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On Like Water in 2006
Imagine one day that, as you step into your morning shower and turn the spigot, no water comes out of the faucet. What would you do? You'd go be-freaking ballistic! You'd call 911, the water utility, your Congressperson, your energy company (even though they probably have nothing to do with it), and your siblings, just to see if they're standing naked in their bedroom too, as desperate for water as any character on Lost.
As brands, you may not realize it, but as consumers go mobile, you need to be "on like water."
So, a single prediction for 2006: This is the year mobile goes mainstream. As a result, all companies need to remain intimately connected to how their customers interact with them and with new media in general. It's not as easy as you think. We as consumers -- B2B, B2C, consumer-to-consumer -- have become increasingly nomadic in how we use mobile technology, access media, and interact with our favorite brands.
At the same time, there is a desperation that many customers have when you don't show up when they need you, no matter how they access you. Increasingly, regular folks are expecting you to be there no matter when or where. Like water.
What To Do About It?
This whole world of Web 2.0 is real, and you're going to feel it this year if you haven't already. First, it's important to rethink the purpose of your web site. A company's web site has less to do these days with the content that comes out of your marketing department, and more to do with the interactions of your business. A Web site in a 2.0 world becomes a communications and interactions hub where information is accessed on-demand, ideas are exchanged, and real-life experiences are shared among your brand evangelists and prospects. To find out how your customers are changing how they prefer to interact with you, look to your customer service departments, your returns and exchanges departments, your tech support centre, your front desk phone greeter, your account representatives, and any other area that interacts on a daily or hourly basis with your customers.
To get a better understanding of all of this, you should consider the following:
1. Provide a place for these various departments to document when customers ask or demand more mobile services or content. Assign someone to monitor those suggestions.
2. If you have an internal search function of your web site, analyze the terms customers use to find content and check to see if any terms related to mobility have significant volume.
3. Continually research your competitors' web sites to see if they are making new inroads into providing mobile services.
4. Finally, on a quarterly basis pull together these various departments in a "bag lunch" environment to brainstorm how mobile content and service would enhance their jobs, your customers' experiences, and, perhaps ultimately, your long-term relevancy.
On-demand and mobile -- the "water" of media -- are the two concepts that most businesses have only scratched the surface when considering how their customers interact with their brands.
Convenience is king these days. Convenience is increasingly about mobile access -- wireless PCs, cell phones, portable devices like Blackberrys. Are you there? Or is the faucet dry? Be honest about it. Is it important?
For additional independent reading on how mobile marketing may affect you and your organization, please see the articles listed in today's Recommended Reading in the sidebar. Also, we are available to consult with you in determining a roadmap to increased mobility and flexibility in your marketing strategies.
Posted by Andrew at January 16, 2006Web Results eNewsletter
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