Since the launch of the ipad the excitement about mobile apps which has been creating a buzz in the tech world for a couple of years has exploded into the mainstream. The Number of apps available and the number of downloads are reported in numbers too large to compute and it’s been predicted that mobile phone app growth will be ten-fold in the next decade. The birth of new technology brings with it the emergence of new cultural practices. It’s not the technology as such, but the change in consumer behaviour that’s significant. We now want relevant information when we want it. A desire made possible through application technology and it goes into all aspects of our daily lives: The future holds apps in television set-top boxes, in car electronics, for personal and increasingly for business communications.

Although RIM’s Blackberry has previously  dominated business, the iphone is quickly emerging as the premier wireless smart phone device and is gaining popularity in the corporate world. Of late, iphone apps have come to play a major role in business travel as senior executives rely more and more on their iphone for basic business tasks, such as grabbing data from the company’s computer system, managing a website as well as viewing, editing and storing word and excel documents. One new application and a great example of app use in business is “Shoeboxed”. Available free, it digitises your receipts and lets you generate an expense report on your phone. Ultimately, with the move to cloud computing where content and software are served from the web rather than the desktop, the iphone and ipad replace the laptop and allow for lighter travel with less to worry and hassle. It could even offer a paperless office solution in the near future. In regards to developer support, the iphone definitely has the momentum over rivals.

According to RIM, 80% of their new subscriptions (for the Blackberry) are consumers and not businesses. Once the corporate phone of choice, the Blackberry is becoming increasingly popular with …teenagers. Perhaps the antithesis of a financial company’s business leaders, the new Blackberry owner demands more entertainment apps (Games, Music) and therefore, RIM developers are focusing more and more on this type of application. We predict that the Blackberry will slowly go out of fashion as a business accessory.

Apps in Finance – where do we stand and where are we going?

Bank of America has been in the news with some very impressive figures on new adoption rates of their mobile phone application. The mobile banking app includes an ATM locator, balance checking, transfers and bill payment and has attracted more than 200 000 users to the new service each month. Excellent results, but could they have gone further? Their app combines services that are individually already available for mobile, missing the opportunity to add value to the apps market. Keeping in mind the importance of internet banking to both providers and users, the future should bring excellent opportunities for a range of financial services applications. How about an app for applying for a personal loan, a travel insurance app or a risk appetite app? As Brett King, author of BANK2.0 and founder of the International Academy of Financial Management summarises: “We are about to enter another phase of disruptive technology innovation. It is time for banks to make fundamental changes to adapt to the networked consumer”.

Clearly, it’s a dynamic time for application development. However, be aware that in order to launch a successful app, it’s necessary to have a sound application development and launch strategy to meet market needs and to get noticed amongst the thousands of available applications.

Banks are facing a huge challenge to improve their image in consumers’ minds. As human behaviour evolves and more and more customers use digital media to communicate, the need for financial service sector companies to join the online conversation grows. Even though the use of social media networks in business is still a new concept and has its own challenges, some financial service sector companies have already realised the importance of it and are successfully using the technology. The lesson to be learnt is a simple one: Listen to what your customers have to say, engage them in conversation on their terms and learn from the views they express.

We’ve looked at how First Direct implemented its 2009 Social Media Campaign.

First Direct Live – Tell us what you’re thinking…

“I think it’s extraordinary that you don’t offer online banking for Apple Mac users. Nor an iPhone application for online banking. You’re excluding a large sector of highly paid people from your bank” (19.11.09 9.08am).

This comment was made by a First Direct customer and posted on the First Direct Live website for all to see. It is part of the ongoing Social Media Campaign, which was launched in March 2009. In a brave attempt to capture what their customers thought about them, First Direct invited feedback from consumers about the brand and gathered and analysed sentiment from various social media sites. The results are featured on their website in real time.

The website (http://www.live.firstdirect.com) features three widgets. The first one shows the comments, which are left directly on the site by users. The second features “live feelings” retrieved from around the web and updates on an hourly basis, whereas the third widget displays single words gathered from social media sites.

The campaign reinforces the idea that First Direct is open, honest and transparent. Some of the comments and sentiments made by customers on the site are not positive. However, First Direct recognise that these conversations are happening online anyway. By embracing this and publishing the results on the official website, First Direct has achieved a degree of control over the conversation. More importantly, they’ve gained trust by trusting others. The comment above clearly demonstrates that listening to your customers and engaging with them results in valuable insight, that can be leveraged to achieve positive brand change.

“Online comments are part of life now and it is better to embrace it” (Lisa Wood, Head of Marketing).

Admittedly, first direct has always been a digital organisation and was popular with their customers to begin with. The risk of featuring live comments and sentiments was therefore not as high as it may be for other less popular brands. However, there is a lot to be learnt from this leading example. The key is to find out where the conversation about you is happening, join it, learn from it and share it.