Thursday, 10 November 2016

Mobile Apps for NGOs


Has your NGO faced the challenge of connecting with stakeholders? If your NGO is working in a domain where your stakeholders have all easy access to laptops or desktop computers, then probably you must have figured out that the easiest way to stay connected is through your websites.

However, chances are that the profile of your majority stakeholders is such that they belong to low-income groups, illiterate people, living in remote areas, lacking 24x7 electricity support, poor data connection / network, and to expect your stakeholders to be easily accessible to you is almost impossible. First, they may not have easy access to laptops or desktop computers to stay connected through your website. Then, they will have electricity coming on and off, and it would be difficult for them to keep even their devices in charged conditions at all times. And even if they somehow manage to do that, then the data network would be so bad that accessing internet could become a task in itself.

A mobile app can be a great switchover for NGOs in changing times. We have seen that the success of mobile platforms has brought about a revolution in various industries.  Today mobile phone has become the most popular device for accessing Internet. With India emerging as the country having the highest number of Internet users, it is the right time for NGOs in India to invest in mobile apps, rather than invest on having a website.

NGOs have been engaging with their stakeholders through their websites for donations and volunteerism, but a mobile app can quickly emerge as an entirely new way to connect with constituencies. Mobile apps are all about approaching and engaging with members in an altogether new technological setup, and offering them a totally different experience for receiving information as compared to websites.
A mobile app is technologically far superior to a website for any interaction between companies or institutions on the one hand and the end user on the other. A customized application downloaded to the smart phones or tablets is easy to use and can facilitate not only easy communication but also direct and open communication with users, because mobile phones are carried by the users all the time, wherever they are and whatever they are doing. There can always be push messages delivered to target groups and also ensure its immediate delivery.

So, if your NGO is working on farmer’s literacy or women’s health, it is far easier for you to reach out to your stakeholders and pass on important information to them through mobile apps. This is not just easy to operate and download, but this medium can be easily used to collect or pass on desired information through this channel on almost real time basis. This is much easier and cost-effective compared to making physical contact every time.
NGOs get a substantial part of their funds through sponsorship and raising fund is always the most tedious tasks for them. They often times hire professionals who are assigned the responsibility to approach potential donors to be able to carry out their activities. Mobile apps increase their base of potential donors multiple times and this can ease their fundraising task. While personally approaching the big donors may still be required, the facility to donate with just a click on their mobile phone can motivate a number of people who were earlier not connected with the NGO at all.

Because the majority of stakeholders are from rural and low-income groups not having access to English language, the mobile apps can only be effective if they are presented to end users in their vernacular language. Anant Computing Platform facilitates vernacular app development tools with robust vernacular keyboards so that there is no barrier to communicating with people in different linguistic regions.
If your NGO is working in different domains, you can segregate your apps and then put them in a common AppWallet for easy access. The apps developed on Anant platform are designed to be light without consuming lots of memory space and they run on every OS, so that your NGO doesn’t have to worry about the compatibility issues with different kinds of mobile phones, both high end and low end and different operating systems.

Thursday, 3 November 2016

High Time for FMCG Brands to Occupy Mobile Screen Space





Indian FMCG sector has reached that stage in its lifecycle where it is poised for an exponential growth and there are clear indicators for this scenario in the market. The income levels of the working class and the rural population has been increasing at a phenomenal rate in the last few years.

There is a market segment out there waiting to be captured for all kinds of consumer goods. As per report of India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), about two third of the revenue from FMCG sector is generated from urban market, whereas only one-third is from the rural population. This is quite in contrast to the urban rural demographic profile according to which the majority of the Indian population is living in rural areas. Of course, there is an issue of the income-driven demand, or rather lack of it in rural areas, but the increasing income level in rural areas is also translating slowly and slowly into brand consciousness among rural masses.

The single biggest reason, however, for the projected upswing of the market in FMCG sector is the digital revolution taking place in India at phenomenal speed. India stands at the threshold of rapid growth in Internet usage and e-commerce activity. According to a study by Internet and Mobile Association of India and IMRB International, India has already surpassed the US market to become the second largest base of internet users in the world after China. The study also indicates that the online penetration here could reach well over 50 percent by the year 2020.

The growing demand can be encashed by manipulating technology. FMCG sales were traditionally driven through retail outlets with a market driving or push strategy by local vendors. Marketing of the product was usually done on radio, TV or daily newspapers. The Internet boom signaled a paradigm shift from retail stores to websites. Brands improved their visibility by enhancing their web presence.

The digital revolution through mobile phones or smart phones is bringing about yet another revolutionary change, which has not so far been well captured by FMCG market players. It is surprising to note that despite the huge number of mobile phone users in India, the e-commerce market is a very small percentage of the total market size in FMCG segment.

Mobile phones could offer FMCG companies the chance to create greater shopper loyalty because of ease of purchasing experience. However, to achieve any significant success on this front, FMCG brands need to first of all reinvent or rewrite their relationship with shoppers. They have to spend less time thinking about how to influence a single purchase decision and think more about what better ways they could devise to connect with individual shoppers of different demographic profile on an ongoing basis.

Market experts believe that to make you mobile app a hit it is essential to make it relevant and provide a good user experience. Brands while creating an app must focus on how their prospective customers will like to interact with them. By simply replicating their existing web presence and transporting that concept to mobile screens will not serve the purpose. Companies need to invest in having the right kind of features as well as functionalities on their apps to help their brands evolve and grow.

In the coming years, rural population of India will be the main customer base driving the growth of FMCG Sector. App in all Indian languages by Anant Computing Platform is a brilliant concept to interact with customers with the idea to speak with them in a language that is understood by them. AppWallet feature allows companies to push their campaigns through mobile apps downloaded by the customers. With an automatic update feature, the customer has the information about the latest and most updated product launched by businesses right at their fingertips.