Have iPad apps Replaced Excel Spreadsheets for Small Businesses? Indeed they have, especially for small businesses that need to capture and manage numbers on the fly. The iPad, as it comes when you buy it, is not very capable in handling spreadsheets to help businesses with product inventory. It needs to be perfected with specific apps that make it compatible with not just spreadsheet display but data entry and formula manipulations as well.
Imagine, for example that you have lots of clients at once, and they all need to look at your product catalog. Ordinarily, this is data that would be keyed into Excel and then possibly emailed to clients depending on what they are looking to see. It can be tedious. There are however iPad tradeshow and catalog apps that you can install into your iPad to help you convey this information with just a few touches on your screen.
These apps are like electronic brochures that clients can look at any time they want. If you update product information just once, your clients are able to see it instantly. Of course the easier it is for your clients to access information, the easier it is for you to increase both sales and prospects.
The cost is also a big advantage to small businesses it costs a fraction of what it would cost to make catalogues available to the public if you choose to go the iPad sales apps route. The main cost will be that of acquiring the app, relatively low compared to any other means of keeping in touch with clients. The only other thing you have to do after acquiring it is install your data and then keep it fresh and updated.
Tradeshow apps are becoming very popular especially with small businesses that use tradeshows to exhibit their products. They allow them to serve even thousands of clients who visit the tradeshow at once, and this increased speed and efficiency means that the minimum possible loss of sales is experienced.
What do iPad apps allow you to do that makes them such an efficient sales tool?
- You can enter data on the fly. Many come with simplified forms that you use to capture your data quite easily. These forms are then linked to spreadsheets and the data that you entered is transferred automatically. Updating information works in the same way as well.
- You get to use intelligent formulas to manipulate your data, and these will vary with complexity depending on the app you decide to use. More complex formulas will probably cost more, but because it makes your business that much more efficient, it will be well worth the cost.
- You can do different diagrammatic displays with complete accuracy and great viewability. Graphs and pie charts are easy to plot and your customers can see information at a glance if they do not want to study tables of data.
- iPad apps allow photographs meaning that you can create a true catalog that has images for clients to see your products.
