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Does Your Business Need a Mobile App? 5 Reasons Why You Might NOT Need One

In today’s digital age, technology has enabled businesses to reach their target audience through various platforms. One popular platform is mobile apps. While mobile apps offer a range of benefits, such as increased customer engagement, improved customer experience, and increased revenue, it’s essential to carefully consider whether investing in a mobile app aligns with your business goals and priorities. By analyzing your business needs and target audience, you can make an informed decision about whether investing in a mobile app is the right choice for your business. This blog will highlight five reasons your business may not benefit from a mobile app to help you decide whether it’s a worthy investment.

Your Site Serves as a Standalone Platform

Expanding on the idea, if the primary objective of developing an app is merely to recreate the features and capabilities of your website, it is not a recommended decision to proceed. Allocating financial resources and investing in marketing to promote an app that offers no additional value compared to your existing website would not yield worthwhile returns. An app should serve a distinct purpose and deliver unique benefits beyond your website.

Your Existing Digital Presence is Enough

Assess your online presence to determine if your business needs a mobile app. Evaluate if your website is responsive and provides a seamless mobile experience. If it does, investing in a mobile app may not be necessary. Instead, enhance your existing online platforms by optimizing your website, improving functionality, and enhancing user experience. This cost-effective approach can effectively cater to mobile users and reach a broader audience. Maximizing your current platforms allows you to meet customer needs without needing a separate mobile app. If you need help enhancing the functionality of your website, iManila offers web design and development services to cater to your needs.

An App Won’t Give Enough Value to Your Customers

Assess whether an app can add more value to your existing customers. Be sure that your mobile app will make your customers’ lives easier. If it fails, you’ll lose both your customers and money. Consider exploring alternative methods to engage with your audience and deliver value instead of relying solely on a mobile app. Various options are available, such as utilizing social media platforms, implementing email marketing strategies, and more. These alternatives provide similar functionalities and opportunities for engagement, eliminating the necessity of developing a dedicated mobile app.

Your Nature of Business is Unsuitable for Mobile App

Research your industry and competitors to determine if having a mobile app is becoming a standard practice. If there is no significant mobile app presence within your nature of business, it could indicate that other strategies are more effective for your specific market. Ultimately, it’s essential to stay informed and adapt your approach to meet your customers’ needs.

You Don’t Have Enough Budget

Financial factors should be taken into account when considering a mobile app. Creating a mobile app requires a significant investment covering design, development, maintenance, and regular updates. If your business has limited resources, then it’s wiser to allocate your budget to other areas that demand immediate attention.

A mobile app is a promising platform to increase engagement, leads, and sales, but it’s not for every business. If it doesn’t add more value to your customers, then it’s not worth investing in. Instead, focus on improving your existing platforms by regularly optimizing and updating them for maximum performance. Start by partnering with iManila to increase your digital presence.

iManila is an applications developer in the Philippines specializing in crafting customized web systems and mobile applications tailored to various industries. We also offer reliable web hosting solutions, including shared web hosting, business cloud hosting, and dedicated server hosting to meet your specific business requirements. iManila also excels in web design and development, offering website update and maintenance services and technical, desktop, and remote support services. As a top digital marketing agency, we also offer a wide range of digital marketing services. Talk to us!

Clock In to Success: How Automated Timekeeping Can Help Your Business

Time is a precious resource, and in the modern workplace, every second counts. This is why smart companies implement automated timekeeping. Going beyond punching in and out, timekeeping is about optimizing productivity and unlocking a workforce’s full potential. It ensures accurate payment and compliance with labor laws, helps with resource allocation and scheduling, and provides valuable data for performance evaluation.

In the pre-digital era, companies heavily relied on manual timekeeping methods. Punch cards, time clocks, and paper timesheets were the norm, which was prone to errors, were time-consuming and lacked real-time insights. And that’s where automated timekeeping steps in as a game-changer, revolutionizing how businesses manage their workforce.

This technology-driven solution allows businesses to streamline their workforce management processes, improve accuracy, and save valuable time. From using biometric scanners to web systems, employees can easily clock in and out and managers can effortlessly monitor and analyze data in real-time.

Automated timekeeping holds a paramount of benefits. If you want to know how it can help your business, keep on reading!

Increased Accuracy

Automated timekeeping eliminates the risk of manual errors. It ensures precise recording of employee time, reducing payroll discrepancies and promoting fairness in compensation.

Time and Resource Savings

With automated timekeeping, businesses save valuable time and resources that would otherwise be spent on manual calculations and paperwork. This allows managers and HR personnel to focus on strategic initiatives and employee development.

Improved Compliance

Automated timekeeping systems can enforce break and overtime policies, ensuring compliance with labor laws and regulations. This reduces the risk of non-compliance penalties and legal issues for the organization.

Enhanced Productivity

With streamlined timekeeping processes, employees can spend less time managing attendance and more time on productive work. This leads to increased overall productivity and efficiency in the workplace.

Data-Driven Insights

Automated timekeeping systems provide valuable data and analytics, offering insights into employee attendance patterns, labor costs, and workforce trends. This data can inform decision-making on labor allocation, scheduling, and budgeting.

Employee Empowerment

Automated timekeeping often allows employees to view their own time records, request time off, and manage their schedules. This fosters transparency, engagement, and a sense of ownership among employees.

Improved Record-Keeping

Automated timekeeping systems maintain accurate and organized records of employee time and attendance. This simplifies auditing, reporting, and record-keeping processes, ensuring data integrity and facilitating easy access to historical information when needed.

Scalability

Automated timekeeping solutions can easily adapt to the changing needs and growth of the organization. They can accommodate an increasing number of employees, multiple locations, and evolving business requirements.

Seamless Integration

Automated timekeeping can seamlessly integrate with other HR and payroll systems, allowing for efficient data exchange and streamlined processes.

Cost Savings

While there may be an upfront investment in implementing an automated timekeeping system, the long-term benefits and cost savings outweigh the initial costs. These savings come from reduced errors, improved productivity, streamlined processes, and efficient use of resources.

In today’s fast-paced business world, effective time management is the way to go. Reap all the above benefits and clock in to success by implementing automated timekeeping with iManila, a trusted website and applications developer!

With 27 years of experience in the industry and an IT company at its core, iManila, having been one of the first Internet Service Providers in the Philippines, is committed to providing our clients with innovative information technology, web, and digital solutions.

iManila is a full-service business web development company in the Philippines ready to help you with WordPress website creation or building an ecommerce website for your business. From web design and development and website update and maintenance, to web hosting, email hosting, and technical, desktop and remote support, we are your team. Aside from this, we are also a website and mobile applications development company specializing in customized web systems for businesses in different industries and a top digital marketing agency that provides a wide range of digital marketing services. Talk to us!

Agency vs. Freelancer: Choosing the Right Digital Partner

Having a strong online presence is non-negotiable in order to thrive in this digital age. And to achieve that, choosing the right digital partner is crucial – whether you need web design and development, web hosting, or digital marketing services. Oftentimes, the options boil down to two: hiring a freelancer or partnering with a digital agency.

Just like anything in this world, these two have their own strengths and weaknesses. As a business owner, it’s important to weigh these pros and cons before making a final decision. With that, let’s take a quick look at their attributes in the lens of things you must consider in choosing the right digital partner for your business.

Management

When hiring freelancers, the employers are usually the project managers. For this reason, if you have a large team of freelancers on your side, it will be a bit harder for you to manage. Some of the things that you need to do include facilitating collaboration, providing guidance, and authorizing freelancers throughout the project.

When it comes to an agency, you don’t need to be hands-on. You can depend on the team to strategize and assess your ads according to your targets and end goal. Not only that but you can be involved in the project to exactly the extent you want.

Cost

Freelancers set a rate according to their work, so you get to decide what fits your budget for your project. They have a choice to either have a fixed rate for the project or an hourly rate. Unlike agencies, it is easier to find a freelancer at almost any rate you want for any task.

Compared to freelancers, agencies are more expensive. With that said, however, they are more cost-effective in the long run since they have a team that can give you assurance. Here, you don’t need to give up your own time to the project as the payment since you can expect less back and forth with an agency, given that more hands are on deck when it comes to your project.

Skills

When hiring freelancers, it’s important to conduct thorough research to ensure they possess the specific skills required for your project. While beginners may offer limited services, experienced freelancers often specialize in niche areas, making the selection process more challenging. You need to carefully identify the exact skills you need for your specific project.

However, if you’re pressed for time and require a diverse range of skills to handle your project, a digital agency is the perfect solution. With an agency, you can easily access a wide array of services and find experts with the relevant expertise. Unlike freelancers, agencies offer a comprehensive skill set and have the capacity to tackle complex issues and optimize digital campaigns. Working with an agency means tapping into a pool of diverse talents and capabilities.

Communication

In terms of communication, working with a freelancer often means relying on a single point of contact. While this can offer a more personalized experience, this could also mean that if that person becomes unavailable, it can be challenging to find an immediate solution to address your concerns. This can cause delays and frustration in the project execution.

On the other hand, digital agencies have a structured communication approach. They often have dedicated account managers and project coordinators who act as your main points of contact. These professionals ensure smooth and consistent communication throughout the project. Also, they have a team of skilled individuals to address your specific needs and queries.

Choice of People to Work With

When hiring a freelancer, you have the advantage of handpicking the individual who best suits your project. This allows you to consider factors such as communication style, personality, and specific skills required.

On the other hand, when partnering with a digital agency, you may not have direct control over the specific specialist assigned to your project. However, you can rely on the agency’s extensive portfolio and experience to ensure high-quality work. If you find that the initially assigned account manager doesn’t meet your expectations, the agency can address your concerns. They can provide you a more suitable replacement.

In today’s digital realm, finding a reliable partner is key to unlocking success for your business. While freelancers bring specialized skills to the table, collaborating with a digital agency offers the added advantage of working with a reputable and established entity. With a proven track record of success, agencies have a talented team of professionals with diverse expertise. This enables them to provide comprehensive services and ensure the optimal use of your marketing budget. Have the peace of mind that your projects are entrusted to capable hands with a team like iManila!

iManila is a full-service business web development company in the Philippines ready to help you with WordPress website creation or building an ecommerce website for your business. From web design and development and website update and maintenance, to web hosting, email hosting, and technical, desktop and remote support, we are your team. Aside from this, we are also a website and mobile applications development company specializing in customized web systems for businesses in different industries and a top digital marketing agency that provides a wide range of digital marketing services. Talk to us!

7 Ways a CRM Can Help You Build a Long-Lasting Customer Relationship

Customers are the driving force behind any company’s fate. They can make businesses exist or cease in a snap. That being said, building and maintaining a strong relationship with them is crucial to your company’s success. This is where Customer Relationship Management (CRM) comes in handy.

CRM is a web application that allows companies to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. It provides a framework for building and maintaining positive relationships with customers, which ultimately leads to increased customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue.

If you want to know how CRM systems can bring your customer relationship to the next level, keep on reading!

A better understanding of customers

CRM provides a 360-degree view of each customer hence, giving businesses a complete understanding of their consumer base. By storing all their information in one location, a CRM system makes personalizing communication with customers easy. A CRM system also allows businesses to track all past customer interactions. Thus, giving them a better understanding of who their customers are and what they need and want, as well as the details of regular interactions with them.

A powerful tool for segmentation

Effective customer segmentation is crucial for businesses to build meaningful relationships with their customers. To achieve this, businesses need to identify their target audiences and tailor their approach accordingly. Fortunately, CRM is an ideal tool for segmentation. It allows businesses to create segmented lists by categorizing customer data based on various criteria. A good CRM system can even help identify interested customers, those still considering their options, and those who are not yet engaged.

Improved customer retention

A CRM is not just useful for acquiring and nurturing potential and new customers. It is also essential for maintaining good relationships with your existing customers. A CRM system provides numerous benefits for customer retention, including reminders for appointments and follow-up emails. This ensures businesses are in touch with their customers.

Knowledge of customers’ needs

Having knowledge of what to expect can provide us with confidence, and this also applies to the business world. CRM systems can provide businesses with knowledge of customer buying habits, purchase history, and interaction history. This helps them cross-sell or upsell products and provide better customer service.

Speedy communication

Being responsive to customer requests in a timely manner is a sign of professionalism and can help improve customer service. A CRM system can help with this by providing customizable email templates, documents, proposals, quotes, invitations, and newsletters. In this way, businesses can save time and increase efficiency. Also, CRM systems allow businesses to draft and schedule emails and SMS messages in advance which is great too!

Protection of private data

A CRM system enhances data privacy by centralizing customer data and providing controls to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. It also offers security features like encryption and data backups to prevent data breaches. Lastly, by keeping track of customer preferences and consent, CRM systems ensure that businesses are only using customer data in ways that align with their preferences and privacy regulations.

Easy internal collaboration

A good CRM system not only enhances customer relationships but also fosters collaboration within the organization. It improves internal communication and transparency, enabling mutual understanding on projects, and consistent image presentation. It places the customer at the center and ensures employees approach and maintain customer relationships in a unified way.

In today’s highly competitive business landscape, having a comprehensive CRM system in place is important. If you’re ready to take the leap and invest in this web application system, talk to the experts in iManila!

Web Apps vs. Mobile Apps: Which Is Most Suited For Your Business?

Many people mistakenly believe that websites and mobile applications are the same thing, when in fact they have huge differences. These two are designed and developed differently. Thus, possess distinct characteristics that affect their usability, functionality, and user experience. If you’re considering developing an app for your business, it’s important to understand these differences. This can help you make an informed decision on which type of app to develop based on your target audience, user needs, and business objectives.

To assist you in your decision-making process, we’ve outlined the primary differences of web and mobile apps in this blog. Let’s take a look!

Web Apps

A website application, or simply web app, is a software application that’s accessible through a web browser over the internet. It runs on a remote server and can be accessed through a variety of devices including computers and smartphones. It doesn’t require users to download and install them on their devices. As long as they have an internet connection, they’re all set.

Advantages:

Cross-Platform Compatibility: Website applications can be accessed through any device with a web browser. This makes them easily accessible on any platform or operating system.
No Downloads or Installations: Web apps don’t require downloading or installation. It saves users storage space on their devices and reduces the time needed to access them.
Easy Maintenance: Since website applications have a single code base, updating and maintaining them is easier and more cost-effective.
Lower Development Costs: Developing a web app can be less expensive than developing a native app for different platforms.
Easy to Share: Sharing web apps is simple because they can be accessed through a URL.

Disadvantages:

Limited Functionality: Website applications don’t have access to the same system resources as native apps. With this, it has limited functionalities and performance.
Dependence on Internet Connection: Web apps require a stable internet connection to work properly. This can be a disadvantage in areas with poor connectivity.
Security Risks: Website applications are vulnerable to security threats like hacking, phishing, and malware attacks because they are accessible through the internet.
Not Ideal for Complex Apps: Web apps are not suitable for complex apps that require advanced hardware or software features.
Limited User Experience: Native apps offer a more customized and personalized user experience compared to web apps. These are more generic and standardized.

Mobile Apps

As the name itself, mobile app is a software application designed to run on mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. It is typically downloaded from an app store like Google Play Store or Apple App Store. They are specifically designed to run on a mobile device’s operating system, such as Android or iOS. It takes advantage of the device’s hardware, including its touch screen, camera, GPS, and other features.

Advantages:

Accessibility: Mobile applications are easily accessible from anywhere and anytime through smartphones and tablets.
Offline availability: There are mobile apps that can be accessed even without an internet connection. This allows users to use them in areas with poor or no network coverage.
Enhanced user experience: Mobile applications provide a better user experience than web apps. Since they are designed specifically for mobile devices, users can utilize device-specific features like touchscreens, cameras, and GPS.
Personalization: Mobile apps can be personalized to each user’s preferences. This makes them feel more connected to the app and more likely to continue using it.
Push notifications: Mobile applications can send push notifications to users, providing reminders, updates, and other important information.

Disadvantages:

Development cost: Developing a mobile app can be expensive, especially if it needs to be developed for multiple platforms.
Maintenance cost: Maintaining a mobile application can also be costly, requiring regular updates and bug fixes.
Device compatibility: Mobile apps may not be compatible with all devices, limiting the app’s reach and accessibility.
App store approval process: Mobile apps must go through an approval process before they can be listed in app stores. This can be time-consuming and costly.
Limited functionality: Mobile apps may have limited functionality compared to web apps, especially in terms of data processing and storage.

Bottomline

There are a lot of factors to consider when developing an app for your business. Make sure to think of your audience and choose what can provide the best possible experience to them. Another thing, for easier and outstanding application development, partner with a tech company that has proven its expertise and reliability in application development like iManila.

With 27 years of experience in the industry and an IT company at its core, iManila, having been one of the first Internet Service Providers in the Philippines, is committed to providing our clients with innovative information technology, web, and digital solutions.
iManila is a full-service business web development company in the Philippines ready to help you with WordPress website creation or building an ecommerce website for your business. From web design and development and website update and maintenance, to web hosting, email hosting, and technical, desktop and remote support, we are your team. Aside from this, we are also an applications development company specializing in customized web systems for businesses in different industries and a top digital marketing agency that provides a wide range of digital marketing services. Talk to us!

Your Quick Guide to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System refers to a software program that enables businesses to conveniently keep track of all customer-related communications. It replaces the use of multiple spreadsheets, databases, and apps used to track client data, streamlining the workflow. Thus, CRM systems ensure a smooth and coherent process in the whole customer journey. As an end result, it helps organizations with efficiency, productivity, and relationship building with clients.

Main types of CRM systems

Although CRMs are all-in-one tools and can pull in various features from each type, knowing the different types will help you learn the most important CRM features for your business. If you’re just starting out and are looking for the best CRM systems to use, then this blog will definitely help.

Collaborative CRM systems

As the name suggests, Collaborative CRM systems help companies to connect multiple departments, such as sales, marketing, and customer service. In return, this ensures their organized daily work is based on single-source customer data. Using this system enables all teams to have quick access to all customer data. Hence, preventing data duplication or data loss and increases teams’ productivity in the process.

Operational CRM Systems

An operational CRM System is a type of service that centralizes on streamlining and automating diverse workflows for customer-facing teams. It has flexible tools that are used to create, monitor, and optimize customer-facing business processes.

Unlike collaborative CRMs that use single-source data access and unified data management, operational CRM systems focus on operational excellence and automation for each business unit.

Analytical CRM Systems

For businesses looking to provide in-depth business intelligence based on customer data, then this is the one for you. Basically, these CRMs feature multiple types of analytics such as interactive dashboards, campaign pipelines, workflow-embedded analytics, text & speech analytics, and more. This CRM is typically great for reporting capabilities and ensuring transparency of customer-facing activities for managers and executives.

All-in-one CRM systems

Compared to other CRM system features here, All-in-one CRM systems enable organizations to automate back-office workflows and operations. It provides a full range of workflow automation, collaboration, and analytical capabilities. In return, it allows full-cycle automation of all business units. Overall, it serves as a unified solution for workflow automation for enterprise-level organizations across marketing, sales, service, and operations.

All-in-one CRMs offer tons of benefits for workflow-intensive organizations in such industries as FinServ, Manufacturing, or Telecom, where adherence to standards is essential.

CRM Systems are an essential part of business operations. So if you’re looking for help setting up one for your organization, then let iManila help!

iManila is an applications development company specializing in customized web systems for businesses in different industries. With 27 years of experience in the industry and an IT company at its core, iManila, having been one of the first Internet Service Providers in the Philippines, is committed to providing our clients with innovative information technology, web, and digital solutions.

On top of this, iManila is also a full-service business web development company in the Philippines ready to help you with your web design and development, website update and maintenance, web hosting, email hosting, dedicated server, technical, desktop and remote support needs and a digital marketing agency that provides a wide range of digital marketing services. Talk to us!

What is a Web Application and How Can It Help Your Business?

Web application has evolved into an integral component of modern business. When compared to desktop programs, they offer a wider range of business benefits. To be specific, it’s helpful in enhancing corporate operations, integrating complex systems, and getting the most out of your business. Instead of being installed, web apps can be accessed from any computer through the internet. They are stored on a remote server and delivered over the internet through a browser interface.

Whether you’re a small startup or a huge corporation, you could definitely benefit from this. Read further as we share how web applications actually work and how they can put your business on top!

How Do Web Applications Work

Web applications don’t need downloading since they can be accessed through a web browser. Typically, it only requires a small team to develop and has a short development cycle. Building the application’s front end is done using JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS. While, the back end uses languages like Python, Java, and Ruby for server-side programming.

Web apps also require a web server that manages the incoming requests from clients, an application server that executes the requested task, and a database that stores necessary information.

Advantages of Using Web Applications for Your Business

Platform-agnostic

Web applications are highly flexible and accessible since they are not built for a specific platform. Users can use the app regardless of their operating system and device type. In return, it eliminates the need for developers to create different versions for each platform.

Low cost and easy maintenance

Popular coding languages are used in developing and maintaining web applications. Hence, it requires less development time, making them cheaper than other forms of applications. Furthermore, maintaining it is cost and time efficient as updates and patches can be done on the server side and automatically sent to all users.

Secure live data

They provide real-time data security benefits by combining larger, more complicated systems and data sources, decreasing the need for separate systems. This blocks access to data and backend servers, adding safety measures.

No App Marketplace

Web app developers have more flexibility regarding when and how they release their apps. The reason behind this is that they don’t need to obey the operating system standards that typically traditional apps require.

Automatic Update

Users don’t have to worry about managing updates or downloading patches to keep their web apps up-to-date. Instead, when they open a web app, they are always presented with the latest version. This can be particularly convenient for users who use multiple devices, as they can access the same up-to-date version of the web app regardless of their device.

Highly deployable

Once a web application has been installed on the host, the user can access it using the URL. It is ideal when bandwidth is limited, and users are remote from the system and data. In conclusion, this expands access to multiple systems, streamlines operations, and improves relationships by giving access to consumers, suppliers, and any third parties.

In today’s business world, web applications are essential for streamlining operations and engaging customers. Take advantage of the benefits – team up with a professional web development and applications development company to take your business to the next level. Get in touch with iManila today and find out how we can help!

iManila is a full-service business web development company in the Philippines ready to help you with your web design and development, website update and maintenance, web hosting, email hosting, dedicated server, technical, desktop and remote support needs. Aside from this, we are also an applications development company specializing in customized web systems for businesses in different industries and a digital marketing agency that provides a wide range of digital marketing services. Talk to us!

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