In a fascinating blog, Colin Raney describes how mobile apps are changing the face of marketing. Even though the charges have usually been reduced to a minimum, “the lesson is clear: the point of payment isn’t just the end of a customer’s journey, but rather an experience to be consciously designed.”

Designers are quickly learning that instead of asking for money in exchange for downloading the app (when the user is used to paying), it’s best to carefully design payment moments within the experience. It’s common now to be prompted to pay for new functionality, extra gameplay, or hiding those annoying advertisements. This evolution to in-app purchases is a small shift in experience that has large implications for the developer’s business model.

For all the media noise about apps, it is surprising how many people still do not know what they are. Basically,an app is a piece of software, designed for smartphones. Advances are so rapid that for example 4G technology is now enabling medical tests to be performed from the home environment and sent to the doctor immediately for evaluation.

Israel has been at the forefront of the internet and communications industrial revolution. So, it is no surprise that start-ups from the Holy Land have jumped with two feet into the deep end of this new sector of commerce.  Notable success stories included the exit of Waze to Google for over US$1 billion. IBM has taken over Trusteer for ‘only’ US$800 million. And this pattern had been set up earlier this year by Cisco, which purchased Intucell for US$450 million.

A recent survey has assessed that apps are used more in Israel than in any other country. It could not be too much of a surprise when “The Verge, an online tech magazine, revealed that the Israeli firm Any.do played a role in inspiring Apple’s iOS 7’s new look.”

The head of Israel’s export institute noted in a conference last week that 2013 has been a year of contradictions. Exports, which are fundamental to secure the growth of the country, have been stagnant. Yet exits, as described above, are now just as valuable contribution to the economy.

I detected another irony. If Israeli management has historically had a weak point, it is in the field of marketing, specifically international sales. (Yes, Israelis did create GPS tech.). Maybe the country’s success in mobile apps will also encourage a new style of commercial leadership.