The mobile craze has taken the world by storm. Businesses are optimizing their websites for mobile, and consumers are using their hand held gadgets to learn more about—and make purchases from—their new favorite brands.
Entrepreneurs looking to cash in on this trend often turn to digital transformation to completely reinvent their companies. But it’s not just about optimizing for mobile devices; it’s about optimizing for mobility itself.
Using Mobile Technology as a Catalyst for Digital Transformation
Mobility is a bit of a broad term. Most people think it means mobile devices, like tablets and phones. But I think it means much more than that—and I’m not alone. Mobility is essentially about the freedom to shop and work where you want, whenever you want, and the flexibility for businesses to hire talent and close business deals from across the globe.
In fact, mobile technology is one of the most important components of a digital transformation. It reshapes the way we approach commercial operations, how we reach customers, and how our employees go about their daily work lives. Overall, digital transformation is about embracing something beyond business—a bigger picture—that contributes to a better experience for all involved.
How Mobile Technology Benefits Your Enterprise
Harnessing mobile technology opens up a world of opportunity. Businesses can find and take advantage of talent all over the globe, and they can be open 24 hours a day because a remote employee is standing by from another time zone on the other side of the world. That’s one of the reasons why some large-scale operations boast such respected customer service and others don’t. Likewise, embracing mobility allows companies to cut their overhead costs. A vast majority of tech advisors work from home, meaning these corporations don’t need to invest in giant, expensive call centers.
The most successful companies offer mobile training programs, welcome packages, and employee support—ensuring workers are competent and feel like a part of the family—no matter where they live.
…And How It Benefits Your Customers
Of course, the benefits to your employees trickle down to your customers. Roughly 64 percent of people in the U.S. alone own smartphones and use them on a daily basis. How often do you use yours to search the internet? I can confidently tell you I use mine for online searching non-stop. And if you aren’t using this technology to reach your customers when and where they’re searching for you, you’re missing out big time. Among mobile apps, websites optimized for mobile, and social media, the means to tap into an entirely new audience are readily available.
Create a Better Customer Experience
Beyond reaching new users, mobile technology gives you the potential to create better customer experiences overall. Imagine this scenario: A shopper is having difficulties with one of your products or services, but it’s after standard business hours. How does he or she reach you? If you employ remote staff in different time zones, you can keep your service lines open all night. If you’re active on social media, consumers can tweet their issues or post them to Facebook for a quick response.
This makes for a better brand experience, which in turn builds customer loyalty (and boosts profits). Going mobile, then, isn’t about mobile devices, but rather about mobility as a lifestyle.
Embracing the Mobile Lifestyle (The Right Way)
So how can businesses embrace mobility without creating brand confusion? If mobile technology isn’t implemented correctly, it can lead to disaster. Imagine implementing a remote workforce without standards and training in place? Not good.
Companies seeking mobility need to consider how they plan to cut the tethers of a physical workplace and integrate mobile technology. How will your teams communicate, and how will they be trained? What kind of support services can you offer employees? These are things to consider before you jump into the digital swimming pool.
There are plenty of mobile platforms designed just for this. Using mobile technology, you can keep customers, employees, and your business as a whole on the same page. The trick is in creating a mobile experience that is seamless across all channels.
A business prospers in direct relation to the success of its many individual parts. Using mobile technology, you can bring those parts together as a whole. And a business that functions well as a whole – especially in the mobile universe – will enjoy a significant advantage over its competition.
Additional Resources on this Topic:
Mobility and the Digital Transformation
Mobility Driving Business Success
Creating an Infrastructure Strategy for Enterprise Mobility
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This article was originally seen on MillennialCEO.