THE business landscape is not simply evolving; it’s changing dramatically, thanks to mobile technology.
Back in 1992 a 22-year-old test engineer sent the world’s first text message. Today, more than eight trillion texts are sent each year and in October 2015 global users of smartphones reached an astonishing 1.5 billion.
The smartphone that sits comfortably in the palm of your hand has more computing power than it took to put the first man on the moon! You know how helpless you feel when you can’t access your emails? That shows how dependent the business community has become on technology. It’s an integral and essential part of everyday business life.
And what’s the next ‘big thing’ that business owners and entrepreneurs need to face up to? It’s the challenge of mobile and smartphone technology.
Some readers may think that responding to these changes in technology is somehow optional. In the sense that if you don’t respond, things will carry on as before.
But ‘normal’ doesn’t exist any more. The days of people visiting your website via a PC, for example, are disappearing fast. As you read this, mobile technologies are already having an impact on your business.
As mentioned earlier, global users of smartphones are now in excess of 1.5 billion. A recent survey undertaken by Accounting Web and MyFirmsApp showed that over 85 per cent of UK businesses relied on smartphones for internal and external communication, as well as their primary route to the internet. Over 50 per cent of local internet searches are carried out by a mobile device.
Let’s put all that into context. Over half of the people visiting your website no longer view it through a PC or laptop. Instead, they are viewing your website through a smartphone or tablet.
Have you visited your own website via a mobile to see what your clients and prospects see? Is it fast to load, simple to navigate and easy to contact you using it? If it isn’t, you are likely to be losing customers and potential customers before they even contact you.
A survey by Accounting Web showed that 85 per cent of businesses used smartphones and apps. That means it’s highly likely that your customers and potential customers are trying to communicate with you and your website using these devices. What your clients used to do by telephone, PC or face to face, they now do via an app. And if your business isn’t geared to this technology, they’ll transfer their business somewhere else – fast!
One of the hallmarks of a successful business is its agility. Flexible, open-minded directors and managers who are ready to embrace technological, commercial and economic changes and turn them to their advantage. In an uncertain world, if you can offer a response to the technological changes then your customers and potential customers will welcome it.
Historically, agility may have meant adapting and responding over a period of months. It’s not like that any more. Having technology at your fingertips 24-7 in real time, anywhere, means you have the ability to respond ultra-fast.
If you would like to discuss how you can prepare your business for the challenge of mobile and smartphone technology, contact Cottons at www.cottonsaccountants.co.uk