Jeffrey Gitomer May 27, 2013

May 27, 2013
By Jeffrey Gitomer
May 27, 2013
 

title=When The Who recorded the song Going Mobile in 1971, they had no idea whatthe future held, nor that they were the predictors of it.

Theythought going mobile was all about being on the road, and maybe flyingon an airplane. But today, going mobile means a whole lot more.

Any business today that isn’t going mobile is going backwards.

Any business today that isn’t going mobile is losing to a competitor that is.

Any business today that isn’t going mobile is admitting their failure to see the PRESENT.

• How good is your mobile app? Does it serve the customer, or just you?Where’s the value? Can I easily get what I want? Can I pay easily? Can I schedule a service appointment? Make a comment? Can I also call you and get right to a human?

• Is all of your training and product instruction/information downloadable? Your manuals?

• How easy is it for people to read your message? What’s the format? Isit made-for-mobile, or just a poor adaptation of your blog or website?

• Size matters. (The size of type, that is.) Why not subscribe to yourown posts and see. If I need to adjust the size, tell me how to view itin mobile format.

• Is everything you sell downloadable? Can Iclick, buy, download, and listen or watch in a minute or two? (LikeiTunes or Kindle.) Think about it – more than 100 billion downloadscan’t be wrong.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Instagram completely ignoredthe computer in favor of smartphones and tablets. How are they doing?HINT: Facebook didn’t buy Instagram as an investment – they bought outof fear.

NOTE WELL: Every major company has a mobile app so youcan easily access their stuff. Every social media channel has a mobileapp reliant on smartphone and tablet use for as much as 50% of theirtraffic.

Social media is there at the forefront of mobile appdevelopment – whether you’re there or not. Social media is the PERFECTplace for your customers to share their message and their praise, andvoice their concerns.

Going mobile is not an option.

REALITY: Mobile apps are now accessed more than the Internet. Mobile apps are an imperative, not an option, or an added service. They are the future.Your future. If you don’t have one, you are a jackapp. 😉

BIGGER REALITY: The iPad is the new laptop. The smartphone is the NOW communication device, growing by millions weekly.

BIGGEST REALITY: The easier it is for people to access what you have, the more they will buy from you.

CONFESSION: WE ARE IN THE SAME PREDICAMENT. That’s why I’m writing this. To putmyself on notice that my own offerings need to be ahead of the marketand ahead of my competition.

Here’s my present situation and what I’m going to be doing to ensure my leadership position for the next decade:

• I have an app. Unfortunately it’s only available for the iPhone. BUT,we’re adding an additional cross-platform mobile application that willallow easier access to my website and all of my existing books and CDs.This app will be easier to use, easier to navigate, and easier forcustomers to purchase and pay.

• All of my products will be available as downloads.

• We will be providing an on-demand subscription service to all of mytraining offerings and all of my books on laptop, tablet, and smartphone – oh yes, even for desktop.

CAUTION: Don’t just think about howbusiness is being done today. Think of how “mobile” has progressed it,making it faster and easier to conduct and how online, tablet, andsmartphones have transformed the e-commerce economy to the mobileeconomy. It’s here, and it’s not going away.

Look around and take notice of the non-traditional changes taking place:

Coffee shop offices. Any Starbucks will reveal people running their business from their iPad and their app.

Mobile accessibility both for the purpose to connect and to purchase is becoming dominant among retailers.

• In sales calls and presentations, iPad (tablet) mobile brochures arereplacing print, and iPad (tablet) presentations, and GoToMeetingappointments are replacing traditional sales presentations.

TODAY’S CUSTOMER: Be where they are, when they are – on demand. It’s not just smart business – it’s smartphone business.

TOMORROW’S CUSTOMER: When our four-year-old daughter hands me my iPad and says,“Papa, download this,” you know what the next generation will be doingand buying (sooner than you think).

Jeffrey Gitomer is theauthor of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and TheLittle Red Book of Selling. He just published two new sales books,available exclusively on Amazon’s Kindle. Win Now! and The SaleRe-Defined. They will change the way you think and sell. His website,www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training andseminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

© 2013 All Rights Reserved. Don’t even think about reproducing this documentwithout written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.704/333-1112