This Christmas season, one of my colleagues and his spouse set out to shop for their seven children. Dealing with Black Friday stampedes and unyielding traffic, is enough to make any parent want to abandon Christmas altogether… so this year my friends decided on a different approach.
Instead of heading to the mall, they scheduled a quiet weekend together. Rather than fighting the mobs, they booked a romantic inn tucked away in the peaceful surroundings of the Smoky Mountains. So how did they get their shopping done?
Online.
As the competitive landscape grows, companies like yours are being prompted to find new ways to innovate; new ways to compete. They’re looking at fresh, elaborate avenues to make them stand out. But often, it’s the simple things that produce an easier, less stressful shopping experience and ultimately make the difference. In my colleague’s case, it was merely finding the retailer’s web presence easier to navigate than traffic. Free shipping was a plus. Finding the lowest possible price was not worth fighting the in-store battles. In most cases, you will find that the software, augmented by excellent employees, will create this competitive advantage.
First, I would recommend hiring people that are approachable and customer focused. Once in place, software does the rest. How can your company leverage software to create the customer experience and competitive advantage I’m talking about?
Here are 3 things your company should be doing right now:
Reducing Friction
Ed Zimmerman, in his Wall Street Journal article, writes, “We must reduce Buyer Friction”. He restates the question we are all being asked, “From 1 to 10, would you recommend this product or service to a friend?” The more friction, the lower the score. Limited parking, insurmountable traffic, or poor customer service – they’re all forms of friction that keep us from returning. Where is your friction? And how can you reduce it?
The new competitive advantage is improving the customer experience. Shopping from a mountain lodge vs. fighting winter weather, jammed parking lots, or simply waiting in lines to check out, is a choice someone makes to reduce the friction of Christmas shopping. Software helps create the competitive advantage.
Businesses are becoming more connected and more social. We are seeing smartphones, apps, digital wallets, and anything to create a customized, easy-to-navigate buying experience. When your customers visit your site, do they all see the same things, or can you customize the experience based on their browsing or buying habits? The less looking they have to do, the less buying friction they will encounter. Is your software customized to create the best buying experience with the least amount of friction?
Increasing Connectivity and Digitization
In a recent report, Gartner outlined technology trends that will reshape the way enterprises operate internally and how they connect with consumers. They talked about smart cities and connected people; the Internet of Things (IoT). They forecast there will be 4.9 billion connected things by 2015, up 30 percent from 2014, and reaching 25 billion by 2020.
This year, mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage in the United States. This is a growing trend according to comScore. The world is becoming more connected and tablets and phones will be the future-computing platform. Phones and Tablets are not like laptops. People interact with them differently. They expect their devices to be connected, social, and app oriented.
Don Scheibenreif, in a recent Wall Street Journal article, comments on creating what he calls, Business Moments. All this relies on IoT and software apps. Looking to the future, he imagines a typical suburban neighborhood, “Mary’s automated house alerts her of mild water damage in her son’s room and recommends repainting. Mary agrees with the house, and the house sends the specifications to a nearby do-it-yourself retailer.” In another scenario, a businessman’s phone reminds him it’s his wife’s birthday. As he’s walking by a particular store, a custom ad hits his instance message box. Far fetched? Not really. Gartner predicts 2015 will usher in the IoT at a whole new level. Mobility will take over the PC, and better apps will completely change the way we live.
Leveraging Intelligence
Then there is big data. Everyone is collecting it – but what will you do with it? When raw data is coupled with advanced analytics and IT, amazing things are possible.
“Software is where most of the big changes in technology are taking place,” writes Bartels, an analyst with Forrester. “That is to say, while legacy, on-premise investments are languishing, those that focus on cloud-based implementations such as SaaS; specifically big data analytics and mobile apps are booming.”
Consider your marketing efforts. The average company has no idea what’s working or if there’s any return on investment. Big data brings with it intelligence. Using social media, web SEO, and other digital marketing tools, your business can know exactly who’s reading, who’s clicking, and who’s buying. You can also see who’s leaving to visit a competitor’s online webpage.
It’s All in The Software
Connecting things, mobility, and customer experience. It starts with hiring great people; the rest is software. Given the raw data is there, and it is, your ability to analyze and use it, to create a unique buying experience, is what will set you apart.
Whether your business is retail, professional services, or manufacturing, your ability to provide intelligent, real time service, with less friction than your next best competitor, will make the difference in whether you own the market or spend your time chipping away at the industry leader’s market share.
Pioneering Your Vision
