Apps were once seen as a luxury afforded only to larger companies to promote their offer to an online audience, but are fast becoming an accessible tool for SMEs looking to increase their business as the cost of development decreases.

According to figures released by Apple in 2014, more than 75 billion apps have been downloaded since the company introduced the concept to their virtual marketplace.

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, which has seen employees use their own devices, has generated growth in work related apps. Approximately 60% of UK SMEs use cloud-based applications on mobile devices, according to a survey from the British Chambers of Commerce and BT Business.

A survey, conducted among more than 400 IT decision makers at UK firms with fewer than 250 staff. 43% of those surveyed said that cloud-based applications were vital to the effective flexible working of their companies, with 52% claiming access to company data was equally critical.

SMEs can also use apps to further reduce costs in a variety of ways. EDF Energy, for example, has developed an app that means that SMEs can remotely monitor and control energy usage. Meanwhile, Kashoo, a service providing financial statements, offers a free iPad and tablet app to customer with full bookkeeping features, automated bank data imports and expense tracking. Box offer a service for employees to share and edit files with customers and the public through their phones and tablets.

Many SMEs say that finding apps to connect effectively with customers or empower staff as they don’t have the resources to carry out sufficient research to develop their own apps. However, there are a growing number of companies are springing up to meet the requirements of SMEs looking to develop their own apps.

AppInstitute, for example, offers a self-service, cloud-based platform for SMEs to create their own mobile applications, and claims to be the only kind of company to offer this kind of product in the UK: it’s client base includes the OCR examining board at Cambridge University (a company that creates GCSE study guides for students), to NHS patient feedback systems.

Ian Naylor, founder and CEO, was working for a web developer in Sydney Australia in 2009 when the app revolution was just starting:

“One day I had an ‘aha moment’, that wouldn’t it be cool if our content management system could build apps, rather than websites,”

Within three months, he had left his position as vice president of the business and spent a year in Thailand working on concepts. He continued:

“Once the concept and focus was refined to the SME market I returned to the UK to start the business, and haven’t looked back since.”

Ian Naylor found affordable office space and a talent pool in Nottingham’s Creative Quarter, saying that his move back to the UK was encouraged through leading incubators and strong clusters of technology-based business hubs.

Communication and customer loyalty are two high demand features across all SME sectors. According to Naylor, SMEs are generally much closer to their customers than larger companies, which means that (with the right app) they can benefit more directly from increased engagement:

“Most businesses we work with are owners/managers, and are face to face with their customers every day, so they’re looking for solutions that don’t get in the way of that interaction, but nurture it.”

Some examples include medical practices that have improved their patient waiting time for appointments, as well as takeaways and restaurant which have seen their customer value double.

Most businesses start trying to create an app that is simply a mobile version of their website which is a mistake:

“When it comes to app design and making a really useful app, less is most definitely more,

“Picking one or two core use cases, and focusing the app around them makes for a much more useable and ultimately successful app. This mindset can been seen with all the big mobile first players, such a Facebook to FourSquare, who are all deconstructing their apps into many smaller versions, doing specific tasks, rather than one behemoth.”

Ian Naylor added:

“Ultimately, a great app needs to provide additional value to the customer, just moving them from web to mobile paradigms isn’t enough. The app needs to reward them for making the change, that might be more convenience in communication, quicker service, or just in time discounts or offers, based on actions, locations or previous actions.”

According to AppInstitute, apps for a number of takeaway food business have seen an average 17% uplift in takeaway orders when a customer starts to use an app because the press of a single button cans allow a customer to re-order from their order history.

“Spending sub-20 seconds, rather than minutes on the phone rattling through your order,

“[which] means there is much less friction in the buying process, and so a much higher chance a customer is likely to do it more often.”

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Words: Peter Cribley