Mobile devices are portable technology: iPhone and iPad, devices running Google Android and Windows 8 or using RIM Blackberry. They use “transmission media such as: radio wave, microwave, infra-red, GPS and Bluetooth to allow for the transfer of data via voice, text, video, 2-dimensional barcodes and more.” (Daichendt) "To take advantage of the value mobility brings to employees and customers, companies are redesigning the building blocks of their business." (Smith)
Several sources report that the average mobile marketing campaign response rates are typically 12 – 15% (as opposed to direct mail which averages 2 – 3%) with some companies seeing response rates as high as 60% or more. It is anticipated that, by 2013, the U.S. will top 100% per capita penetration of mobile phone use! According to Forbes, “Mobility is about how your customers are increasingly getting things done.” (Michele-Ross) Therefore, to remain competitive, business MUST take advantage of the opportunities that mobile technologies afford them. Businesses need to understand how mobility will change their customers in order to plot a plan for keeping their own business relevant. They must stay informed about mobile developments as a way to plot their own path to the future; they must stay ahead of the curve and be flexible.
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Mobile devices are revolutionizing business and have rivaled the laptop as standard ‘gear’ inside and outside of the workplace. In lieu of planning, business must concentrate on just-in-time coordination to remain efficient. “Coordination will increasingly become the organizing principle that defines how we get work done; we will become a network of spontaneous gathering, loosely coordinated agents in constant contact.” (Michele-Ross) “Mobile devices have made great inroads in the corporation and are now a normal part of everyday business life. Once viewed as adjuncts to desktops and laptops, they are increasingly showing they are as capable of heavy lifting as their higher-powered siblings are, a new survey shows. The introduction of Windows 8 may be the final push that mobile devices need to go mainstream.” (Smith)
Businesses are using mobile devices in sales, marketing, HR, and in the field. Tablets help staff interface with enterprise applications like customer relationship management (CRM), project management, content creation and data analysis. (Smith) “The integration of mobile devices such as laptops, tablet computers, PDAs and smartphones, along with their various applications and software, make it easier than ever for workers to collaborate and businesses to communicate with staff, customers, and vendors.” (Strategic Growth Concepts) Company data and resources can be used outside the company’s ‘brick and mortar’ confines. These technologies increase employee efficiency, creativity, productivity and lead to a company’s increased profitability.
“In addition to marketing, mobile is used for: customer services, notifications, epayments; inventory management; employee dispatching; travel directions; and even fundraising for non-profit organizations.” (Daichendt) Mobile technologies can:
- Improve Networking:
- Communication with colleagues (in real-time);
- Allow for JIT presentations to customers;
- Download product information during an off-site visit;
- Generate quotations and interactive order processing;
- Check stock levels
- Expedite Development:
- Get immediate feedback on products and services from customers;
- Allow for faster research and development;
- Increase speed of product upgrades;
- Give customers and clients a more direct role in a company's development
- eCommerce:
- Mobile ticketing;
- Distribution of vouchers, coupons, and loyalty cards;
- Mobile purchasing;
- Delivering e-catalogs;
- Interfacing with CRMS (customer relationship management system) to update customer details or to set up a new customer's account;
- Checking prices and stock availability;
- Placing an order online
Mobile devices provide advantages beyond increased productivity, “such as lower cost, customization, easy tracking and so on, thereby reducing manpower and yet giving the entrepreneur better business benefits and profits.” Viswanathan lists other benefits of using mobile technologies:
- Instant results;
- Easy to work with;
- Convenient;
- Direct marketing;
- Track user response:
- Understand and analyze user behavior;
- Viral potential: easily shared: more exposure with no extra effort;
- Widen audience;
- Microblogging benefits;
- Mobile payments;
- Increased productivity.
She notes that diversity of platforms, variations in screen sizes, diversity in operating systems and browsers, privacy/security issues, and navigation on small screens or devices that don’t have mice as problems with embracing mobile devices.
“More than a quarter (28 percent) of small businesses surveyed offer Websites optimized for mobile use, 23 percent offer text message marketing, 17 percent offer mobile coupons and 14 percent offer custom mobile apps.” (Eddy) Productivity and business apps on mobile devices can make small business more efficient and competitive. Mobile devices offer benefits to small business owners, employees, and customers, improving communication between field and office personnel as well as offering increased availability to customers, resulting in better customer service. Mobile devices have changed the ways small businesses operate.
Campbell observes that mobile phones with good cameras can be used in the field to send a close-up of a part to ensure the right one is ordered, to take before and after photos, to document unusual services with photos. Mobile devices also can help manage inventory and supply levels as well as allow the taking of payments outside the office, tracking packages. Handheld devices can be used to create, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents so field personnel can deliver or change documents (such as proposals and contracts) or the fly; check stock lists or other data maintained in spreadsheets; or fill in forms, sign and return documents.
Obviously, the mobile trend will continue to grow in business as new devices and associated utilities are developed.
References:
Campbell, Anita. "10 Ways to Use Mobile Devices to Run Your Business." Small Business Trends. N.p., 24 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/09/mobile-devices-to-run-your-business.html>.
Daichendt, Linda (compiler). "What is Mobile Technology?." Strategic Growth Concepts. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/growth/mobile-technology-facts.html>.
Eddy, Nathan. "Mobile Devices Making Small Businesses More Efficient: CDW." eWeek. N.p., 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.eweek.com/mobile/mobile-devices-making-small-businesses-more-efficient-cdw/>.
Lyne, Marc. "What Is A QR Code And Why Do You Need One?." Search Engine Land. N.p., 15 Oct. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://searchengineland.com/what-is-a-qr-code-and-why-do-you-need-one-27588>.
Michele-Ross, Joshua. "Mobility Matters ." Forbes.com. N.p., 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/15/iphone-twitter-computers-technology-breakthroughs-mobile.html>.
"Mobile Technology for Increased Productivity & Profitability." Strategic Growth Concepts. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/growth/increase-productivity--profitability.html>.
Smith, Ned. "Mobile Devices Are Ready for Prime Time." Business News Daily. N.p., 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3314-tablet-computers-key-business-tools-windows-8.html>.
Viswanathan, Priya. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing: Mobile Marketing Pros and Cons." About.com: Mobile Devices. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://mobiledevices.about.com/od/additionalresources/a/Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of-Mobile-Marketing.htm>.
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