Consumers may have downloaded more than seven billion mobile apps from Apple's iTunes store alone, but some organisations still seem to misunderstand the role mobile apps can play in their business.
A recent press release announced, with great fanfare, that Natioanl Rail Enquiries the UK's rail timetabling organisation has released a mobile app for Windows Phone 7.
It's good to see an organisation in the public eye embracing new mobile platforms, letting their customers
can find out about services, regardless of the smartphone they use (there is already an iPhone app). But read on, and even the most ardent rail user is likely to be put off. National Rail Enquiries charges 4.99 for the app.
According to Avanade, the company that developed the software, the Windows Phone 7 app is priced at 4.99 to keep it in line with the pricing for the existing iPhone app.
But that does not explain why the organisation chooses to charge at all. This is a download that, when all is said and done, promotes its services to its customers.
Most businesses that provide applications for customer service, or for ordering or booking something, do so for free. That is the case for eBay, hotels.com, and British Airways, to name just a few. Even thetrainline.com a train booking service offers a free iPhone app, and it provides many similar services to National Rail Enquiries.
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