“Fundamentally, a mobile strategy needs to be based on the value to the end user and the enterprise,”- Dirk Nicol
A business enterprise needs customers in order to grow and thrive. Traditional brick-and-mortar enterprises depend on shops, showrooms, and sales personnel to conduct business. This remains the classic model for commerce and connecting with customers, the world over. However, the Internet has evolved into a massive enabler in modern times and this has prompted businesses to enter the online domain. The electronic network covers the globe, bringing customers and enterprises into closer contact than ever before. Both desktop shoppers and the smartphone enthusiasts have expanded the leagues of consumers and customers by orders of magnitude for modern business enterprises. Smartphones and connected tablet devices have become a commodity in modern times and therefore, a mobile strategy is essential for the modern enterprise that seeks to fulfil its designated role as a responsible corporate citizen.
We have to bear in mind that mobile Internet technologies have enabled significant developments in the form of communications and entertainment hubs for the average mobile Internet user. The widespread use of mobile data has powered the mobile Internet to become a significant source of media consumption. For instance, every media house worth the name has established a beachhead in the mobile domain. This stems from the fact that the traditional means of consuming media– such as newspapers, magazines, and television – are now overtaken by websites, mobile apps, and online communication services. These changes have wrought irreversible trends into many spheres of human activity and interest. Therefore, we could say that a structured mobile strategy can help to transform entire businesses from a traditional setup to a mobile-powered enterprise.
The age of the mobile Internet implies that marketers and business owners need to stay abreast of modern technologies. A mobile strategy can help marketers and businesses to meet customers in the spaces afforded by the mobile Internet. The new electronic shop front exists in cyber space and customers can visit the address through a mobile web browser or an app that has been downloaded into a connected, mobile device. Further, in sharp contrast to the confined, real world premises of a physical shop or brick-and-mortar showroom, the mobile Internet is a fluid environment of the customers’ choice. This means that the business has to adapt itself to cyber technologies in order to serve the customer.
A mobile strategy is also important in modern commerce because the youth – entire generations of young consumers – is using mobile technologies as its first contact with the global Internet. Businesses need to acknowledge this new reality and build electronic infrastructure from the ground up to control the new opportunities for customer contact and business development. The younger demographics have a plethora of options in terms of the content they consume and businesses have to bear this in mind. Certain aspects of the traditional paradigms of doing business may have to be dismantled because of evolving customer preferences. Interesting insights and new information can be gleaned from the customers’ use of mobile applications; such data can be channelled into business plans and future courses of action to bolster the art and science of doing business in the age of information.
A well-rounded mobile strategy should include mobile apps, optimised mobile websites, mobile loyalty programs, and other techniques that have been designed to attract and retain the modern online customer. The mobile app is the current favourite among customers. The app serves as a personal point of contact with the world of commerce and resides in the device owned by the customer. The online enterprise can use the mobile app to conduct business with the customer at any point in the globe, at any time. We could say that the app is an all-powerful electronic avatar of the business enterprise. Chat robots, designed with advanced software algorithms, have been designed as an extension of commerce in the age of the mobile Internet. These robots can serve the customer and answer customer queries accurately at the click of a button on the app. Such developments indicate the importance of a mobile strategy and it’s centrality in modern business models.
Companies would do well to accept that a mobile strategy could enhance user engagement and increase the reach of the business. Customers using a mobile app are encouraged to interact with a business at their own time and convenience. They need not visit the physical showroom or the official address of the business enterprise. This makes an enterprise available to the customer around the clock. The business can also make significant cost savings because physical points of contact (and the expenses required to operate these facilities) have been minimized. Consider this: a bank or a financial services institution can choose invest in a mobile app that can serve the basic requirements of the customer at his / her convenience. Almost every business aspect of the said institution can be conducted through the app as far as the customer is concerned. We need to bear in mind that this is not unprecedented, because banks have operated automated teller machines (‘ATMs’) for quite a few decades now. However, these machines have a physical address and the customer is required to visit the ATM to execute cash transactions. The mobile app takes such convenience a step ahead and eliminates the need for locomotion on the part of the customers. We could therefore surmise that a sophisticated mobile strategy can ensure that customer service has truly attained a universal stature because every aspect of the modern business can be conducted through the app.
The commercial aspects of a mobile strategy dictate significant media spends on mobile platforms. Advertising new products and services on a mobile platform can extend the reach of the enterprise to a wide audience at all points in the globe. The business can literally reach out to every customer through smartphones or tablet devices; this strategy can also spur a very close interaction between the enterprise and the customer. The possibilities include better customer satisfaction, bespoke customer solutions, faster resolution of customer complaints, and individual attention paid to each customer. These are among the winning attributes of a comprehensive mobile strategy and therefore enterprises should invest significantly. Feedback from app analytics indicates that corporate budgets and expenditure in defining, building, and operating a mobile strategy are highly justified. The future of mobile strategy may see virtual avatars of customer service representatives actively interacting with customers through smart devices. Future developments in mobile connectivity technologies may also require the enlightened business to integrate the customer deeply into the business.
In the preceding paragraphs, we have discussed the importance of a mobile strategy in doing business. Many aspects of the modern world can be negotiated through the technologies embedded in modern smartphones and tablet devices. Business is not an exception, even more so because the very nature of mobile technologies enables businesses to create and serve more customers than ever before. We could say that mobile technologies have shrunk the world, as we know it; mobile platforms have brought even more customers into the ambit of businesses, thereby enabling the modern enterprise to thrive at unprecedented levels.
