A new survey by Vodafone Business shows how much the UK’s small businesses rely on mobile apps to run and grow their operations.
Vodafone recently unveiled its new creative platform, ‘The Nation’s Network’, which champions everything from friends getting together in pub gardens to the small businesses that power the nation.
British small business owners have revealed they “rarely” use traditional forms of communication and prefer apps, where paper once dominated the office.
Phones have overtaken computers too, with 62% doing most of their work on their mobiles, while 46% believe the best advantage of using apps is to better connect with customers.
A recent study has found that three-quarters of small businesses and sole traders rarely send invoices in the post but, instead, use apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Microsoft Teams.
The study also found that an overwhelming 97% of traders believe that the mobile ‘office in the pocket’ has helped to improve their business. As well as this, 79% say that they would experience problems in their work if they were without one, according to research by Vodafone Business.
More than half of the small business owners who took part in the study said using traditional methods of communication and invoicing would be more time-consuming, with 83% revealing that they had gained clients by switching to using app-based methods.
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Using these systems for communication, either internally or externally, seems to be the major attraction for professionals. Almost half (45%) said that WhatsApp was the most important app for the daily running of their job, while 20% said Microsoft Teams was the most crucial for messaging.
The findings have been revealed following the launch of the latest episode of Vodafone Business’ Digital SOS documentary series. Starring Vodafone Business brand ambassador and entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, the series is aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supercharge their businesses by making better use of digital technology.
The latest episode sees Steven paying a visit to D.A.Y, a small fashion boutique based in Peckham, South East London, to help boost its online sales through the support of Vodafone Business’ V-Hub. V-Hub is a free online support service that provides expert guidance, knowledge, tools and training for small and medium-sized businesses.
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Maria Koutsoudakis, Brand Director, Vodafone UK, said: “Our findings show how vital applications like Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp are to small businesses up and down the UK. Whether apps are used for customer communication, invoicing, employee training or other business activities, these businesses require connectivity to thrive and grow.
“As The Nation’s Network, connecting more than 550,000 unique businesses across the UK, we know that strong and reliable mobile connectivity is essential for small businesses to stay connected to the customers, employees and places they care about.”
With such a large focus on using these apps in daily business, the Vodafone Business study also found that many organisations and employees would significantly struggle without them.
21% conclude that if they were placed in a position without these apps and systems, it could have significant implications on their livelihoods, with 9% believing it would “endanger the existence of my business running”.
In addition, another 9% feel that they might “potentially lose their business” and a further 3% openly accept that they “would not be able to survive without them.”
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Joe Roberts-Walker, Founder, Mejuicer, said: “I remember creating our first business group chat and felt proud of what I’d built as a standalone founder. Even now, when I add people to our network, it’s something tangible to see that we’re growing.
“Now, we use our group chat every day and it has completely improved the efficiency of the day-to-day running of our small business. From instant communication and sharing content to instructions, feedback and handovers – we use it for everything!”
This reliance on apps in the workplace signals the ever-growing importance of technology and connectivity within business.
Participants in the survey have said that these apps have most improved their ability to communicate externally with clients, and 46% believe this to be the best advantage these apps contribute towards business.
While the majority (80%) of firms use apps like WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams to conduct their business, nearly half (46%) use them most frequently to communicate with clients, while 20% use them most for speaking to staff.
Amelia Lawes, Founder, Apex Gym, said: “Group chats have been fundamental to helping us build a community at Apex Gym, improving our ability to communicate externally with our clients as well as having one central point of communication to streamline our activities. We’d be pretty lost without our group chat!”
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Notes to Editors:
About the research
A survey of 1,000 small business owners, carried out by Walr between 21 and 23 June 2024.
Vodafone UK is a technology communications company that connects people, businesses and devices to help our customers benefit from digital innovation. Our services span mobile, fixed-line connections, home and office broadband, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
We have a strong track record as a tech pioneer, making the UK’s first mobile phone call, sending the first text message, and making the UK’s first live holographic call using 5G in 2018. We were the first to start carrying live 5G traffic from a site in Salford, Greater Manchester and now have 5G in locations across Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain as well as the UK. Meanwhile, our 4G network coverage currently reaches over 99% of the UK population.
Today, Vodafone serves more than 18 million mobile and fixed-line customers in the UK. Vodafone is the largest provider of full fibre in the UK – our superfast broadband services are now available to nearly 12 million homes across the UK.
Sustainability is also at the heart of what we do: as of 1 July 2021, 100% of the grid electricity we use in the UK is certified to be from renewable sources.
For more information about Vodafone UK, please visit: www.vodafone.co.uk.
