Mobile is Mandatory
Mobile is not approaching, it’s already here.
CRM managers must respond to the advent of mobile technology with an enthusiastic embrace. And by “mobile” we refer to a range of technologies that put the Internet, the telephone, specialized software applications, and a synthesis of all three directly (and literally) into the hands of the customer.
Smart phones are achieving market saturation much more quickly than previous disruptive technologies. [See the article in MIT’s Technology Review.]
Customer satisfaction correlates tightly to customer expectations. As mobile technology advances, so too do customer expectations for service via their mobile devices. Brad Cleveland, (Contact Center Expert, and author of Call Center Management on Fast Forward) writes, “[D]evelopments on the customer’s end – smart phones, broadband, social media, and mobility – are driving the most significant progress in expectations and service. It’s essential to revisit your customer access strategy often enough to keep it current, or it will fall out of alignment with your customers need and how they choose to interact.”
The customers want service where they are, not where companies want to provide it.
(And if you doubt that advances in technology don’t drive customer expectations, one need only think of indoor plumbing. What customer will use even your best chamber pot or outhouse?)
Customers are more empowered than ever to look for other options and they are quicker than ever to bolt for a competitor. Forward-leaning customer service inspires loyalty, and loyal customers are customers who buy more and more often. The return on investment is clear.
For those of us old enough to remember, it’s like the arrival of the Internet, when we saw companies having distinct responses to that new technology. Some quickly embraced the new technology and provided customers new modes of communication. Some saw it as something new and unfamiliar, and struggled at first. Others saw the task of building a web presence as an added burden – more work on top of their existing work.
Mobile is like that; it will be more effort to get it up and rolling (and if you want to do it right, a lot of hard analysis and planning will be part of that work) but most importantly, it’s a new opportunity.
Yes, mobile is different than the phone, it’s different than the web…AND it’s kind of BOTH of them! The value you derive from the technology will be unique your business, your customers’ demands, and your imagination, but moving with the customers to mobile, and beyond it when that day comes, is essential and not optional.
Assuming your business is sufficiently forward thinking, mobile will be a part of your strategy going forward. With mobile established as the new normal, recognize that companies who do mobile well will have a strategic advantage.
Conversely, the companies who do mobile poorly will struggle. The customers will punish poor execution. So now more than ever (here comes the pitch!) you need VoiceVision. For high quality customer service, you need a unified business process across platforms. That won’t happen by accident. Call about VoiceVision today, and get your bearings before you blunder blindly into a mobile development project.
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