Smartphones are the new enablers of sharp, savvy customers. Customers are now using their smartphones to carry out real time research to track down the right product or service, at the right price, and at the right place. The question is, is your business prepared for them?
Customers of all types of businesses are using their enhanced mobile capability to ask questions – and get answers from – other like-minded users. With endless reviews and comparison websites available, it is vital that your brand is promoted in the correct way online. Easily accessible social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter enhance consumer-to-consumer communication and consumer to business communication making it even more critical for business owners to adapt their practices.
Here’s some top tips to ensure your business is smartphone savvy:
Learn how your customers are using their smartphones: If your customers are using mobile technology to raise their game, so should you. A good idea is to carry out some market research through questionnaires and face to face interaction find out what tools your customers are using. These might be code scanners, comparison shopping apps, social media or review sites etc. Set up your own devices accordingly. It is becoming more and more beneficial for businesses to have a social media presence; this means that interaction with customers on a personal level is possible. This will increase customer value, and ensure that any negative comments or complaints are dealt with accordingly in order to reduce customer defection.
Watch the competition: Use your online tools to learn what your competition is doing. Research their current offers, prices, social media sites and see if there is anything you can learn from them. By doing this you give your business a competitive edge, as you are aware of your competitors capabilities and weaknesses.
Train your employees: All your customer-facing staff should be prepared to deal with questions from smartphone-toting customers. Carry out some training with your staff surrounding your business's online presence, to ensure that they know what is going on and can instruct your customers to go to the right place. With access to technologies they will always be able to act proactively with your customers.
Keep it current: Like all technologies, smartphone-based shopping tools are constantly evolving. It is important to constantly reassess your tools to ensure they are still current. Also, it is vital to have a presence on all platforms; many companies make the mistake of limiting their efforts to one type of device. For example by just having an app on an iPhone, you will miss all of your customers on Android or Samsung.
By integrating these tools into your own marketing mix, you can turn a potential liability into a customer service and competitive tool.
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