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Ready, Set, MegaRun!

Known as the pinnacle driving lifestyle adventure, MEGARUN is an eight-day exclusive road rally adventure along the West Coast.

For the third year, FUSION OF IDEAS has developed the event’s exclusive app that is used by the event drivers. The app allows drivers to get real-time updates, view the daily schedule with route information and checkpoints, and see the locations of other drivers through an interactive map.

Targa Trophies first partnered with the FUSION OF IDEAS in 2014 with the goal to move away from paper road maps and schedules to a fully digital experience. This ultimately changed the way participants interacted with the event.

Each year, the app is updated with a new look and new features that are tailored to the event.

MEGARUN’s nine-city tour kicks off Friday, May 31, in Las Vegas and finishes on Saturday, June 8, in Seattle. The MEGARUN formula circles around bringing together the best cars, people, driving roads and adventure destinations into an event experience.

Get a sneak peek of this year’s exclusive app in the video below, and follow along on the tour through Instagram.

 

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5 Must-Have Features for Your Mobile Business App

As a business owner, you see the benefits of having a mobile application to help create efficiencies, cut operation costs and increase mobility.

Before you rush into the development stage, you should clearly identify your primary goals for your mobile solution and secondly, understand the features that you may want to be included in the app.

While most app features are discovered during initial conversations with the developer and discussed throughout the development process, it is still important to know and understand the elements of an effective mobile app.

To help you get started, we’ve put together the top five features of good mobile apps:

1. An Attractive User Interface

Visual design is not only about selecting the perfect images, colors, icons, fonts, but also determining how the appearance of the application impacts the user experience. The architecture and design phase is typically the first phase of every app development process, as it lays the foundation for the look and feel of the app.

2. Ease of Use

Eliminating any barriers to entry when using the app is another important element in creating an effective workplace application. You may lose users if they find your app difficult to navigate. In order to create the best user experience, it’s important to test your app with different user groups to find out how comfortable they feel while interacting with the app’s content across different platforms and environments. The journey throughout each section of the app should be smooth and seamless.

3. Fast and Reliable Performance

Have you ever used an app that loads slowly, crashes or completely shuts down while running? Understandably, most users have little patience for poor functionality and end up uninstalling or abandoning the problematic app. The most successful apps have fast response times and run continuously in the background. This is generally tested during the quality assurance phase in the app development process.

4. Simplicity

While it’s tempting to throw in fancy features on your mobile app, you lose your user when there are too many buttons and clicks in the app journey. Sometimes a simple, templated app, such as FUSION OF IDEAS’ Dynamic Content System (DCS), can be the best choice to meet your business needs.

5. Updated Content

When you have a system for pushing new or updated content and features to your app, you can continue to improve the reliability of the software. For businesses, it’s important to keep policies, sales messages and security issues up to date.

 

While understanding these qualities and features is essential to creating an effective mobile app for your business, it’s even more important to find the right partner to build your software.

The FUSION OF IDEAS dedicated in-house app development team follows a rigorous nine-step process when designing and executing a mobile application. Our number one priority is to create a custom mobile software solution that is tailored to your organization, and we are proud to have developed more than 300 mobile applications for companies of all sizes and budgets.

Contact our app development team to start a conversation about the possibilities of using technology to take your business to the next level.

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DCS Promotion Ends Jan. 31

Do any of these apply to you or your business?

*You have field employees and need a mobile solution that offers real-time, two-way communications.

*You have an e-commerce company and want to boost your online presence.

*A trade show or special event is coming up and you are seeking a user-friendly mobile application to share relevant content with attendees.

*Your business needs an app solution for information sharing that doesn’t break the bank.

 

If you said yes to any of the questions above, our Dynamic Content System (DCS) is for you. Take advantage of our half-off promotion for DCS application development. We proudly build all of our applications in-house at our Lake Forest headquarters, and when you work with us, there are never hidden charges. Contact us today to find out how this content delivery solution can enhance your business. Special pricing ends Jan. 31.

Contact us today to get started or email our app development team for a live demo.

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La Prairie Turns to DCS for Employee Training

La Prairie, a luxury skincare and cosmetic brand best known for its iconic Skin Caviar, was seeking a solution that would provide a cost-effective way to educate and train its retail beauty advisors nationwide. The Swiss company turned to an easy-to-use mobile app that allows for content to be updated regularly and pushed out to the remote team. The app model, Dynamic Content System (DCS), has become an invaluable resource for La Prairie’s education team to cut costs on travel for training.

DCS is FUSION OF IDEAS’ version of Content Management System (CMS). Essentially a templated mobile application, DCS is much like CMS in that you can easily create, display and manage content. Think of it like an user-friendly app that is customizable, yet simple.

In the case with La Prairie, the DCS app features a product catalog and embedded videos, current promotions, tutorials and the company’s history. Because La Prairie’s products are typically sold at department store cosmetic counters, its reps are on the sales floor and not behind a desk. It is important for the app to be accessible on a mobile device, such as an iPad. New content is updated and pushed out on a regular basis so La Prairie’s beauty advisors are always equipped with up-to-date information.

Limited-Time Promotion

DCS is an easy and more moderately priced app solution for e-commerce, information sharing, trade show or events, or employee onboarding and training. For the first time, FUSION OF IDEAS is offering half off the regular price of our DCS application development. This promotion will only be offered for a limited time so contact us today to see how DCS can enhance your business. Check out the La Prairie video below or email our app development team for a personal demo.

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Does Your Retail Business Need a Mobile App?

The rapid growth of mobile technology combined with changes in modern retailing trends is making a large impact on consumer buying habits. Did you know that 80 percent of a mobile consumer’s time on his or her device is spent using apps?

Today’s retailers are not just building their marketing around the products or services they are selling, but also around customer’s interests and habits. Many have developed a mobile strategy as part of their marketing to reach consumers on their preferred platform.

A retail mobile application should go beyond just an online shopping experience. For retailers, mobile apps can shape the in-store experience, empower the purchasing process, and create interesting and dynamic ways to interact with the customer. And for B2B retailers, a mobile app can revolutionize the way your sales team shares content.

Is your brand using a mobile application? If not, here are six signs that you may need a mobile app to help boost your branding and engagement, cut costs, improve productivity, and generate new revenue. Connect with us today and let us help you find a custom solution for your business needs.