'App'ing up the Ante: Why Entrepreneurs Build Apps for their Businesses Date:   Thursday , February 02, 2017 Headquartered in New Delhi, Instappy is a leading cloud-based app building platform that enables the app developers to build mobile applications for iOS and Android platforms even without the sophisticated coding skills. Disruptions, developments, and transformations - these are the words that most aptly define the present market scenario. The centre of power is shifting from the incumbent market leaders to new and emerging entrepreneurs throughout the world. Driven by innovation, this shift is giving modern-day businesses a much-needed opportunity to stand toe-to-toe with established industry giants, changing the narrative of the entire industry that erstwhile believed in conventional methods for achieving success. The influence of technology on the society has become so deeply entrenched that even standard brick-and-mortar stores are now offering their products through online channels. This makes us understand the effectiveness of the internet and why creating a mobile application has become even more essential in the ever-changing dynamics of the global business ecosystem. Mobile Technology, the Way Forward Desktops, which were once preferred over laptops for a multitude of reasons, are now slowly being phased out due to their limited functionality. Owing to the fast-paced lifestyles prevalent today, the youth prefers to be highly functional and productive at all times during a day. Shopping during the daily commute, extending holidays abroad by availing work from home, and over-the-phone meetings are all a part and parcel of the daily functioning of today\'s generation. Mobility offers them unmatched comfort and convenience in meeting their day-to-day requirements and enhances their productivity. India, the fastest-growing mobile economy across the globe, has left behind the U.S. in terms of the number of smartphone users and is projected to witness an exponential increase in its smartphone user base over the next four years. In order to ensure survivability, entrepreneurs have to maintain relevance with mobile technology, for a failure to do so may see their businesses reduced in significance despite the potential of their ideas. Fading Brand Loyalty: A Curse or a Boon? The time when it was hard for a new player to make a dent in the market due to consumer\'s brand loyalty is long past, for modern-day consumers are now driven by the quality and convenience offered by a brand. They are, moreover, more inclined towards experimentation and believe in breaking away from the norm to test newer brands that best cater to their demands. This scope for market disruption has created greater opportunity for relatively new businesses around the world. Consumers are moving towards more innovative and creative brands that are agile, flexible and relevant. Mobile apps, with their personalised approach and fingertip accessibility, allow brands to become companions to consumers rather than just service providers. Relevant Business Data Mobile applications enable entrepreneurs to acquire relevant data which can help them boost their business. Analysing case-specific consumer browsing patterns with respect to the output can help in achieving higher conversion rates. Additionally, it enables businesses to track the location of their users, and correlate the impact of their physical locations on a particular consumer activity. This allows them to identify high consumer traffic areas that can become the prime focus point for their marketing campaigns. Increased Effective Reach The advent of smartphone has increased the effective reach of businesses across the globe. With the massive smartphone adoption and increasing digital literacy across geographies, even the remotest areas have now become much more accessible to businesses. The high-utility and interactive smartphone is serving as a tool to connect a brand directly with its target consumer base, providing businesses with a direct marketing channel to engage with consumers. Cost-Effective Technology Creating an application enables entrepreneurs to increase their cost-effectiveness. A consumer-centric and business-oriented mobile application allows a company to efficiently utilise its resources by taking care of its major business functions. This allows brands to work with a lean team and have a multipronged business approach. Tech-Synced Image Modern-day businesses are aligning themselves with out-of-the-box ideas to increase their creativity and brand value. This includes ground-breaking methods to increase their productivity, innovative techniques for brand building, and new ways to increase their traction as well as brand visibility. For example, high-end restaurants are cultivating a distinctly modern image by offering their consumers mobile tablets instead of the traditional menu. Users can place their order from the application itself, which then reaches the restaurant\'s kitchen. The most critical aspect of this technology is that it not only builds a consumer perception that acknowledges the business to be more synced with technology, but also helps foster greater efficiency. This tech-driven approach is being adopted by entrepreneurs across various market segments, both online and offline, making apps the focal point of the interaction between businesses and consumers.