the way that companies and organizations operate entirely. Instead of being told what features are available in a one-size-fits all enterprise application; your company is king when it comes to designing a custom app specific for your organization.

Developing Your Custom Business App

After making the decision to invest in a custom business application, there’s a lot to consider before getting started. For instance, a major decision organizational leaders have to face is whether they want to go with a professional app designer, or a more cost-effective choice. Now, there are obvious benefits to both sides; cost-savings on one, and a more professional end-result on the other.

Keeping in mind the use-cases of your custom business apps, it makes sense to prioritize quality over cost when it comes to choosing a designer. Choosing a cheaper route could result in unnecessary bugs that bog down your application, or glitchy and unreliable operations. Either way: not ideal results for the application your remote teams are going to rely on.

Furthermore, choosing a professional app designer to build your custom business apps guarantees a more sleek, modernized, and updated application – ultimately boosting your remote teams instead of hindering them.

Must-Have Features

Once a designer or design firm is chosen; your team can begin looking at what features they want to include in their custom business apps. Depending on your industry, your business needs, and your general workflow; business apps can look vastly different from organization to organization. However, there are a few features that are pretty staple to include in custom business apps despite organizational or marketplace differences.

One feature that your team needs to include in your custom enterprise app, almost without saying, is an instant messaging platform. Instant messaging is a must have. This is because remote workers and teams need to be able to quickly and effectively communicate with one another. Not to mention management and business leaders.

Another must-have feature in your custom enterprise app is scheduling and video-conferencing. Folding project management and video-conferencing capabilities into your custom business apps will bring the tools that your team needs to them, no matter where they’re located. This is a huge advantage in the new economy, as the work-from-home and remote-work era is here to stay.

Wrapping Up

Custom business apps are a great way to build a framework in which remote teams and remote workers are able to thrive. As we’ve seen over the past year, a functional remote work-force is vital to long term stability. For more information on the impact of COVID and how it’s changing the economy; continue browsing NS804’s content library.