APPsolutely Practical! Advantages of Business Apps in the CRM Environment

Everyone knows apps today from their private use of smartphones and tablets. Apps were established a few years ago through the spread of the Apple iPhone. Other providers have quickly followed suit and today there is an unmanageable variety of apps in all worlds such as iOS, Android and Windows for almost every conceivable application.

The reasons for the great popularity of apps are obvious:

  • AvailabilityThe user can download them at lightning speed from the well-known app stores.
  • SecurityThanks to the security precautions of the stores, the user can be very sure not to download any viruses / worms to the device.
  • SpeedApps can be opened and closed at lightning speed, completely eliminating the clumsiness of many desktop applications.
  • Always Up-to-DateApps update themselves automatically in the background, without the user having to worry.
  • Usability: Due to the limited screen space on mobile devices, app developers are forced to limit themselves to the essentials. This results in (mostly) applications that are child’s play to operate.

Business Apps

All of these advantages can be transferred excellently to the application of apps in companies. Today’s employees increasingly expect the ease of their privately used apps from professionally used software. Today more than ever, cumbersome, overly complicated software is perceived as a burden and not as a benefit. For this reason, when selecting CRM software that is operated on the desktop or notebook, more and more attention is paid to the simplicity and flexibility of the user interfaces and the operating concept.

Today’s users want information to be available quickly – even when on the move. In particular, this gives the IT department of a company a stomachache, since in times of ByoD (Bring your own Device) it must ensure that business data that is accessed on mobile devices must not fall into the wrong hands. Another aspect that IT is concerned with is the ease with which these “clients” can be administered.

Looking at the technological possibilities, the market now offers both users and IT managers very interesting solutions. In customer-oriented departments such as marketing, sales and service, employees can already access existing CRM applications via apps and data from other systems (ERP, DMS, etc.) via interfaces. These apps are – if necessary – customized by CRM providers on the basis of standard solutions to meet the special needs of users. The advantages are obvious: Small, easy to use and quickly available solutions that optimally support the individual employee in a defined process. These apps also offer a lot of convenience in the areas of security and administration.

Example Trade Fair or Customer Visit

Employees can use a customized CRM app via smartphone or tablet to quickly enter contact data of new contacts, fill in trade fair reports, support conversations with an electronic product catalog and, depending on the expressed needs of the contacts, send info mails directly. Automatisms in the background can even be used to distribute tasks to internal sales staff, for example, and to submit resubmissions. The employee can use classic “dead times” at the airport or in the hotel to carry out preparation and follow-up work, and does not have to bother the office if he needs certain documents or other information about customers or prospects at short notice. All information such as contact data, histories, evaluations and documents are immediately available via CRM app depending on the application.

Conclusion

Thanks to modern app technology and highly flexible customizing options, companies can provide their employees with tailor-made business apps. What years ago was largely fiction and wishful thinking has now arrived in practice. Correctly implemented and well-established apps reduce administrative effort and increase productivity and employee motivation in the associated departments.