Having an App is Now as Important as a Company Website

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A few decades ago, enterprises banked upon touch points like face-to-face, telephonic and postal services for customer interaction. Today, customers care centers serve customers not only through telephonic connection, but also through a variety of online channels, the latest game-changer being the use of customer care app for smartphones and tablets.

With around 2 billion people using smartphones currently and more than 200 million using smartphones in India in 2016, mobile has become a way of life. Even the not-so internet savvy customers are seen holding a smartphone, owing to its user friendliness by virtue of having apps installed on it. As per a study, by 2017 mobile apps will be downloaded more than 268 billion times, generating revenue of more than $77 billion.

Few years ago, everyone wanted to have an app because it was the cool thing to do. Today, every business NEEDS an app in order to get closer to their customers to deliver effective and prompt service, if not generating revenues. I was just going through our newly revamped  mySchneider app and realized how important it is to create an app. It is a known fact that smartphone users spend 80% of their time using apps vs. 20% of time on the web. I think a big reason for this is convenience.

Most of us find opening browsers to access Facebook more cumbersome, instead it’s so much easier to quickly access it through the Facebook app. So in a nutshell, if an enterprise has content on its website that is regularly accessed, one should strongly consider developing an app to make it more convenient for its users.

That is why we have brought out a new avatar of our customer care app, rechristened  as the mySchneider app that offers  productivity -improving tools in three areas: Tailored Services, 24/7 Self-service, and Connect to Schneider Electric. The app is destined to change our customer care center landscape by facilitating anytime-anywhere interactions and ensuring enhanced customer experience.