All posts tagged Increase Customer Satisfaction

Mobile Dog: 10 Things I’d Love About Mobile, Part 1

by Edward Dekema on February 22, 2011 in Mobile Dog with No comments

I’m not just a mobile program manager, I’m also a mobile user.

Mobile Masters DudeI’ve noticed that it is easy to get deeply involved in my day-to-day activities and never stop to put my thinking cap on.  Usually the last items on my task list, the ones I never seem to have time for, are those related to thinking forward, developing strategies, or creating visions. It seems most people, including myself, feel guilty about putting the feet up and staring at a small spot on the ceiling while switching the brain into deep processing mode. In addition to this being a matter of not breaking routine, I also believe it can be comforting to work on the tactical and logistical stuff and avoid stepping out into empty space where our minds can run free.

Well, I decided to challenge myself today while hiding out from work during a snow storm. The goal? I work on mobile projects, but I’m also a mobile user, so what are ten things I can envision being useful when I am out and about? Please note that this can be the space for dumb ideas or capturing one that already exists, but when done regularly it can produce some truly visionary items that can be potentially added to your current or future projects.

Mobile Masters in the Store1. In-store GPS – my iPhone can get me to the store, but can it actually help me when I am in the store? Imagine having a lists of twenty items you need to buy at the local big box store and when you walk in the door a map suddenly appears to guide you to each destination. In and out in less than five minutes. Stores might not like this because I would no longer randomly wander down the aisles throwing unnecessary junk into my cart, but it sure would be a nice differentiator between available shopping experiences.

2. Point of sale negotiations – I’m in Best Buy and I’m finally ready to buy that tablet. Three contenders sit right in front of me and it’s time to make a decision. Considering that the devices are close in quality and feature sets, which manufacturer really wants my business? I want to bring each of them into a virtual bidding war for my business. I’m ready to spend today, so who is more motivated to move inventory and give me the best price or bundle in a few extras.

Mobile Masters Crowds3. Audio streams at concerts – lousy sound systems and screaming fans no longer work for me. Ticket prices are high and I want to hear the music. I saw Bob Dylan a few months back and couldn’t hear a word he sang. Classic songs went by and I had no idea. It’s time to let me slip on the iPhone headphones and hear Bob sing Maggie’s Farm. Heck, for an additional price, sell me live tracks and let me take home a real souvenir.

4. Video streams at movies – sorry, there are many bad seats at your local movie theater. Stream the movie to my iPad and let me switch back and forth between big and little screen depending on the scene playing. The streaming version could also answer ‘hey – who is that actress and what has she been in before?’. It would be fun to see other ways movies could be augmented, more so if they fit the category of never going to contend for a best picture nod.

Mobile Masters Big Brother5. Track routine activities – everybody else has my data but me. I’d like an app that automatically logs specific events and data about me, for my use. Get an oil change – logged with date/time and type of oil used. Go to the dentist – logged with procedures performed, copies of my x-rays, and date of my next appointment. Go to a restaurant – remember what I ordered and the cost of the final tab. I know I can manually enter this information, but I’d rather have my device capturing data while I’m on the run getting things done.

I’ve got five more ideas, but that will need to wait for my next blog. In the meantime, take a few minutes and run through a similar exercise. I’d love to hear what you come up with…

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What About the Other 70%?

by Matt Torgersen on February 16, 2011 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

When you’re putting together any strategy, doesn’t it make good sense to ensure that you can address the needs of the largest percentage of whatever group you plan to serve? Sounds like common sense, right?

Think about our planet. Earth is made up of 70% water and 30% land. Mobile Masters Global If the planet represented your customer base, you’d probably not make a single decision until you considered how it would impact that majority. In every decision you try to consider how to make the largest impact with each project. It’s one of those basic common sense approaches required for any business decision.

Now consider that approximately 70% of the mobile users on the planet are using feature phones. A feature phone, is simply a mobile phone that is not a ‘smart phone.’ Not sure who came up with that one, I personally would have referred to them as ‘dumb phones,’ but I guess the makers of these devices would have likely not been too happy with that designation. It is simply terminology that separates what we all Mobile Masters Feature Phonesknew as just plain cell phones – think about the Motorola RAZR or the Nokia 1100. These are phones first, and provided additional capabilities such as built in internet browsers. These are the types of devices still in use by 70% of the world’s mobile population. And I’ve run into more than a few iPhone users who have made snide remarks about how it’s great at everything except being a phone!

Let’s take a closer look at those 30% that are on smart devices. There are many studies that identify smartphone users as some very desirable customers for many industries. Statistics on this group tends to skew towards a younger demographic with more disposable income and a higher level of expectations regarding the ways in which they can do business with the companies they choose. Clearly, we can’t really ignore this group.

So, let’s revisit the initial question. How do we implement a mobile strategy that impacts the broadest view of our customers on the devices which they use every day – regardless if it’s a smartphone or feature phone?

The answer is twofold. You can’t have a one size fits all approach to solving the issue. First, Mobile Web is by far the answer to how you can reach the broadest audience. When I say ‘mobile web’, I don’t mean simply allowing customers to hit your standard PC web site from their mobile phones. Clearly, standard PC web pages are not designed for optimal viewing on any mobile device. A well designed mobile web solution optimizes the web content for the exact device on which it’s being displayed to ensure the user an optimal web browsing experience. If you’ve ever had a non-optimized web browsing experience (and there is no doubt that you’ve had these experiences numerous times), you know how frustrating it can be just to scroll left and right and try to read text fonts which are clearly not expecting a mobile user.

I’ll address the details of a well designed mobile web approach in a future post. But briefly what it entails is some powerful technologies that recognize the device in the users hand and automatically directs an appropriate look and feel, screen sizing, fonts, etc. to that device as the page in rendered.

A mobile web experience is great on all devices, but it’s typically not as robust an experience as native client installed on a smartphone device. A well designed mobile app on a users device can enable your company to become part of the users daily world, sitting right next to the news, sports and weather that users often consume on a daily basis on their devices. Your logo as an icon on their smart devices is a daily reminder that your company is part of mobile network, and available to them 24X7 as needed.

So when you’re considering a mobile approach, consider ways to incorporate both the 70% majority and the 30% minority. These are both very important user communities. Over time, it’s likely that this statistic will continue to skew up towards the smart devices, but you don’t want to leave any of your customers, or potential customers behind.

Mobile Masters Google Earth

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The RIGHT Mobile Mixtures Lead to Big Business Benefits

by Matt Torgersen on February 3, 2011 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

Enterprise Mobility is not new – but it’s on a huge trajectory upward. World class companies have been working for years to run their businesses. Why – one word – CONTENT.

But let’s look back at how this has become so relevant. Ever wonder how the copier repairman knows where to be at a given time? The company that makes the copy machine has likely offered your company a maintenance contract, and maybe even tied to it an SLA (Service level agreement) which guarantees that if something happens to the machine they will have someone there to fix it within a set amount of time. Innovative companies with business models such as this implemented some sort of early stage mobility years ago to notify the field technician where they need to be and when – avoiding many phone calls to/from the tech and the dispatcher. But, when the repairman arrived, he still had to bring his manuals for reference and more likely call someone for more assistance. The benefits of mobile technology stopped when he walked in the door.

If you were to view those solutions today, they may seem crude – but they were functional. This was the basis for how many world class companies cut their teeth on mobility in the early days – meeting the challenge of adding real time communication with employees not sitting at a desk. (Take a read through the ‘Mobile Futures Today’ blog here on MM written by Brian Philbin – he’s a life long field service veteran).

Today, dispatching employees and automation of communications are table stakes for mobility. The key now is providing all the information which is needed by users of mobile applications – about the call, the customer, all onsite equipment, and information the tech may need to complete the job and service the customer.

Let’s think about what has driven the wide consumer adoption of mobile devices. There was a time when someone might carry a cell phone for communication, an MP3 player to listen to music, a newspaper, a book, and some pictures of their children. If they were traveling on business they may also be carrying their boarding pass, and printed driving directions for when they arrive at their destination.

Today, all this content can be within a single device. THIS, along with content drive mobile apps is what has driven the meteoric rise of mobile devices in the consumer space.

Apply this to the example of a field service technician. The tech may be dispatched via a mobile application, then when he arrives at the customer location he checks in on his device. He then has real time access to dynamic technical documentation of the customer’s equipment. As he interacts with the electronic documentation, he can watch videos of others with tips on making the repair. He can access rich content knowledge bases and collaborate with peers and gain from their expertise. He visually navigate replacement parts and simply the image which needs to be replaced and he is immediately reordering the part. He can be presented with the maintenance history of all the machines onsite and determine if there are others that should be checked, or preventive maintenance required.

Over the past years, some of this has been capable through the deployment of ruggedized laptops. These have proven slow to boot up, lacking effective battery life and at times more difficult to use compared to the value they provide. Mobile touch screen smartphones and tablet devices are the perfect solution.

The field tech IS the face of your organization to the customer. The goal is to maximize his efficiency, provide ongoing research and training on the job and ensure the highest quality as the tech closes each call. Executing on preventive maintenance and other non-urgent work orders while onsite improve efficiency and ultimately improve customer satisfaction. This also improves worker satisfaction when they can be prepared for each customer interaction and know that they have the proper knowledge to complete each call on the first visit.

So as you think about how to support your field teams, think about not just getting them to the job, but rather how they can be supported on the job.

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One & Done Nation

by Edward Dekema on February 1, 2011 in Mobile Dog with No comments

Note to editor – queue Kanye West’s theme song to The Social Network right here.

A few years ago my brother and I were discussing various ideas for mobile apps that would make us rich and famous; quite possibly the subjects of an award winning film. Overhearing the conversation, my wife suggested that we create a comprehensive live music concert app that would list every band, every venue, and everything else we could want to help us and others find a show. I immediately explained to her why it couldn’t be done by us – data. How could we possibly collect, sort, maintain, and present all of the data required? I passed on the idea, but every so often she would bring it back up and let me know that we were missing our chance to have Ricky Gervais and Kathy Griffin immortalize us on the big screen.

So imagine my surprise last week, while sitting in bed next to my lovely wife, when I came across Live Nation’s concert app. I started the download and then turned to her to explain what I had found. ‘See’, she exclaimed, ‘I told you we should have done it’. Impossible, I thought. Only a company like Live Nation could pull all the data together and allow us to find every concert, by any band, anywhere in the world.

The download finished and I fired the app right up. The UI looked great and I saw rock stars, lots of them. It wanted to know my location and I acquiesced. Of course, how else would I know when U2 would be playing here, in Bothell, Washington?

‘Look at all the venues, this is the app!’ I showed my wife.

I quickly found the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle – a place very dear to me because I once met Peter Buck, the guitarist for my favorite band R.E.M., while having dinner and seeing a show there one night. Thinking I was cool, I handed him a business card from my record label and asked for an autograph.

Looking back to that wonderful night, I decided to click on the Crocodile Cafe’s link and find a show. Who knows what rock star I might meet this time. It was only a few short weeks ago that I ran into Dave Matthews at another venue and prevented him from getting to the bar while I introduced myself. I’m sure he remembers me fondly as the impediment between him and his next beer.

The concert screen finally loaded and I looked on with amazement at what I found. Live Nation’s app listed exactly one show. Having recently reviewed the Crocodile’s upcoming shows in a good old fashioned newspaper, I knew this was wrong. I quickly went back to the extensive list of concert venues, and for each one I selected, it returned one lonely show. I slowly started to realize that, just like Bono back in 1987,  I still had not found what I was looking for.

With some happiness, my wife looked on and continued dreaming about the possibility that our life story would be the hit at next year’s Palm Springs Film Festival. We would surely be invited to leave the dreary Seattle rain next January so we could bask in the sun with the movie stars, just like Mark Zuckerberg must have done this year.

I quietly closed Live Nation’s app and started the deletion process, thereby throwing it in the trash bin with the other ‘one and done’ applications of my mobile past. I knew a few years ago, when my wife first discussed the idea, that a great concert app would be beyond our capabilities, but I assumed Live Nation must have worked through all of the logistical issues before releasing their version. So imagine now my disappointment to find out that this was not the case.

Intrinsically, I knew my limitations when my wife first mentioned her great idea. Companies today, and not just Live Nation, however are still learning a lesson – do it right or don’t do it. Otherwise it will be another ‘one and done’ in the mobile world.

Sorry Live Nation, you had me for a few minutes and then lost me. We’ll have to wait and see if you ever get a second chance…

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Mobility – Is it Deja Vu all Over Again?

by Matt Torgersen on January 26, 2011 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

Yogi Berra, the hall of fame catcher for the NY Yankees was one of the most colorful players of his time. He was also one of the most quotable. Among his many ‘Yogi-isms’, he once quipped ‘This is like Deja Vu all over again.’ As a Mets fan, I remember Yogi as the man that took over as the Manager following the death of Gil Hodges in 1971, and led the Mets to the World Series in 1973.

I’ve heard that statement used in comparing the rise of enterprise mobility with the last ‘game changing’ technology, which was the World Wide Web. There’s no question that both are disruptive technologies which provide unprecedented opportunities to make fundamental shifts in how business is transacted and how companies communicate with their customers. But I do question if this is a fair comparison as I believe the impact of mobility can be much more powerful and the underlying issues more complex.

Deja Vu all Over Again!

From a pure business impact perspective I understand how people make this comparison. The potential business impact and opportunity for mobile is amazing and the rise of the iPad and tablets will only accelerate this trend. Can you imagine today doing business with a company today that does not have a website? Of course not, and a highly branded and functional website is table stakes for any business today.

Mobile is quickly becoming equally important to enterprises. The importance of having a high fidelity app in the app stores is a key factor in helping new customers discover, connect and most importantly, interact with your brand.

On a recent business trip I had a series of delays. Rather than waiting on a long line to speak with an agent or try to get a call through to an 800 number I went out to the app store in search of an app. To my dismay, I was surprised to find that US Airways did not have an app in the iTunes app store. So I had to interact with US Airways in the old fashion way – I wasn’t happy.

The Mobile Web is equally critical for those customers who want to spontaneously connect with your brand. A well designed mobile website enables users with smartphones or more traditional feature phones to connect with your company from anywhere at anytime.

Upon further inspection, it’s important to note that these new mobile channels have a key fundamental difference when compared to the Web. A lack of standards for mobile. On the Web, while there are different browsers they do follow a general set of standards. A webpage should be equally valuable if viewed through Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.

Mobile devices on the other hand have no standard screen size, resolution or operating system. Clearly, this complicates the issue of supporting a variety of mobile devices. So the partnership between business and IT for planning is critical to how you approach mobility

Most companies have incorporated the internet into their operations as a channel for communication and commerce. Very few businesses – maybe none – will reach their full potential with solely a brick and mortar operation. Mobile offers another new opportunity.

Now is the time to for every business executive to take a hard look and mobile and understand how this new channel can raise the bar for their operations. Now is the time to review the daily workflow of your employees and understand how mobile will enhance their effectiveness.

The next step is to understand how customers and potential customers can engage with your brand via mobile technologies. What is the demographic of your customer today, and how can you expand it? It’s been reported many times that smartphone users are a young affluent community – most brands view this as a very desirable audience.

A well planned business strategy, not technology tinkering, should be the first step in determining how mobile can add impact to your enterprise. Just as with some websites of the early days – it was clear which were designed to enhance business and which were designed as part of a technology project.

In mobile, you only get one chance at a first impression – but that’s a topic for another post.

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Moving ahead – Where Does the Road Lead?

by Matt Torgersen on January 12, 2011 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

If you’re like most business leaders, you’re in a position where your assigned goals and targets almost always seem to be much greater than the resources available to meet those goals. If you’re in sales or service, your revenue targets are likely increasing more aggressively than the headcount assigned. If you’re in marketing, you have grand plans to expand the methods with which you communicate with your current and potential customer base, all while strengthening your brand in the marketplace.

Planning for the New Year is all about prioritization. Review your goals, your team, your resources and timelines. Hopefully, you’re in an organization that focuses on outcomes, and not solely process. While process is important, these should be flexible to support the achievement of the outcomes rather than being the focus.

By focusing on the outcomes, organizations are able to ask questions which can lead to new ways of achieving results.

There are a wealth of technologies and channels available to support new ways of doing business and communicating with your customer, employees and partners. Two of the areas which are exploding today are social media and mobility; and if you’re reaching out to customers or developing your brand in market – these two areas are absolutely linked.

As a marketer, the nirvana is to become part of the customer’s daily life and conversation. Social Media allows this engagement through a host of social media outlets; some of which are more active than others. Active social media is about interaction and community. By building a community around your brand, like-minded customers can gather virtually and share information. This sense of community will ultimately strengthen your brand and your relationship with your customers.
Now, take that a step further. Enable your customers to have the same interactive experience, where ever they may be via their mobile devices. Embed access to your social media outlets directly through your mobile application.

As an example, let’s look at ING Direct. This company blends the mobile banking experience with it’s social media channels. The ING Direct mobile application offers core banking functions, such as the ability to check an account balance via a mobile device, as well as the ability to pay a bill or to transfer funds to a friend through a Person2Person address book. Additionally ING Direct also built in social applications, such as Flip for Fun, which lets bank customers flip a smartphone sideways to enter various social media channels such as ING’sFacebook page, Twitter pages or its ‘We, the Savers Blog.’ Read the Computerworld article here.

 In my estimation, these outlets are likely to get more use from a mobile device than from a laptop or desktop computer. When a person is sitting in front of their computer they are typically focused on getting a job done. But users have their smartphone devices with them all the time – so during hours of work, play or relaxation users may be using their mobile devices to scan a blog or see what users may be posting on Facebook pages.

This is truly the new way to interact with customers. Once your social channels become part of their routine, they can continue to gain value through promotions, information on new products and market trends which positively impact your brand.

So rethink your planning processes, determine new and exciting ways to interact with your customers and put your brand in the same space as your customers spend their time. If you harness the power properly and enable it all through a strong mobile offering you can drastically change your profile in the world of social media and mobility.

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The User is King (or Maybe the Queen)- if Only we Knew What They Wanted

by Matt Torgersen on November 10, 2010 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

If you’ve been following this column, you know that my goal is to bridge the gap between the business community and IT. Some have accused me of being overly harsh on IT and developers. My goal is to be fair and balanced, so I present a balancing perspective.

When I married my wife and we moved in together, she brought her entire CD collection – all 4 of them. 1 Madonna, 1 Michael Bolton, and 2 traditional Irish. I had a collection of 1,000 CD’s (this was pre iTunes) ranging from the classics of the 60′s to the most up to date music of the time. Our home was filled from morning until night with music – my music system included a 400 CD changer, which would be constantly playing and randomly selecting music from the CD’s I kept inside – which never included the 4 she brought with her!

My wife enjoys music, but does not know music. “I know what I like when I hear it” she tells me. Fast forward 12 years – she now has an iPod Shuffle that she uses when she exercises.

Recently, she told me that she was not happy with the music on her iPod. She didn’t like some of the songs and asked me to revamp it’s contents. I asked her which songs she didn’t like and which she wanted to keep. She didn’t know, her iPod Shuffle has no screen to show what song is playing. I asked a few more questions and got vague responses. And by the way, she’s headed out for a run in a few minutes so could I do it now.

I suddenly felt like an IT person – asked to deliver a vaguely defined solution.

  • I had met with my ‘user’ and been given a high level requirement which is incomplete, undocumented and vague.
  • My user is not taking the time to review the options with me
  • I therefore need to draw on my own experience and determine what I believe is going to be best for the users.
  • The user does not fully understand what they are asking. She knows what she doesn’t want – more than what she does want.
  • The success of the solution I deliver can not be measured against any hard criteria – but rather the whim of the user.
  • The user has already selected the device – so I need to make it work for that device.
  • I need to drop other projects I’m currently working – to meet the deadline for this request.

Sound familiar?

In a better world, my wife would have sat with me as we scanned to current content of her iPod and determined which songs she didn’t like. We would have been able to explore our vast (now digital) music collection to expose her to new music or to help her get ideas which could make the final product even better through introduction of new ideas. Without a short time deadline, I could have made some preliminary selections and gained feedback prior to working through the entire project.

The point of my story is one that we all agree is not new, but no matter how obvious it may be – seems to be often ignored. Communication between IT and the Business Community is invaluable in gaining the ultimate success of the end solution.

This is even more important in viewing mobility. Most business users have had a good amount of experience with various mobile apps; so can bring some perspective on what they envision. Many IT departments are still new to mobility, so the open dialog can help both sides talk through the options. Well executed mobility projects can have an enormously positive impact on both employees and customers.

Most IT teams I have met over the years have a strong desire to delight the users. Some may be jaded due to prior dealings with users asking for solutions which they may not have fully thought through. Some may suffer from the mantra that IT needs to ‘protect users from themselves’. And many business users have been frustrated by slow delivery on projects or not fully understanding the competing priorities of the IT team.

All of these preconceptions can be understood and explained by having the key stakeholders in the room together in an open discussion. The business community must conceptualize their requirements and articulate the positive impact on the business. IT must discuss their ability to deliver within the constraints of budget, timing, enterprise architecture and competing priorities.

In the end, Business and IT are on the same team. They are both working to further the overall mission of the organization and to drive competitive differentiation – to win and keep customers.

So prior to dictating your next project to IT – make the investment of time to communicate openly and discuss the project. That can avoid your next mobile technology initiative from looking like an old Michael Bolton CD.

Matt T -

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What the Heck is a PC?

by Matt Torgersen on October 27, 2010 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

What’s a PC? That was the question recently asked by my oldest daughter, who is 10 years old. She knows how to use our iPad, Mac, my blackberry and laptop. But when I used the term PC – she gave me a blank stare. I explained that it was an abbreviation for Personal Computer; and then I explained how ‘in the old days’ computers were in special air conditioned rooms with raised floors. In a few years she will be a consumer who has very high expectations from the companies with whom she does business.

It make me consider technology changes. I know I’m getting old when I start talking about how quickly technology is changing. But the reality is that in today’s world, as soon as a new technology product is released, it is quickly followed by an announcement about the next generation. The pace is frantic to continually meet expectations of customers.

One of the keys to successfully introducing new technologies to your customers is timing. How often are we do we see technology released at a time when it’s not likely to succeed?

In 1997, I bought a gadget called the CrossPad. It was co-marketed by the A.T. Cross Company and IBM.

The promise was that it would create digital images of what was written on a piece of paper. I bought into the vision. It worked pretty well. My vision was email to colleagues my notes from client meetings. The challenge was that the files created were 5+ megabytes – and when I tried to email these it would bring our email system to a crawl. This was a time when many were using dial up connectivity to access email. Great idea – but probably 5 years too early to be truly practical.

When it comes to mobility, even when an idea may appears that it would only appeal to very early adopters, things change in the blink of an eye.

Look at mobile banking. I remember hearing of the first few mobile banking apps, and heard those who felt it was a novelty because banking customers would not trust them to be secure. Those first mobile banking apps were introduced at time when many customers were still questioning the security of standard online banking. But in very short order, the adoption of these apps was commonplace.

NOW, those financial institutions that have yet to deploy mobile banking find themselves way behind the curve. The institutions with strong mobile offerings are attracting high value customers, especially in the younger and more technically savvy demographic. With the right level of service, attracting these new customers now could bring customers who may be with that institution for decades.

So my challenge to you is to contemplate how mobility can improve your business. Think of the people to people interactions which take place that drive your operations – among employees, with customers and other stakeholders. Anyone that has an impact on the success of your operations.

Learn a lesson from the banking industry. If you envision an idea now, even if you think your constituents are not ready for it – start it now. You do not want to limit your thinking to what you believe would be acceptable now – but think about what can provide long term benefits. Even what may seem a far fetched idea now – could in short order be something implemented by one of your competitors and change the landscape of your industry. You want to be the leader, not the laggard with appropriate timing. Those organizations that understand their customers and employees intimately, will be ultimately successful.

As for the CrossPad – here is the last line from the entry in Wikipedia regarding the product. “The CrossPad and CrossPad XP never achieved the market success that the Cross Company and IBM hoped for, and the product was ultimately discontinued in April, 2001. A class action suit resulted from the failure of the product in the marketplace.”

It wasn’t that the CrossPad was a bad idea – but it was not properly implemented or timed. Lesson learned.

- Matt T

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Do You Know Your Mobility Culture?

by Matt Torgersen on October 20, 2010 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

I spent time with my Aunt recently. She is of a different generation; born in the 1930s. She dedicated her life to kids as a 1st grade teacher, and based on her life’s work she is very aware of the role that parental involvement plays in the development of healthy kids. If you remember Aunt Bee from the Andy Griffith show, you’ll sort of get the picture.

What does my dear, dear Aunt Lou have to do with business mobility you ask?

During a recent visit, she saw my smartphone. She shared a story of being in a restaurant and saw a family having dinner. During dinner the father checked his phone and was texting during the meal. She was appalled at the behavior as the man was distracted from the family dinner and wondered if there was such a thing as quality family time anymore or if people were too busy texting all the time.

I found myself somewhat defending the man’s actions. I was sharing with her the velocity of communication in today’s business environment and that there were likely co-workers or customers on the other end of the communication requiring his input and approval, possibly even in other timezones. As a father of 4 little kids with a full time career I empathized with the villain of her story. I told her that I feel being connected allows me to spend more time with my family as I’m no longer required to be tethered to my office desk to get work done.

This incident made me consider how organizations really utilize mobile technology, and the cultural expectations around their deployment. There clearly is a balance on how a mobile device impacts your workers. The plus is that they are always connected, but that’s obviously a double edged sword.

Is there such a thing as overly connected? Could it be that just as some companies force employees to take vacation time, we will see a time when some companies may be looking to implement mandated ‘disconnected time’ for their employees. But why is it that some people feel the pressure to be constantly accessible?

We all know that Enterprise Mobility is a game changer for business – that has a profound impact on your employees and the way they work inside and outside of business hours. But one key point which I have not seen discussed is how a company’s culture drives how employees use their devices.

As you embark on a project to mobilize your business processes, consider the fit into your company’s ‘mobility culture’. I define a company’s mobility culture as the unstated expectations of how employees work with devices they are provided. Also be aware, that there are likely many sub cultures within your organization. For example, the sales team may have a more frenetic pace of mobile communications than the finance department.

Your mobility culture is keenly driven by a number of items.

Here are a few key items to consider:

  • Does executive leadership tend to respond to emails 24/7; seemingly within minutes of receipt?
  • Are field service personnel on call after hours receiving automated call notices?
  • Does your business operate with a tightly connected global team?
  • Do people send out messages after 5pm, and then follow up messages before 8am the following day?
  • Do your teams currently have mobile email, do they have mobile access to enterprise apps such as CRM, inventory and ERP – or is this a first rollout of smart devices?
  • Does your overall company culture strike a balance between work & personal lives?

Only you can determine the proper mobility culture for your organization. You want to ensure that it’s supportive of your corporate goals and in line with the overall culture design of the company. If your company is engaged in supporting medical devices used in heart surgery or running a 24/7 limousine business you may have a very different culture than a company that is running a more standard 9am-5pm business operation.

When considering your mobility culture, consider your financial business objectives, your overall company culture, and just maybe some input from my Aunt Lou.

= Matt T

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The Educated (Mobile) Consumer

by Matt Torgersen on August 17, 2010 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

There is a clothretail chain based in New Jersey called Syms. They advertise themselves as the ‘off price representative for over 200 authentic designer and brand names’. They run radio commercials heavily, which always tout their tagline – “An educated consumer is our best customer”. The sentiment here is that if a consumer knows what they are buying – they will pick Syms, if they don’t they may have regrets later. Speaking of the happy, educated consumer couple…

Business leaders need to heed this advice when reviewing mobility projects. Every decision maker should ensure they attain a level of understanding level reviewing technologies which will represent their company and brand through a mobile application. The application developer does not have their logo on the front page – you do. 

Mobility is more than a technology project; it is a transformational opportunity for how an organization conducts business. Mobility will (when done correctly) drive a fundamental shift in how an organization interacts with their continuants – customers, employees and partners. And the opposite is true, if done improperly mobility can tarnish a brand.

I am not the first to use Citi as an example of business mobility gone wrong; but I feel it provides a compelling lesson. If you have not heard, Citi disclosed that there was a security flaw in the iPhone consumer banking app. According to the Wall Street Journal article “Citi said its iPhone app accidentally saved information—including account numbers, bill payments and security access codes—in a hidden file on users’ iPhones.”

Accidentally? It sounds more like a developer used a ‘work around’ to get the app to work in the manner desired, and a release of the app without a proper security review. I’m not here to bash Citi for their problems, in many ways I give them credit for addressing the issue publically.

I’m sure we all feel empathy for the business leader who left this project in the hands of IT. The business had a requirement for an iPhone application to better serve customers and asked IT to fulfill the need. Citi’s competitors showcase their mobile banking apps across TV, radio and web; and Citi needed to get on board. I’m sure there was a level of urgency put on this project.

There are many providers of mobile technologies. There are design firms, software companies, consulting firms, independent developers, wireless carriers, and of course internal IT resources who all can provide some level of mobile application development. How should one decide the proper approach? The lesson for business leaders is to stay involved in the decision making process when determining your enterprise mobility strategy & providers. 

Typically, the independent developers create great looking flashy applications; many of these people also create mobile games and bring that perspective. Developing a standalone mobile game  requires a very different approach when compared to extending a business process to a mobile device. 

Both need to be compelling to the user, but the business application has much deeper requirements. A mobile business application has dependencies on back end systems, must operate both with and without connectivity, needs to be relevant to the business case, should be developed by a provider with industry expertise, requires a solid security model from host system to device, and many others requirements. 

While most business people want business applications to be as compelling as mobile games, they still need to represent the brand appropriately, accomplish the business task quickly all while providing a mature security infrastructure.

We should all take some advice from Syms and do our homework to ensure we understand what we’re getting when we make investments in mobile technology.

Matt T -

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