As we have mentioned in previous blogs (including the posting Smartphone Apps for Business – “There is an App for That”), mobile apps are the hottest thing to hit the technology world since email. Apps are used by both consumers and businesses to fulfill a role or do a common task with greater ease – so sometimes there is no need to “reinvent the wheel.” White Label Apps allow companies to personalize and re-brand an existing app technology and sell it as their own, under a license from the app developer.
The concept of white labeling is not a new one, but can actually be traced back to the record industry (remember those vinyl disks?). But it is more commonly known for mass-produced generic products including electronics, consumer products and software packages such as DVD players, televisions, and web applications that are manufactured by one company and sold under different brand names by other companies.
In the case of apps, white labeling is something that almost every business can get in on by adapting an existing app and marketing it to their current and future customers. One of our Toronto virtual office clients has an app that allows his customers to read the business ebooks he writes and sells on his website. He offers it for free when they buy one of his ebooks. The most important part of his app is that every time they open the app, they are reminded of him and his business. His brand is staying in the mind of his customers, even though they may be reading something unrelated to his business. This is because his app has become their “go-to” reading application for ePUB and PDF content, including ebooks from most online book stores and content-lending libraries around the world.
Another great use of a white label app is in the case of another company that was a former Toronto office space tenant who has since moved back up north yet remains a virtual client (he is also very interested in the newest virtual office product that we will be releasing in the coming weeks, but I will talk about that later). This former client was working for a U.S.-based business running its Canadian branch office. He had started a side business of re-selling white label apps and then developing his own apps that could be licensed and sold by others as white label apps. The business took off and he quit his job – but not before establishing a virtual office presence at 1 Yonge Street for his app business. He then moved back up north where his friends and family lived and now runs his new business remotely. The most important thing he realized was the importance of having a Toronto address for his business, even though his business was conducted primarily online.
Even if you are not tech savvy, it’s quick and easy to publish your own app. You can customize it with your own app icons, logos, splash screens, company colours, tab icons and more. Then all you need to do is send it off to the submission process. Some white label app sellers can have your app up and available in as little as two weeks.
I mentioned that we have a new virtual office product coming soon. While this product is not an app, it is going to change how people interact with their virtual office and most importantly how they are able to keep their professional image while working away from the office. Watch our blog over the next week or so to see some exciting news about our newest virtual office offering.