All posts tagged Increase Customer Satisfaction

If you build it they will come… (But will they come back?)

by Matt Torgersen on August 11, 2010 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

In the movie ‘Field of Dreams’ Kevin Costner heard these exact words, which served as his inspiration to build a baseball field in the middle of his farm. In the film, Costner heard mysterious voices telling him to forgo his crops and build the field. The voices promised that if he did then the spirits of great baseball players would come to play on the field. It’s a Hollywood classic – but let me tell you, its definitely not a well thought out business plan.

It’s a movie - you however live in the real world. These words do not apply to business and technology. You’re a pragmatic business leader who needs systems that improve your operations AND will actually be used by your employees. There may be times when technical teams make system decisions ‘for the good’ of the business. No matter how grand the vision, how detailed the evaluation or how elegant the technology architecture behind the solution – if the user doesn’t use it, the technology will fail. If IT builds it, it does NOT guarantee that your users will come.

Mobility greatly exemplifies this dynamic. In no other area of technology is it more important to take into account the end user than it is when introducing mobile business applications. 

Think about a mobile banking app… this is giving a customer direct access to back office banking systems. This brings convenience for the customer, ROI for the institution, and a more intimate relationship between the two. Now think about a bad experience you’ve had with a mobile app or maybe even a website – when technology doesn’t work or is not designed with the user experience in mind – you simply won’t go back. That’s bad for business. 

Mobile apps are an extension of social media; people love to discover and share ‘cool apps.’ Those banks I mentioned are climbing over each other to have great mobile offerings – as they understand that it will make them more prominent if they have a great mobile app that creates a buzz.

That’s what it’s all about – providing mobile technology which enhances the relationship. It can provide on demand access, a sense of community or simply a ‘feel good’ experience. 

In the end – if you build it properly – they WILL come. If you don’t, they may come once – but won’t come back. And if they don’t come back, you may find they’ve gone to your competition. That’s bad for business AND bad for you!

Matt T -

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Business People, I’m Talking to You – Techies Need Not Apply…

by Matt Torgersen on August 5, 2010 in Pragmatic Mobility with No comments

Pragmatic Mobility

Mobile Moving Business

Mobile is everywhere. You can’t watch television, read a magazine, or attend a business planning meeting without hearing the jargon – Droid, Apps, Blackberry, iPad, ‘there’s an app for that’ and of course the iPhone.  Commercials make the phones look more like modern reincarnations of the Game Boy, rather than something that would be applicable in business world. If you’re not old enough to remember the Game Boy – you are likely already a carrier of at least one smartphone device, and maybe more. More importantly - your workforce and your customer base is made up of saavy and not so saavy individuals.

So what is a business leader to do?

Some organizations = way too many – still have their head in the sand on the topic of mobility. They don’t see that their customers are walking through their stores carrying mobile devices, that their sales people are showing up at the office with their slick new devices, or that the competition’s field team has fully enabled devices in the field as they service their customers.  But you are not an IT person, you’re a business person. You don’t know where to begin to get an understanding of it all.

My goal with pragmatic Mobility is to help non-technical business people understand how mobile technology can and will add to both the top line and the bottom line, while increasing satisfaction of both customers and employees.

Does this all sound too good to be true? Envision a world where your teams are always prepared in front of a customer, where customers are in constant contact & dialogue with you company and where bi directional communication is instantaneous. Think back to the genesis of the internet… imagine your company today with it. Mobility is the next generation of technology which will transform many businesses.

This is the first post of Pragmatic Mobility. I will commit to you that I will focus on the real life business cases for mobility, those that help companies grow and serve their customers. I won’t focus on technology for technology sake – there are plenty of tech-heads out there that can describe the bits and bytes. 

In the end – like any business technology – the success of a technology project is in the hands of the end user. In the case of mobility – it’s literally in their hands. If you provide a great mobile experience which is easy and fun to use, engaging, reinforces your brand and makes a more intimate relationship with your customers – you have done it right and will realize the true benefits.

Matt T - 

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