For nine days, Pyxis Mobile's Mobile Productivity Blog will be publishing a series of articles providing the case for enterprise mobility, along with the technical considerations and evaluation criteria for selecting a mobile partner.
"Smartphone apps have become a key platform for businesses and clearly there is more to apps than just games." - Ockham Research, Seeking Alpha
Now that there is a large base of smartphone users, companies are presented with the task of providing value for these devices. After the post-purchase honeymoon phase, smartphone users are demanding mobile applications that are more than just a "cool" game. This need provides the opportunity to disguise marketing and promotional materials as innovative mobile applications and many companies are already capitalizing on the smartphone growth by developing these customer-focused mobile applications.
These application are designed to:
- Build loyalty
- Pinpoint high-value customers
- Drive revenue
Here are a few companies that are doing it right:
- Pizza Hut
- IKEA
- Wal-Mart
- David's Bridal
- Benjamin Moore
Last year Pizza Hut launched a mobile meal ordering application that has been downloaded more than 150,000 times. The company reports that customers spend more money when they order via smartphone than they otherwise do because the application is rich with savvy product placement and promotions. IKEA has seen more than 15,000 customers redeem discounts delivered via its mobile software, and companies as diverse as Wal-Mart, David's Bridal, and Benjamin Moore have launched applications designed to build customer loyalty and drive sales.
With more and more companies developing custom applications to improve their visibility and drive revenue, integrating a mobile strategy into sales and marketing plans is fast becoming essential to winning and retaining clients.
Here's a sneak peak of what we'll be talking about tomorrow in the next chapter of Embracing Enterprise Mobility:
Case Study: a Fortune 100 company goes mobile
In early 2008, a Fortune 100 company provided its employees with mobile access to its back-end CRM system in an effort to improve sales team efficiency, drive revenue growth, and maximize face time with clients and prospects. Extending its Siebel system to mobile devices allowed the company to:
- Increase revenue by creating new efficiencies in the field
- Enhance CRM ROI by enabling increased adoption and use by employees
- Streamline integration of multiple commercial and legacy systems on a single platform
- Expand functionality of existing mobile devices by delivering information drawn from multiple data sources
- Gain competitive advantage by providing access to actionable, real-time information about clients, products, claims, etc. that enhance the sales force’s ability to bolster customer service and close deals
The company began on a small scale, mobilizing only one division. But by approaching its mobile strategy in a holistic manner that accounted for growth, scalability, and potential user groups, it crafted an enterprise solution that can extend to additional business units, partners, and consumers, while leveraging the work and resources already invested.
Question: Who do YOU think is doing enterprise mobility "right"?
Come back tomorrow for Chapter 3! We’ll be giving you an insight on what enterprise mobility can do for your employees.
Comments