Page 37 - Optus Future of Business Report 2013

36
OPTuS FuTuRe OF BuSINeSS
Mobile growth shows great
potential to engage customers
InSIghTTechNoloGy
where mobile apps are headed
Organisations and their customers report a growing interest and
affinity for mobile apps. Organisations are also looking internally
to see how apps can better mobilise their workforce, especially
to aid sales for workers in the field.
Today 40% of organisations use apps to engage customers,
while 71% plan to do so in the future. The main reason 65%
of organisations cite for offering apps to their customers is
convenience and simplicity, followed by customer expectations
(47%). Customer satisfaction is cited by 40% of organisations, while
being seen as innovative, generating revenue and reaching new
customers are further reasons for using apps.
Consumers also say they value apps, particularly those that are
more functional, interactive and transactional. Today 30% of
consumers engage with organisations through their mobile apps
but 63% expect to be able to do so in three to five years.
More than a third of consumers (34%) expect organisations to
offer a self-service account management app over the next three
to five years. This is especially true for half of information services
and telco, and financial services and insurance consumers. A third
of consumers expect organisations to provide informative apps,
especially in education and training (44%), manufacturing (40%)
and storage (40%). Nearly a third of consumers wanted an app to
buy products and services or pay bills, although the expectation
is greater for information media and telco (38%), transport and
storage (35%), and manufacturing (34%).
Businesses expect to enhance their ability to provide transactional
apps, with 43% developing or planning to develop booking and
scheduling apps and 40% looking at apps offering location-based
services. Around 30% are developing or planning mobile purchasing
and payments apps for customers.
MOST CITED REASONS FOR BUSINESSES USING OR INTENDING
TO USE MOBILE APPS
(%)
65 47 29 28 40 30
CONVENIENCE
AND SIMPLICITY
FOR CUSTOMERS CUSTOMERS
EXPECT IT
TO INCREASE
CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
TO BE
SEEN AS
INNOVATIVE
TO
GENERATE
REVENUE
REACH
NEW
CUSTOMERS
MOBILE
At present consumers mainly use
mobile to access organisations’
websites, but expect apps and
mobile payments to be commonly
available in three to five years.
Today 40% of organisations
use apps to engage customers,
while 71% plan to do so in
three to five years.
71%
40%