Author: Erin Detavernier

Categories
App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps Mobile UX Mobile Web Wearables

Tips to Evaluate Mobile App Developers for your Company's App

Do you have a new idea for a mobile app to improve your business’ efficiency and increase ROI?! Do you have a successful business that could benefit from more streamlined customer service or product processes?!
If so, you need a great team to create the best possible mobile app! How do you know what mobile app development company to choose? Here are some criteria to evaluate mobile application companies for your company’s app:
 

End-to-End Services

It is important that the company you choose offers full service – inclusive of strategy, design, development, and post-launch maintenance. Here at jācapps, we use a 4-step process to make your app and experience the best it can be. We discover, design, develop, and deploy. This full-cycle process includes:

  • Discovery: This starts with understanding the problem you need to solve and understanding where your app will take root, then brainstorming the best solution.
  • Design: Make sure your app looks great, with solid aesthetics and ease-of-use in mind. Make sure your app designer keeps the big picture in mind, so that your app functions well and looks beautiful.
  • Development: Your developer should work from a complete and accurate specification document that describes perfectly how your app should work.
  • Deployment: Rigorous QA testing should happen throughout the development process, but final testing should make you confident that your app will work flawlessly for your users. And finally, the submission of your app and its app store presence should be done with complete professionalism and confidence.

This type of process will ensure that you receive a top-notch app.
But the best developers don’t stop there – they keep a look out for rare potential problems and help you navigate new devices and OS versions as they become available.
 

Design and Development Tailored to Your Needs

You may already have detailed documents that state how you want your app to work. You may just be looking for a company who can just oversee your plans, assist in UI/UX design and the development of the app. Or, you might simply have a business problem and are looking at mobile for a solution! The best firms offer flexibility. You can get as much or as little help as you need. For projects that are less planned out from the start, a product development specialist, along with a UI/UX designer will be necessary for the project! Having both allows you to design and develop your app to the best possible outcome. If your team is well staffed, your development firm should be able to leverage your internal expertise to save you time and money.
 

Comparison Shopping

There are lots of app development companies. Review your candidates’ past client work and case studies. It is also beneficial to determine how, and how much you will communicate with your provider. Do you want a team that is local? Do you require any special technology expertise? There are many factors to consider when selecting a mobile partner.
 

Get Buy-In Across Your Company

After you have narrowed down your options – it is important that you share your plan and vision for your mobile app. You’ll avoid a lot of downstream headaches if everyone on your team is on the same page and shares your vision.
 

Partner Mentality

Developing your app requires a multitude of resources beyond the idea. It requires market research, extensive documentation, designers and developers. If you are researching a mobile app development company to bring your idea to life, look for more than a vendor. You want a company that will partner with you over the long term as your needs and your app evolves.
Take these tips into consideration to help you evaluate the right mobile development company for your mobile project!
jācapps custom apps can support these efforts and much more. If you are interested in exploring a mobile strategy to support your business, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

Categories
App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps Mobile UX Mobile Web Wearables

Tips to Evaluate Mobile App Developers for your Company’s App

Do you have a new idea for a mobile app to improve your business’ efficiency and increase ROI?! Do you have a successful business that could benefit from more streamlined customer service or product processes?!

If so, you need a great team to create the best possible mobile app! How do you know what mobile app development company to choose? Here are some criteria to evaluate mobile application companies for your company’s app:

 

End-to-End Services

It is important that the company you choose offers full service – inclusive of strategy, design, development, and post-launch maintenance. Here at jācapps, we use a 4-step process to make your app and experience the best it can be. We discover, design, develop, and deploy. This full-cycle process includes:

  • Discovery: This starts with understanding the problem you need to solve and understanding where your app will take root, then brainstorming the best solution.
  • Design: Make sure your app looks great, with solid aesthetics and ease-of-use in mind. Make sure your app designer keeps the big picture in mind, so that your app functions well and looks beautiful.
  • Development: Your developer should work from a complete and accurate specification document that describes perfectly how your app should work.
  • Deployment: Rigorous QA testing should happen throughout the development process, but final testing should make you confident that your app will work flawlessly for your users. And finally, the submission of your app and its app store presence should be done with complete professionalism and confidence.

This type of process will ensure that you receive a top-notch app.

But the best developers don’t stop there – they keep a look out for rare potential problems and help you navigate new devices and OS versions as they become available.

 

Design and Development Tailored to Your Needs

You may already have detailed documents that state how you want your app to work. You may just be looking for a company who can just oversee your plans, assist in UI/UX design and the development of the app. Or, you might simply have a business problem and are looking at mobile for a solution! The best firms offer flexibility. You can get as much or as little help as you need. For projects that are less planned out from the start, a product development specialist, along with a UI/UX designer will be necessary for the project! Having both allows you to design and develop your app to the best possible outcome. If your team is well staffed, your development firm should be able to leverage your internal expertise to save you time and money.

 

Comparison Shopping

There are lots of app development companies. Review your candidates’ past client work and case studies. It is also beneficial to determine how, and how much you will communicate with your provider. Do you want a team that is local? Do you require any special technology expertise? There are many factors to consider when selecting a mobile partner.

 

Get Buy-In Across Your Company

After you have narrowed down your options – it is important that you share your plan and vision for your mobile app. You’ll avoid a lot of downstream headaches if everyone on your team is on the same page and shares your vision.

 

Partner Mentality

Developing your app requires a multitude of resources beyond the idea. It requires market research, extensive documentation, designers and developers. If you are researching a mobile app development company to bring your idea to life, look for more than a vendor. You want a company that will partner with you over the long term as your needs and your app evolves.

Take these tips into consideration to help you evaluate the right mobile development company for your mobile project!

jācapps custom apps can support these efforts and much more. If you are interested in exploring a mobile strategy to support your business, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

Categories
Mobile Apps news and press Uncategorized

jācapps Hires Anne Clark as Vice President of Sales

Bingham Farms, Mich. – October 11, 2018 – To support its ongoing growth initiatives, leading application developer we have hired Anne Clark as its Vice President of Sales. Anne has more than 15 years of experience in sales management working for multiple high-tech companies around the U.S.
In this role, Anne will oversee our’ sales organization, and client-relations activities after serving in a similar position with Cengage Learning, where she managed $105 million in annual revenue and oversaw 40 high-performing sales directors and strategic account managers who engage at all decision-making levels in the for-profit higher education market. Anne has a proven track record of implementing data driven sales strategies and establishing internal sales processes, competencies and metrics that drive efficiency and performance.
“Anne was a perfect hire for us because she has experience fine tuning and scaling a sales organization to perform at a very high level,” said jācapps President Paul Jacobs. “She has the experience and steady hand to really help us get to the next level. Anne’s great at managing complex solutions and will lead our efforts to work with bigger clients in 2019 and beyond.”
Throughout her career in the technology field, Anne has served as a collaborative sales leader focused on driving growth in changing markets.  In driving technology solutions, she has helped turn around underperforming sales teams while transforming them to become highly effective and deliver results. Previous to Cengage, Anne was Vice President of Educational Sales at Wolters Kluwer Health, where she was a key decision maker in shifting the business to an all-digital solution leveraging adaptive technology and simulations which resulted in significant growth.
“I’m proud to be joining a company that has so many opportunities ahead of it as jācapps,” Anne said. “The company has a great brand in the media business and is just now scratching the surface with all types of businesses helping them create innovative mobile solutions that solve real problems. We have the opportunity to apply these mobile technologies in amazing ways and it’s my role to let the market know about it.”

About Us                                        

jācapps is a mobile application development firm in Metro-Detroit. Our company has developed over 1200 apps since its inception in 2008, by team members who are all Michigan-sourced. jācapps developers go beyond common devices by delivering your message through the most used device in the world, as well as in the Connected Car, Tablets, Smart Speakers, Smart TVs, Streaming Devices, Wearables, and whatever comes next.
If you are interested in learning more about us, the apps we’ve build, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

Categories
B2B Apps Mobile Apps Push Notifications

3 Push Notifications Tactics Increase F&B Loyalty

Push notifications are core to the mobile app experience. Most mobile users have their phone on them at all times, and the ability to get their attention in a meaningful way can make or break your app. A report from Kahuna, a mobile engagement analytics startup, explains why consumers so often turn off push notifications, and how to combat the dreaded opt-out. Read more to see why food and beverage, above other industries, can specifically benefit from this feature.
According to their data, only 39 percent of social media app users opt in to push notifications in at least one category. One industry that seems to fare better is the food and beverage business with 60 percent of users opting in.
A few strategies can help push that opt-in rate up when you’re creating push notifications:

  1. Make a good first impression: Educate your users on your app’s benefits and note how push notifications will enhance their user experience.
  2. Know when: Timing is everything when it comes to scheduling push notifications. Statistically, the best time to send push notifications is between 11am and 1pm, between 2pm and 6pm, and from 8pm to 9pm.
  3. Maintain the customer relationship: Once users have opted in to push notifications, keep the content relevant, personalized and targeted. Sloppy notifications practices can quickly drive users away from your app completely.

When it comes to the food and beverage industry, half of smartphone owners regularly use restaurant loyalty rewards apps. And, according to survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, building customer loyalty and increasing customer retention through app-based rewards programs is a successful strategy.
Restaurants can ensure continued use of their loyalty app through regular push notifications reminding customers how close they are to earning the next free item or reaching the next tier of the rewards program. These interactions again personalize the experience and encourage repeat app usage.
So, what are the top types of push notification should you use in order to create customer loyalty?

  1. Location triggered messages

“Our closest restaurant is only 500ft away, open the app and receive a special discount coupon!”

  1. Gifting messages

“Congratulations! You have been with us for three months already, and as a thank you, we’d like to give you a 20% discount on any item from our bestseller list!”

  1. Transactional messages

Based on an activity directly related to customer behavior– such as past purchases, reward level advancement, expiring coupons, etc.
Getting your push notifications strategy right requires planning, good copywriting and testing. Do it right, and you will see increased user retention rates, reduced customer churn.
If you are interested in learning more about jācapps, the apps we’ve built, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

Categories
B2B Apps Mobile Apps Push Notifications

3 Push Notifications Tactics Increase F&B Loyalty

Push notifications are core to the mobile app experience. Most mobile users have their phone on them at all times, and the ability to get their attention in a meaningful way can make or break your app. A report from Kahuna, a mobile engagement analytics startup, explains why consumers so often turn off push notifications, and how to combat the dreaded opt-out. Read more to see why food and beverage, above other industries, can specifically benefit from this feature.

According to their data, only 39 percent of social media app users opt in to push notifications in at least one category. One industry that seems to fare better is the food and beverage business with 60 percent of users opting in.

A few strategies can help push that opt-in rate up when you’re creating push notifications:

  1. Make a good first impression: Educate your users on your app’s benefits and note how push notifications will enhance their user experience.
  2. Know when: Timing is everything when it comes to scheduling push notifications. Statistically, the best time to send push notifications is between 11am and 1pm, between 2pm and 6pm, and from 8pm to 9pm.
  3. Maintain the customer relationship: Once users have opted in to push notifications, keep the content relevant, personalized and targeted. Sloppy notifications practices can quickly drive users away from your app completely.

When it comes to the food and beverage industry, half of smartphone owners regularly use restaurant loyalty rewards apps. And, according to survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, building customer loyalty and increasing customer retention through app-based rewards programs is a successful strategy.

Restaurants can ensure continued use of their loyalty app through regular push notifications reminding customers how close they are to earning the next free item or reaching the next tier of the rewards program. These interactions again personalize the experience and encourage repeat app usage.

So, what are the top types of push notification should you use in order to create customer loyalty?

  1. Location triggered messages

“Our closest restaurant is only 500ft away, open the app and receive a special discount coupon!”

  1. Gifting messages

“Congratulations! You have been with us for three months already, and as a thank you, we’d like to give you a 20% discount on any item from our bestseller list!”

  1. Transactional messages

Based on an activity directly related to customer behavior– such as past purchases, reward level advancement, expiring coupons, etc.

Getting your push notifications strategy right requires planning, good copywriting and testing. Do it right, and you will see increased user retention rates, reduced customer churn.

If you are interested in learning more about jācapps, the apps we’ve built, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

Categories
Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere Awards Connected Car Mobile Apps Push Notifications Radio

4 Ways to Engage Your Listeners with Mobile

Your audience is on mobile more than they’re on any other device! And with proper promotion on air, and online, there is no reason you can’t move a significant portion of your audience to use your station’s apps! Here are 4 important ways to engage your listeners on mobile.

Upstream

Our “open mic” feature allows listeners to use the microphone in their mobile device to interact directly with your station. Users can create a message with just a tap, and send it to your station personnel with another tap, creating immediate engagement with the audience. We’ve seen stations use Open Mic to take requests, or call in to talk shows.
The user can also send photos or videos. One of our clients uses Upstream to boost contest involvement. The station wanted their listener to send in a certain picture in order to win a prize and upstream made this so easy.

Push Notifications

We all get push messages on our phones all day, whether it be news alerts, sports scores or traffic updates. By sending your audience a push message, you can tell them what’s on your station, give them the inside scoop on station events and even pass along breaking news.
Instead of waiting for users to open the app, use push notifications to entice the user to open and use the app. Those messages might include popular app content, event reminders and promotions.

Social Media

One of the biggest benefits of integrating your social media presence into the app is that your listeners can post directly in the app! Let your users check out your morning show’s latest post, or picture, without ever leaving the app. You can display your social feeds separately – Twitter and Facebook – or with feeds from the station and a variety of hosts all pulled together in one social timeline.

Guides

The V4 app from jācapps has the ability to provide users a local directory to businesses or attractions. The guide contains a collection of locations, provided by your station, and can display that collection as an easy to scan list, or it can map those locations, providing one tap turn-by-turn directions. If you have a rock station, maybe you provide your listeners a local bar guide. An AC station could provide a directory of family-friendly activities. These guides are a great way to create another revenue stream for your station.
If you are interested in the apps we’ve built or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

Categories
App Everywhere B2B Apps Connected Car Mobile Apps Mobile Web news and press Push Notifications Radio

Press Release: Client Announcement

BINGHAM FARMS, Mich. – Sept. 20, 2018 – Leading custom application developer, jācapps, has built and now launched more than 100 audio apps for its newest client, Salem Media Group (Salem), one of the leading Christian and conservative content radio broadcasters in the U.S.
The 116 new apps, which are a complete upgrade, are available now in the Apple iTunes and Android Play stores as updates to the original versions.  Through an enhanced listening experience and expanded streaming reach to mobile devices, the new apps further broaden Salem’s network and ability to share meaningful digital content with its audiences.
The jācapps and Salem teams worked together to prepare the media group’s faith-based and conservative talk news audio content for mobile reach in 33 of the largest U.S. markets, including: Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. This includes mobile apps featuring some of Salem’s most popular, syndicated on-air personalities, such as: Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, Mike Gallagher, Larry Elder and Eric Metaxas.
“We have a very loyal listener base, but we are competing not just with other radio stations or media providers, but with other digital content that is available to consumers anytime, anywhere,” said Rodney Whitaker, Salem’s director of digital operations. “We need solutions that make it as easy as possible for people to find, listen to and interact with us on their mobile devices, and jācapps has provided those with these new apps.”
“You no longer need a radio to listen to the radio,” said jācapps President Paul Jacobs.  “Listeners want their content on-demand, wherever they are, and the brands that support that content want to connect with consumers in meaningful ways.  Our job is to help clients, like Salem, create applications to make that all possible.”

About jācapps

jācapps is one of the largest mobile application development firms in metro Detroit. The company has developed more than 1,200 apps since its inception in 2008, by team members who are all Michigan-sourced.  jācapps developers go beyond common devices by delivering messages through the most used device in the world, as well as in the Connected Car, Tablets, Smart Speakers, Smart TVs, Streaming Devices, Wearables and whatever comes next.  More information is available at https://jacapps.com/.

About Salem Media Group

Salem Media Group is America’s leading multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative content, with media properties comprising radio, digital media and book and newsletter publishing.  Each day Salem serves a loyal and dedicated audience of listeners and readers numbering in the millions nationally.  With its unique programming focus, Salem provides compelling content, fresh commentary and relevant information from some of the most respected figures across the Christian and conservative media landscape.
Click here to read more
If you are interested in us, the apps we’ve built, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

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Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps news and press Smart Home

Digital Summit Detroit

Digital Summit Detroit 2018 kicks off for a two-day digital marketing gathering on Wednesday September 12th, and jācapps will be there to talk mobile strategy, and to mix with hundreds of other leaders in the digital space. We are looking forward to this opportunity to hear brilliant speakers, meet the best of Detroit’s digital industry and pick up some cool event swag! In addition to the event’s productive networking, jācapps will be exhibiting with examples of our most recent apps and some swag of our own!
There will be over 50 sessions and workshops that will provide info about the latest digital trends plus lots of practical, game-changing ideas to apply to your marketing strategy!
Additionally, there will be over 45 digital marketing sessions in mission-critical topic areas that include: Social, Email, Data & Analytics, Brand Storytelling, Search, Conversion & Engagement, UX & Design, Mobile, Strategy, B2B Marketing and B2C Marketing. As you can see digital and mobile are some of the hottest marketing topics this year.
You will get the opportunity to learn directly from the brands and leaders who you believe make the largest impact on today’s world economy now and in the future! Some of the brilliant speakers include; Chelsea Handler, Scott Dikkers, Cailin Lavallee, Andrew Malcom, Rob Lawson, Kraig Hansen, Amber Lewis, Nick Skislak and many more! Along with the learning experience, you’ll get insight from BuzzFeed, Waze, Discover, Jaguar, Salesforce, and many more!
Not only will you gain great content from the different sessions, you will also have the chance to engage in professional networking! There will be hundreds of professional marketers, strategists, designers, and more to connect and chat with.There is a countless amount of opportunities here that may lead into inspiration, partnerships and/or business deals that you will leave with after ONLY two days at Digital Summit Detroit!
We’re excited for our second year at DSD! If you are attending, let’s set up a meeting to talk about your mobile strategy! Stop by our booth between sessions for a chance for a chance to win a free smart speaker!
Get your tickets here!

Categories
Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere B2B Apps Connected Car Google Home Mobile Apps Smart Home Smart TVs Voice Commands

Tech 248 Recap & Key Takeaways

On Tuesday, July 31st we hosted our first in house event, partnering with Tech248! We offered networking and refreshments while our executives gave brief updates on 2018’s mobile trends.  We couldn’t be more excited to see over 80 local business people attend our first event!

In case you missed it… here’s a little recap of the presentations and their key takeaways!

Apps For Business

Our COO, Bob Kernen gave an incredible presentation about apps for business. Bob refers to apps as a dynamic business tool. “We tend to think of apps as consumers – apps are these little tools people use to get us through our day. In reality, they are the most valuable real estate a marketer can have, and most importantly… ALL companies can participate.”

An app is self-contained piece of software that is designed to serve a discreet function and work on a specific type or types of devices. It leverages the power of your smartphone or tablet, way beyond the ability of a mobile browser. Mobile apps can be designed to help facilitate instant communication with customers.

App features an include: 

  • Real-time updates on product availability
  • Ability to request a quote or place an order
  • Provide login, video, and PDF sessions for education
  • Host an ultra-categorized, user-friendly product catalogue
  • Connect users with particular departments or teams instantly
  • And more!

With that being said…“There’s an app for that!” Did you know 81% of American adults use a smartphone… and mobile usage has surpassed desktop usage!

Media Consumption Trends

Our President, Paul Jacobs, gave great insight about the Media Trends in 2018. Paul touches on the results from Techsurvey 2018.

  1. We can definitely see a generational shift when it comes to media, as shown survey results, we see millennials and boomers both have the highest population dealing with media consumption.
  2. Here is the 2018 media pyramid representing media consumption, devices used, and trends between millennials and boomers: 
  3. In 2018, Techsurvey proves that audio streaming is still on the rise, and is quite balanced between male and female consumers. If your business has audio content to put out there – keep doing it!
  4. Lastly, in-car audio provides many different sources for content. The AM/FM radio is still standard but audiobooks, podcasts, streaming providers, and XM satellite are all sources for content and advertising if your business is trying to reach consumers on the go.

Now how do we here at jācapps relate to that? jācapps App Everywhere® provides solutions that encourage communication across all devices. We incorporate your brand through mobile phones, the connected car, smart TVs, smart speakers, tablets, and wearables.

Smart Speaker Update

Our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin, gave a great presentation about smart speakers! If you don’t know already… Alexa dominates the smart speaker space! Looking at smart speaker owners, 75% own Amazon Alexa only, 19% own Google Home only, and 6% own both Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

When it comes to business, Amazon Alexa skills need a strategy behind them. Creating “skills” is easy, but voice is actually something much larger! Voice is actually a whole new user interface, and more and more devices will be controlled by the human voice. With that being said, consider your business and how you might interact with users through voice. What content do you want delivered, and to whom? Do you have news, announcements, or recurring content? Or are you focusing on set database questions and answers?

Amazon Alexa has skills for all different industries, some of the hot industry skills around the US include; Healthcare, Automotive, and Food & Beverage.

Here are some great examples from her presentation: 

  • Healthcare –
    • Carolinas HealthCare created an Alexa skill where consumers can simply ask “Alexa, what is the nearest Carolinas urgent care or hospital?”
  • Automotive –
    • Ford and FCA partnered with Amazon to connect their cars to Alexa voice control for commands relating to appointments, trip management, and engine starting.
  • Food & Beverage –
    • TGI Friday’s created a skill allowing fans to place orders and make reservations with Alexa voice technology.

Overall, smart speakers are here to stay! Every business needs a voice strategy!

Thank you to all of the attendees and we hope to see you at future events!

We would also love to thank Farmington Brewing Company and Plum Market for catering with the best refreshments! The beer and food were a hit…we look forward to working with both companies for future events!

If you are interest in us, the apps we’ve built, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

Categories
Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere B2B Apps Connected Car Google Home Mobile Apps Smart Home Smart TVs Voice Commands

Tech 248 Recap & Key Takeaways

On Tuesday, July 31st we hosted our first in house event, partnering with Tech248! We offered networking and refreshments while our executives gave brief updates on 2018’s mobile trends.  We couldn’t be more excited to see over 80 local business people attend our first event!
In case you missed it… here’s a little recap of the presentations and their key takeaways!

Apps For Business

Our COO, Bob Kernen gave an incredible presentation about apps for business. Bob refers to apps as a dynamic business tool. “We tend to think of apps as consumers – apps are these little tools people use to get us through our day. In reality, they are the most valuable real estate a marketer can have, and most importantly… ALL companies can participate.”
An app is self-contained piece of software that is designed to serve a discreet function and work on a specific type or types of devices. It leverages the power of your smartphone or tablet, way beyond the ability of a mobile browser. Mobile apps can be designed to help facilitate instant communication with customers.
App features an include: 

  • Real-time updates on product availability
  • Ability to request a quote or place an order
  • Provide login, video, and PDF sessions for education
  • Host an ultra-categorized, user-friendly product catalogue
  • Connect users with particular departments or teams instantly
  • And more!

With that being said…“There’s an app for that!” Did you know 81% of American adults use a smartphone… and mobile usage has surpassed desktop usage!

Media Consumption Trends

Our President, Paul Jacobs, gave great insight about the Media Trends in 2018. Paul touches on the results from Techsurvey 2018.

  1. We can definitely see a generational shift when it comes to media, as shown survey results, we see millennials and boomers both have the highest population dealing with media consumption.
  2. Here is the 2018 media pyramid representing media consumption, devices used, and trends between millennials and boomers: 
  3. In 2018, Techsurvey proves that audio streaming is still on the rise, and is quite balanced between male and female consumers. If your business has audio content to put out there – keep doing it!
  4. Lastly, in-car audio provides many different sources for content. The AM/FM radio is still standard but audiobooks, podcasts, streaming providers, and XM satellite are all sources for content and advertising if your business is trying to reach consumers on the go.

Now how do we here at jācapps relate to that? jācapps App Everywhere® provides solutions that encourage communication across all devices. We incorporate your brand through mobile phones, the connected car, smart TVs, smart speakers, tablets, and wearables.

Smart Speaker Update

Our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin, gave a great presentation about smart speakers! If you don’t know already… Alexa dominates the smart speaker space! Looking at smart speaker owners, 75% own Amazon Alexa only, 19% own Google Home only, and 6% own both Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
When it comes to business, Amazon Alexa skills need a strategy behind them. Creating “skills” is easy, but voice is actually something much larger! Voice is actually a whole new user interface, and more and more devices will be controlled by the human voice. With that being said, consider your business and how you might interact with users through voice. What content do you want delivered, and to whom? Do you have news, announcements, or recurring content? Or are you focusing on set database questions and answers?
Amazon Alexa has skills for all different industries, some of the hot industry skills around the US include; Healthcare, Automotive, and Food & Beverage.
Here are some great examples from her presentation: 

  • Healthcare –
    • Carolinas HealthCare created an Alexa skill where consumers can simply ask “Alexa, what is the nearest Carolinas urgent care or hospital?”
  • Automotive –
    • Ford and FCA partnered with Amazon to connect their cars to Alexa voice control for commands relating to appointments, trip management, and engine starting.
  • Food & Beverage –
    • TGI Friday’s created a skill allowing fans to place orders and make reservations with Alexa voice technology.

Overall, smart speakers are here to stay! Every business needs a voice strategy!

Thank you to all of the attendees and we hope to see you at future events!
We would also love to thank Farmington Brewing Company and Plum Market for catering with the best refreshments! The beer and food were a hit…we look forward to working with both companies for future events!
If you are interest in us, the apps we’ve built, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030