Apple has just made it easier for businesses around the world to get up and running with Apple Business Connect. Now businesses of all sizes – even those without a physical storefront – can manage their brand presence across key Apple apps and services like Maps, Mail and Apple Pay. Over 1 billion Apple users will be able to interact with businesses more easily and brands will be able to keep their presence up to date in the Apple ecosystem.
But will this fix one of Apple Maps’ biggest problems: outdated and incomplete business info?
Business Connect: What’s New?
For the first time businesses that are fully online or have no physical location can now use Apple Business Connect to build their brand across Apple apps. Whether a business is remote, virtual or has physical locations Apple is giving them the tools to get more visibility and make sure customers see the most up to date and engaging info.
Apple Business Connect also introduces new features like Branded Mail and Tap to Pay on iPhone to help businesses stand out. Branded Mail lets businesses add their logo and brand name to emails so Apple users can recognise their messages. Tap to Pay on iPhone lets companies display their logo when accepting payments so customers see a familiar brand during the payment process.
As David Dorn, Apple’s senior director of Internet Software and Services Product, says “We’re giving all businesses — including those with no physical location — the ability to have a brand that appears across the Apple apps that over a billion people use every day. We designed Business Connect to let businesses show the best and most accurate info to Apple users.” (Source)
This will help businesses reach more customers and build trust by showing verified and recognisable info across Apple’s services.
Will It Fix Apple Maps’ Accuracy?
While Apple Business Connect is great for brand exposure another question remains: will it fix Apple Maps which has been criticised for its lack of accurate and up to date business info?
Apple Maps has had a long history of struggling to keep business listings up to date. A January 2023 article “Apple Business Connect: A Cure for Apple Maps’ Weak Spot?” highlighted these issues, pointing out that during the pandemic it became clear how hard it was to keep business hours and statuses up to date on Apple Maps. Restaurants, retail stores and service providers had changing hours and Apple Maps was slow to reflect those changes.
By giving businesses control of their listings through Business Connect Apple hopes to keep the info on Maps up to date. Like Google Business Profile Apple Business Connect lets businesses update photos, special offers and key info about their business. So the responsibility of keeping the data up to date is with the business owner themselves which should mean more accurate info for Apple Maps users.
Progress But Not There Yet
While this is a step in the right direction it has a big awareness problem. For most businesses Google Maps is top of mind when it comes to managing online presence. Many business owners don’t even know they are on Apple Maps let alone know about the tools to improve their listings.
Historically Apple Maps has struggled to compete with Google Maps in mindshare. Business owners have been more proactive with their Google profiles as Google Maps is the dominant player in navigation and business discovery. Apple will need to find ways to get the word out about Business Connect and get business owners to engage with the platform.
One way to do this would be to integrate Apple Business Connect more with Apple Pay and Apple Business Essentials so businesses can use the tools they already use. This would get more attention to the platform and more accurate business info across the Apple ecosystem.
Bottom Line
Apple’s Business Connect expansion is a big step to give businesses the tools to manage their brand and connect with customers across multiple platforms. With Branded Mail, Tap to Pay and custom place cards businesses have more control than ever over how they appear to the 1 billion Apple users.
But will it fix Apple Maps’ business data accuracy? Only time will tell. It’s up to Apple to get business owners to use these tools and keep their info up to date. Apple Business Connect is the start but it may take some time to see the full impact on Apple Maps.
