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B2B Apps Mobile Apps

Navigating B2B Business When You Can’t Meet F2F

Without question, Covid-19 has impacted all aspects of our lives and B2B marketing is no exception. Historically, B2B relationships centered around in-person meetings and product demonstrations. But how do you sell products when you can’t sit in a conference room, present a PowerPoint, and shake hands on a deal? Today, companies are investing in technology – including mobile apps, webinars, videoconferencing, and eCommerce –  in order to maintain business flow. 

A recent article in The Drum – B2B Marketing During Covid-19: 8 Transformations to Stay Ahead,” outlines the steps B2B companies are taking in order to navigate these rapidly changing times. The article provides helpful information to all B2B marketers, but also shares a study from eMarketer, which finds that while marketing budgets are being reduced, investment in all forms of technology have risen in importance.  In other words, providing customers with the tools to continue to purchase in a way that’s congruent with today’s situation.

This includes nearly two-thirds (62%) investing in eCommerce/online sales capabilities, while a similar percentage (61%) acknowledging they are making fewer face-to-face calls with customers.  The result is more than half (54%) are investing in more in delivering “last mile” infrastructure – or as we like to think of it, “last 12 inches”, i.e. mobile applications, that connect ordering and client service systems directly to customers.

Mobile apps have the ability to do a number of things that can bring your business closer to its business customers. That includes features like:

  • Catalogs – mobile catalogs can put your most up-to-date product information right into your customers’ hands.
  • Order forms – with your clients spending less time in a traditional office, making it easy for them to order your products at the moment they need them is crucial
  • Delivery logistics – Keep your customers up-to-date on where their order is in processing. This cuts down on service calls and anxious clients.
  • Notifications – Let them know about changes to hours, product offerings, pricing specials, etc. with notifications pushed right to their mobile device
  • Tap to call directories – Cut down on customer wait times and call center workload by directing calls to the precise extension the client needs with a simple tap inside your mobile application.

Times have changed and all businesses need to quickly develop different ways of structuring their relationships with customers.  Those that make the investment will be in much better position to maintain business flow.

Call us to discuss how mobile technology can make your business more efficient and profitable.

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App Everywhere Awards Mobile Apps

jācapps Named a Top App Developer by Clutch

jācapps is excited to announce that we have been ranked by Clutch as one of the top app developers. We are also proud to say that we have been doing well in one of Clutch’s more competitive categories, their ranking of the best boutique app development companies.
We have over 1200 apps and 10 years in the industry, creating not just apps for mobile phones, but ones that go beyond common devices. While many developers focus on iOS and Android applications, we deliver your message through all of the most-used devices in the world. Our App Everywhere suite allows clients to utilize apps in unique ways, as mobile is put to work beyond the smartphone. In the Connected Car, Tablets, Smart Speakers, Smart TVs, Streaming Devices, Wearables, and whatever comes next. We also work to help companies use mobile outside of the consumer sphere, with business to business and internally-facing apps.
“Only the most versatile and knowledgeable developers can keep up with the abundance of new technologies created every year,” said Clutch Business Analyst Misty Lopez. “These developers stand out based on their ability to adapt to these new technologies and techniques and apply them to a variety of development projects for their clients. We are excited to feature them on our platform.”
Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews firm that ranks businesses on a number of criteria, including carefully conducted interviews with past clients. This means that our success is largely a result of the kind words of our clients, who we would like to thank for taking the time to talk to Clutch about us.
Clutch also has two sister sites, Visual Objects, which showcases agencies that do outstanding creative or design work, such as web designers or mobile app developers, and The Manifest, which lets users view quick bios of B2B companies, ranked by service focus and location. We are listed on The Manifest as one of the leading mobile app developers in Detroit.
We are honored to receive this recognition. We are devoted to our clients, and we can’t wait to continue providing our clients with the highest quality service possible.

Categories
App Everywhere Apple CarPlay B2B Apps Connected Car Mobile Apps

Mobile App Development Process

Investing in a mobile app is a significant commitment and you want to be confident in the mobile app development company who develops your company’s app. Another concern for companies is not knowing how the complete mobile app development process really works.
Our team of developers, marketers, and strategists will guide your company through a four-step process that takes your project from conception to completion.

  1. Discover

This is where you’re apps take root. We draw inspiration from our conversations with you to brainstorm ideas and discuss the requirements needed to develop them. This part can be a lot of fun for companies – we get to sit down with you and truly craft what you want your app to do, look like, and how you want it to engage your audience. This discover point is where we like to emphasize that we truly create your company’s app different from any other app we’ve done.

  1. Design

Once a concept has been approved, we combine skills and strategy to make sure your apps look great and are easy to use. Our progress will be presented to you in the form of a specification document. This is where we get to sit down together again and make sure your app looks the way you pictured. Once this step is approved, we move into the actual development of the app.

  1. Develop

After you’ve green lighted our specification document, our in-house development gets to work. This phase culminates with rigorous QA testing.

  1. Deploy

We submit your apps to their respective stores and watch the numbers skyrocket! But we don’t stop there… we keep a look out for rate potential problems and help you navigate new devices and OS versions as they become available.
This simple four-step process keeps your app development process stress free and organized in order to create the best possible mobile solution for your company. If you are interested in our mobile app process, contact our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin to being your mobile app development process today!

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App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps Push Notifications

Push Messaging: 4 Ingredients of a Good Push Message

As we have covered before, push messages are one of the key elements to your mobile app to engage your listeners and users. However, there’s a technique behind push messages that help you create the most successful messages to send your listeners and users.

Here are the 4 ingredients of a good push notification:
  1. Relevance

Make it meaningful and personal. Make sure the message is import to your audience and not just to you. The topic must be relevant, actionable and timely to your listeners. Sending a lot of messages will reduce the impact, so you really got to nail down what your listeners what to know.

  1. Brevity

You have a very small space and people have very small attention spans, so this point cannot be over emphasized. Push messages are really consumed at a glance. The user probably only has a few moments when looking at this message, so you need to be quick and get straight to the point. Just because you have a total of 140 characters, doesn’t mean you have to use them. We have seen more successful push notifications with characters between 20 and 90!
Think more like a tweet than a Facebook post!

  1. Timeliness

When you schedule your message, it really matters! There is actually an optimal time to send your messages. It will be different from brand to brand, and station to station but you can look at your statistics of your push messaging and see when you get the most responses. It is important to keep track of this and overtime you can fine tune your strategy to get the most engagement possible with your audience.
As what we found so far, the most engaging time tends to be around lunchtime, between 12pm – 2pm!

  1. Call to Action

This really has to be an important element of how you use your messages. The whole point of sending these messages is getting your audience to do something. So, make sure you are clear on what you want them to do and make it easy for them to do it. Once your user does click on your message make sure your link has a clear connection to the message. In other words, don’t make your users click around your app trying to figure out where they need to go for that specific notification. Your message should flow naturally and clearly! Push messages are a strategy to make your listeners life easier and more engaged, don’t make it difficult!
By using those 4 ingredients you will create successful push messages to engage your audience. Check out our Push Messaging 101 Webinar and contact our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin for more information regarding push messages! sari@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

Categories
App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps Push Notifications

6 Key Signs Your Company Needs a Mobile App

With the world becoming more mobile every day, it is important to stay ahead of your competition. With more and more of us spending most of our days glued to our smartphones, a mobile app may be the best way to reach your target market.
You may not know how to dive into a mobile app or may not know why a mobile app would be useful for their company, but there are unlimited problems that mobile apps can solve, and they can be created to be the perfect fit to your company’s needs. Also, companies can learn a thing or two on how they can step up their branding and customer relations.

Here are some signs your company needs a mobile app:
  • Your competitors have an app 

It is important that you stave above your competition and with technology today, most companies will be investing in and creating their very own mobile app to be able to reach their customers no matter where they are. Investing in designing your company’s application and you will know you have the app that perfectly reflects your brand and ideals.

  • Your site is not doing well on search

Ranking high on the Google index often equates to brand visibility. If your website has not been ranking well, you may be close to becoming obsolete. With your very own application, you can become more noticeable in the public eye, especially when you offer everything your customer could ever want.

  • You don’t have customer or public engagement 

With a user-friendly application, you can send out push notifications which provide customers developments in your business. By keeping your customers and the public in the loop, you are creating a variety of engagement among the community.

  • Build brand recognition

Companies are always looking for a way to expand their brands, you want to be able to create an effective program and solution that is up to date with today’s technology and generations. Aside that point, you want a program that can reflect the values of ideals of your organization. By putting out a mobile app, you can provide whatever features you decide that will certainly get your customers to know your brand.

  • Gain customer insight 

Mobile apps have the power to let business owners know the patterns, performance, and preferences. Through the features put forward in the program, developers can monitor and track the behaviors of the users. This knowledge allows your company to fine tune your services according to your consumer’s tastes.

  • Stand out from the crowd

Not only will having a mobile app create a competitive edge in the industry, but it will also have the public in aw about the way you approach your venture.
Working with a reliable and highly advanced local app developers and designers is well worth your investment. If you aren’t offering a mobile app to the public, seeing the wealth of advantages these companies bring might be worth considering.
We would love to talk to you about mobile strategy and help you take your company mobile. Contact our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin at sari@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030.

Categories
App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps Push Notifications

Push Messaging: How they work and how to use them

Push messaging, also known as push notifications are one of the strongest tools to engage listeners.
Before we get into the “hows” of push messages, let’s cover what a push message is exactly. Push messages are messages from an app publisher that are “pushed” directly to the user’s notification tray on their mobile device. Therefore, the notification pushes them to open up your app and engage.
But, before you just start sending out a million messages to your listeners, it is important to know how they work and exactly how to use them.

How Push Messages Work:

When a listener clicks on your push notification message they’ll land directly in your app or web page. You can set up your notification to either take your listeners to your home page or send them to a specific page that relates to the push message.
Push messaging works for three reasons:

  1. Urgency
  2. Timeliness
  3. Call to action

All three of these elements create engagement with your app and your listeners. Check out our webinar Push Notifications 101 to learn more.

How to Use Push Messages:

It is important to know your listeners and to know what they would like to receive from you through push notifications. Some ways to use push messages include:

  • Breaking News Alerts
  • Event Reminders
  • Program Alerts
  • Weather Updates
  • Contests
  • Coupons and Discounts

These are just a few of the common push messages that have seen successful open rates. These types of messages will pull in your listeners to your app and keep them engaged and excited for future events and reminders. Check out our webinar Push Notifications 101 to learn more.
Push messages are the tools that will help take your mobile app to the next level and we’d love to help you do it with our push notification solution. Contact our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin sari@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

Categories
Awards Mobile Apps Mobile Web

jācapps Named a Top Detroit Developer by Clutch

At jācapps we are inspired by the rapidly changing ecosystem of digital technology. This constant state of flux motivates us to be the top provider of innovative development products and apps that give our customers the best app in the market. Since our founding in 2008, we have adapted our techniques to incorporate the newest and most effective technologies so that your firm can focus on its bottom line, reaping all the benefits of your investment in us.
Our team works around the clock to make sure that we provide nothing less than exceptional service for our clients and we are proud to announce that our work has been recognized; we have been selected as a 2019 Leading Developer in Detroit by Clutch! A central piece in the ever-growing tech industry, Clutch is a web service provider and reviews platform that facilitates connections and disseminates information between firms seeking service providers, such as development firms like us and firms providing specific services such as Video Production or Social Media Marketing.

We are very excited to be included in this report as a result of our versatile expertise. In fact, we are featured among the leading UX design agencies in Detroit for 2019 and we view this as a testament to our ability to successfully deliver both well designed and developed products. Clutch rigorously evaluates firms before profiling them on their website and we were selected for this recognition based on our firm’s outstanding ability to deliver, our remarkable client satisfaction, and our overall brand strength. You can read our reviews on our Clutch Profile.
In addition to our presence on Clutch, our positive reviews have also led to our inclusion on The Manifest and Visual Objects, two of Clutch’s sister sites that provide additional resources and information for companies seeking solutions to their business problems. We have been named among the top mobile app development companies by The Manifest, a useful site that provides how-to-guides and valuable information for companies navigating the buyer’s journey. We are also excited to share our feature on Visual Objects- an innovative digital portfolio website, where we have been named among other top app developers.
Overall, we would like to thank our team here at jācapps for dedicating their time and efforts to helping us become a 2019 Clutch Leading Developer in Detroit. We remain dedicated to our pursuit of innovation and to pushing the barriers of technological development in the modern age. We look forward to the new projects we will undertake in the years to come and we are always here for your firm’s development needs!

Categories
Android Auto App Everywhere Apple CarPlay B2B Apps Mobile Apps

Are Apples Best Days Behind Them?

A question that keeps coming up… Are Apple’s best days behind them? The answer is “No, Apple’s best days are far from over!” Apple’s smartphone market share is increase!
According to eMarketer, iPhone’s market share in the US continues to grow, despite the challenges they have in oversea markets. Today there are 105.2 million people around the US that use Apple for smartphones or around 45.2% share of the country’s smartphone market. However, the growth doesn’t stop there, Apple’s market share will grow 0.1% each year through 2021.
“The variety of iPhones available at different price points has contributed to its continued success in the US,” said eMarketer forecasting director Shelleen Shum. “The Apple ecosystem along with the brand’s reputation for creativity and privacy, is still remarkably effective in maintaining user loyalty and attracting new users>” In fact, privacy was the hot topic a their recent press event.
Although Android will continue to take over the US smartphone market and growing 3/3% to 124.4 million people, Apple will still increase smartphone market share!
Additionally, the major players that carry the less-expensive smartphones overseas, will not have an immediate threat in the US because of the lack of availability from the local carriers. Overall, total smartphone usage will grow a huge 3.05 this year in the US market, reaching 232.8 million people! Smartphone usage will surpass 705 of the US population.
We offer both Apple and Android mobile app platforms and would love to talk to you about your mobile strategy!
Contact our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin sari@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

Categories
B2B Apps Mobile Apps news and press Push Notifications

Why Do You Need Push Notifications?

Push notifications can make a huge impact on your company’s success. But first, before we get into why you need push notifications, you may ask, what exactly is a push notification?
Push notifications, also know as push messages are a brief message or alert that is sent to a user’s notification panel through a mobile app and allows you to reach a large audience at one time. Push notifications are a great marketing tool that enhances your mobile app because it allows you to engage with your users in real time.That said, there are many reasons why you need push notifications.
 

Here are the top 4 reasons:

1.Push notifications enhance the user experience
Aside from using push notifications as a marketing tool, push notifications can be used to improve your user experience. This can be as simple to sending messages to notify your users about news, sports and weather alerts, contests and programming events.
2. Push notifications increase engagement, acquisition, and retention
Push notifications as a marketing tool have one of the highest open rates. Since push notifications don’t happen as often people are more likely to opt-in. Sending out the right number and highly relevant messages increases your customer engagement.
3. Push notifications allow you to notify your users based on topics
Topic based messages help you decided when to send certain messages. Since you don’t want to slam your users with too many notifications, topics help decides when to send certain messages.
4. Push notifications allow you to create targeted messages to your users
To create successful push notifications, you have to make sure that each notification speaks to your audiences. It’s easy to send targeted push messages because with permission your app will have access to your user’s profile.
We offer push notifications that are affordable, easy to use, and give you what you need without having to pay for a lot of features you don’t need. In the past year, other push messaging providers have really cranked up their prices, making this important function unaffordable for many.  We can provide you with a great system that’s not only affordable but designed with broadcasters in mind.
If you want more information about jācapps’ push messaging system, contact Sari Zalesin at Sari@jacapps.com

Categories
B2B Apps Mobile Apps news and press Podcasting Push Notifications Radio

New Comedy App Announcement: The Bob & Tom Show

Laugh Your App Off With New Comedy App for “The BOB & TOM Show”, Bringing the Funny to Your Fingertips
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, February 26, 2019 — The BOB & TOM Show , a favorite of millions and one of the longest-running and highest-rated radio programs in America, announces the launch of its new comedy app, created by award-winning mobile strategy and development company jācapps. The BOB & TOM Show app offers BOB & TOM fans the ease of listening to the show on their local station, as well as one-touch access to the BOB & TOM Comedy Channel, called “BOB & TOM 24/7”.  “BOB & TOM 24/7” features The BOB & TOM Show live every weekday morning, plus classic highlights, bits, songs and segments from the show’s rich archive of digital audio content. “BOB & TOM 24/7” also lets listeners replay the latest BOB & TOM Show.
The new app is loaded with listener-driven features that bring the funny to listeners’ fingertips, enabling them to easily join and become a BOB & TOM VIP and giving them access to The BOB & TOM Show Podcast and to The BOB & TOM Show Comedy Archives, a treasure trove of laughs from the packed BOB & TOM Show vault. The BOB & TOM Show app also allows BOB & TOM fans to watch the program live each weekday morning via a multi-camera, live video simulcast that adds another dimension to The BOB & TOM Show experience.
John Kesler, Chief Operating Officer, The BOB & TOM Show, said: “jācapps created a custom app that is simple to use, elegant looking, and a way for our fans to interact with the show, while enjoying an affiliate’s stream.”
Fred Jacobs, President, jācapps and Jacobs Media Strategies, said: “It’s a rare brand like BOB & TOM that has so much deep, rich content – perfect for a premium mobile experience. Working with their outstanding digital team, we’re excited about this new app. Now their listeners can enjoy the show any time and anywhere, and never have to worry about missing anything.”
The BOB & TOM Show is exclusively distributed by Westwood One and airs live weekday mornings from 6am-10am Eastern on 103 stations across the U.S. and on the American Forces Network worldwide. Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, The BOB & TOM Show features comedy, news, sports, lifestyle content, and interviews with today’s top actors, celebrities and newsmakers. The show is America’s leading media outlet for the best and developing comedians on the circuit, and also features live performances from musicians from all genres of music.
 
About The BOB & TOM Show
The BOB & TOM Show is a hilarious blend of comedy, talk, news, and sports and is one of the longest-running and highest-rated radio programs in America, airing live weekday mornings from 6am-10am ET. Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, The BOB & TOM Show is a favorite of millions and features news, sports, lifestyle content, and interviews with today’s top actors, celebrities and newsmakers. The show is also America’s leading media outlet for the best and developing comedians on the circuit. More than just a comedy show, The BOB & TOM Show also features live performances from musicians from all genres of music. The BOB & TOM Show is now heard on over 100 radio stations from coast to coast and the American Forces Network worldwide, in addition to The BOB & TOM Show podcast. Parodies, songs, bits, and more are produced by a large staff of writers, musicians, performers and misfits. In addition, The BOB & TOM Show has released more than 60 comedy albums, CDs and DVDs, and expanded its brand with popular live comedy show tours. For more information about The BOB & TOM Show, visit: www.bobandtominfo.com or contact Todd Alan at talan@westwoodone.com or at 212.735.1107.
 
Download the new The Bob & Tom Show app through iTunes or Google Play!

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