We crammed a lot into 4 days this week, client meetings to kick off new projects, presentations to housing associations interested to see what Apps can do for them, and an agreement in principle to add a fantastic new module to the Apps that will address the issues around benefit entitlement and Universal Credit. You’ll have to watch this space for further announcements on this topic, but when it comes off it will be very positive and will make the Apps a great resource for both customers and staff of social housing providers.
On another theme, over the last few years we have sponsored or funded projects that deliver positive benefits for the sector in which we work, namely social housing. Our highest profile project was when we provided a new website and marketing package for New Hope nursery in Worcester, a facility that is still going strong and providing much needed care for children with special needs.
This year I have decided that we will offer something to many instead of a few. Emerald is offering a branded version of the KidZone website free of charge to any social housing provider in the UK.
www.kidzone.me.uk is a simple little site full of pdfs aimed at a younger audience, ideally between 3 and 7 years. I know my own children download and print out the pdfs on a regular basis and spend hours colouring and working out the puzzles. It was a project that we developed in 2010 and has been sidelined in recent times due to the effort we have put into developing websites and Apps.
There are no catches and no hidden charges – when it was introduced to Cottsway they had positive feedback from parents and carers. We update the content on a regular basis adding new material to reflect a season or themed event, and are always open to suggestions for content.
If you want to chat about this offer give me a call on 0161 274 4525 or drop me an email antony@emeraldapps.co.uk
This offer is open to any RSL contacting Emerald before the end of July 2012.
The media says we are in a double dip recession, various commentators state that things haven’t been this bad for years and yet I travel the country and talk to lots of business people who are doing very well and feel positive about the future. The cynic would say it’s all a brave face put on to impress others, but I don’t subscribe to that view. I believe if you have a good product or service that is well researched and designed, and provides a solution for your clients, then you can still generate business.
It’s true that costs may be an issue for some companies and that that’s when you have to consider your price point and where you position your solution in the market; but if you accept that not everyone will buy your product, and that some people will find your competitors’s products more appealing for a variety of reasons, you won’t lose too much sleep. I liken it to the fact that I would love to own an Aston Martin, but I can’t justify the cost – and after all the thought of doing the school run with my three young children in a DB9 is not that appealing. But I’m sure the people at Aston Martin won’t lose sleep over my choice to drive a Volvo V70.
The main point for me is how to differentiate my offer from others, and make sure that the features and benefits of the product or service are clear and well understood; and to deliver excellent service to all my clients.
I know for some people the last few years have been hard for various reasons and I don’t want to take away from that, but the basic principles of business have always worked – right product, right price, right place, right time.
Time to get back to work, more Apps to develop.
Staying in touch with their landlord just became a whole lot easier for residents and customers of Viridian Housing following the launch of a smart phone App available as a free download on Apple and Android mobile phones.
Viridian chose the modules within the app that they identified as providing most value to their customer base and the Viridian team.
The use of Apps on mobile phones supports the promotion of Digital Inclusion allowing as wide a range of people as possible to access the internet via affordable and accessible methods. Mobile phones are widely acknowledged to become the preferred method of internet access from 2014 onwards and penetration into all social groups is documented in the Ofcom report from August 2011.
The App features the following modules:
- Personal profile which caters for customers from the various tenure types – General needs, Students, Key Worker, and Hostels. The tenure type and location of the accommodation influences the profile information required and also the flow of submitted reports.
- News feed from the Viridian website
- Twitter feed from the Viridian Twitter account
- Facebook feed from the Viridian Facebook account
The App includes a full reporting suite which enables customers to report repairs and any other topics direct to Viridian.
All inbound messages are dealt with by the appropriate customer services teams at Viridian.
New modules under development include:
- Recycling information and local contacts
- Money matters – information and advice on financial topics
- Surveys – the ability to survey users on a variety of topics
- Rewards – a module that rewards users for downloading and using the App
- Local events calendar.
The App, designed & developed by EmeraldApps, is free & available for download at the Apple store and Google Play.
If you would like to see how this style of App can help you engage more with your customers, or would like further information on Emerald’s other Apps, please email antony@emeraldapps.co.uk
As Habitapp continues to grow in popularity – there are now 8 housing associations signed up to a version of Habitapp – we are dedicating time to develop additional modules. The first two to reach release will be Recycling, and Money Matters.
Both of these topics feature regularly in landlord websites that we build and manage and across the sector generally. The modules contain a wealth of generic material about the subject matter, as well as contact details/links to national resources or schemes. Landlords will be able to add their own local content and contact information during the build stage and to supplement the information with videos and rich contecnt where these are available.
We’ll be posting more on this topic as more information is available. I’m also very excited about discussions to introduce an incentive scheme to Habitapp which will reward download and usage – more on this later.
Antony.
A brand new website has been designed and developed by Manchester agency Emerald and Amersham based agency Broadgate Communications.
The main aim of the website, which was launched in early April, is to provide information to parents and interested parties about the provision of specialist education in the Lambeth area.
The website itself is a source for latest news and upcoming events, plus it utilises social media to promote communication and spread the positive message throughout Lambeth.
To view the website visit: www.aeplambeth.org
For further information about website design and development, contact Antony Dyson on: 0161 274 4525, email: antony@emerald-design.co.uk or visit www.emerald-design.co.uk
Monday 9th March, saw Simon Leach join the EmeraldApps team in a New Business Development role. Simon has a background in sales and account management of websites in the Manchester area, and felt the time was right to make the move to a growing comapny with great prospects for the future.
His new role at EmeraldApps will see Simon focus initially on the promotion of widely recognised smart phone app Habitapp, within the social housing sector.
Simon is quickly finding his way around the office, the kitchen and my iPad, and is enjoying his first few days learning about all things mobile!
The team is delighted to have Simon ‘on board’ and is looking forward to Simon’s success in winning new business selling Habitapp.
Antony
I spent another day in London yesterday, which seems to be a weekly event at the moment, all of which present interesting opportunities.
I met with an existing client for whom Emeraldapps is building a version of Habitapp, this is going well as a project and will hopefully be launched by the end of this month. It will feature new modules in the smart phone app and will be available on Android and IOS.
A later meeting with another housing group to discuss how smart phone apps could add to their mix of communications channels led to interesting opportunities, that hopefully will lead to a future project.
The whole concept of smart phone apps within the housing sector really does polarise opinions, with many people wanting to get involved immediately and “test the water”, while as many people want to research, debate, evaluate, plan, integrate and then think about how smart phone apps could add to their operation.
I guess there is no ‘correct’ answer, the choice is influenced by many factors. One thing for sure though is that smart phone apps and mobile web access is here to stay and will be part of a structured communciations plan at some stage.
We completed the testing of the Habitapp database last month and this is now available for demonstration and implementation.
This development allows Habitapp users to view their report history via their handset; and allows administrators to create new report categories and update contact details.
A simple to use CMS means updates can be carried out from any internet access point, and the inbuilt reporting function provides analysis of all submitted reports.
We’ll be rolling this out over the coming weeks, if you would like to arrange a demo then please get in touch.
We’ve been working on a project to demonstrate how Habitapp, our smartphone App for the social housing sector can integrate with other back office systems, and this morning we completed an important phase.
We were able to use the Integrator module to move data in and out of the SX3 system, demonstrating beyond doubt that Habitapp is truly able to become an integral tool for accessing customer data.
Chuffed doesn’t begin to describe how I feel today!
Let’s be honest, we all hope for a trouble free and stress free working life – but most of us have seen, albeit very occasionally, how natural or man made events occur that are beyond our control and totally disrupt working life.
To cater for events such as floods, explosions, significant power loss or worse, Arena Housing Group commissioned Emerald to build a business continuity portal which can be accessed from any internet point, including mobile devices, and for use by senior management in the event of a disaster.
Using secure scheduled data transfers, the portal contains up to date key contact information, as well as essential information such as key policies and procedures to ensure business continuity in the event of a disaster.
A content management system allows for updating of on screen content, and allows access privileges to be determined in line with departmental access within Arena. In-built reporting tools allow senior managers to track access to the site and to run test scenarios.
Hosted outside of the Arena Housing Group network the portal is designed to provide anytime, anywhere access.
It’s not often I say this but I really hope they don’t ever have to use this in the circumstances for which it was designed!
Antony
