By: Ayu Meganingrum, Okke Wulandari, dan Indira Abidin
The industry has begun to develop new digital offers: health-monitoring apps are on the rise, hospital patient portal online is growing, and patients are encouraged to review online websites to share their experiences.
We use the advantages of digital health applications for their efficiencies and conveniences in storing health information. It’s also good to reduce the use of papers. Additionally, digital health application is not just about health documentation, it also provides a wide range of tips and guideline for some suggestions diet food or exercise.
Apple is working on an application called Healthbook, the latest fitness and health application that can track the user’s health condition. The application is rumored to be available for iPhone and iPad in iOS 8 and planned to be launched this year.
Healthbook is similar to Passbook app from Apple. Healthbook lets users view data such as health information heart rate, hydration, blood pressure, physical activity, nutrition, blood sugar, sleeping, and breathing frequency. Healthbook requires other third-party applications to provide information to the user. For some specific data, the user can input the information such as the body weight to the application.
In addition to information of the user’s health, Healthbook also functions as a digital emergency card, where applications store important data such as name, date of birth, medical information, body weight, eye color, blood type, organ donor status and location. This information can be accessed and shown on lock screen mode.
Several popular ones in Indonesia include Accupedo Pedometer, Endomondo, and Nike Running to record and count the number of calories and distance during walk or jog or run. The digital health applications mentioned above also provide Healthy Recipes and World Fitness to provide articles and tips on healthy living.
Nike launched an application for the sportsman who likes to run, called the Nike + Running. It tracks and send the data to the Nike’s official website, Nikeplus.com, and compare with other runners.
Other functions contained in the Nike + Running is to check the duration and the distance of the run by using a GPS map. It also can change songs, and some other interesting features. Additionally, this application can also connect the runners with social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
To date, Nike has made similar applications like Nike + Basketball, Nike + Training, Nike + Kinect Training, Nike + SportWatch, the Nike + FuelBand, Nike + Sportband and. This application has been available on Google Play and can be downloaded for free with a capacity of 17MB.
Amway Indonesia also has a dedicated microsite featuring digital Amway for their customers. Amway presents their information in a scanner application form, which can be downloaded via their official website, www.amway.co.id. Amway Scanner is an application that offers the ability to create an animated image or video through the cutting-edge image recognition technology. Amway Scanner was created as their promotional marketing tool for their product range. With this innovative technology, Amway expected their sales to rise significantly.
The Amway Scanner is available and can be downloaded at : http://www.amway.co.id/
These apps effectively convince customers that the brands behind these apps “care and want the best for customers’ health.” Suddenly the brands are glued to the customers’ hands and finger tips. They become closer to the customers’ minds and hearts… also their e-wallet. The brands become available and accessible for the customers 247, anywhere, anytime they want it. It breaks the walls of the hospitals or drugstores, and make the world more seamless, borderless.
A study at Indiana University and Murdoch University in Australia revealed that mobile apps had a positive impact on brand favorability and purchase intent. It also said that apps that were more informational in style, ones which provide product reviews, deals info or cooking tips, were more engaging as compared to experiential game or entertainment-oriented apps.
When a brand has an app that provides people with information that they can personalize and internalize, it has the opportunity to be invited to enter the phone and life of the customers. The customers will think about their lives and apply whatever the app offers – and the brand – into their lives.
Customers who feel happy with the app feel more attached to the brand and will be more likely to provide mind space, heart space and wallet space for whatever the brand offers, as long as the offers are in line with the brands’ overall promise for customers’ health and well being.
So, what’ your next mobile app idea? Let’s design them together and make it happen.
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