Mobile Productivity Blog

Getting the Most out of Mobile Sales Applications

Let’s take a moment, close our eyes, and think back to the 1950’s. These were the times when everyone smoked cigarettes, kids played outside until the streetlights went on, dinner was on the table at 5:00 (typically smothered in butter), and hats and suits were the daily uniform at work. And for the majority of these stereotypical 50’s folks, the occupation of choice was --yep, you guessed it, sales!

Whether it was door-to-door or corporate sales, there was one thing that stood out about these salespeople: their briefcases. Picture one of them with his large briefcase, carrying copious amounts of paperwork about his customers and forms to fill out. What a pain! If you told them that in 60 years, that briefcase would be replaced by something the size of a deck of cards, what do you think they would have said?

Sales is an out of the office, mobile profession. Welcome to selling on-the-go. This concept has been around for a long time, but thankfully as technology advanced, so has the sales profession. Laptops, smartphones, CRM software – these are all common to modern day selling. The challenge is that when they are visiting clients or prospect, their customer data is generally still in the office. Many will print out customer data, try to memorize the data, or even take notes on the data before they go to meet with a client, but the problem with these solutions is that they are not “real time”. Things can change without any notice and without live, real time data, the salesperson is going to be at least partially blind.

We’re in the age of the “CrackBerry” and having a smartphone in this profession is a must. But why? Well, having one of these devices provides the individual with the opportunity to carry LIVE information (not on paper, not on a laptop, not scribbled on your hand; that is a lot of work and uses many resources) without carrying a large object. Smart phones can put customer info in the palm of your hand at the point of contact. They can present interactive CRM and sales data (name, address, phone number, interests in the company, notes of customer interactions in the past, products, analytics, etc) that allows quick review of information prior to a meeting and increased intelligence during the meeting.

If you’re in sales, you NEED this data to be highly accessible to you at all times. With today’s global market you never know when you might need to see this information. But this isn’t all that a salesperson needs. To optimize your sales meetings, having access to comparative and analytical data shows your customer or prospect how you’re positioned in the market place. You can have the ability to access the data in your product warehouse to see real time inventory and product pricing data.

A mobile sales application brings real time critical data, not just a picture of the data. They help to better serve your customer and increases customer satisfaction. Mobile sales applications are simple to use and provide you with information that creates a more fluid and seamless relationship with your client.

Our recently signed on client BlackRock describes why they purchased a mobile sales application:

“We wanted a mobile solution that would support all sales systems from one mobile platform instead of a point solution from each vendor,” says Gary Bigley, Managing Director at BlackRock. “Pyxis Mobile provides a robust and scalable platform that integrates with the variety of business systems we use today, but also can integrate with other systems we’d like to mobilize in the future.”

Client AIC discusses their successes with their mobile sales application:

“We chose Pyxis Mobile because we feel it is the best in class application,” says Miles Radoja, AIC Vice-President, Sales Administration. “We knew that user adoption would be strong because of its popularity in the financial services industry and it turns out that it has been far better than we planned for. Feedback from the field has been extremely positive. Every wholesaler has jumped into this with both feet, and there hasn’t been any resistance from the field in using it.”

Are you currently using any mobile applications to facilitate your sales needs? What difficulties do you find when out in the field?

Chapter 9: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – Every solution is different. Which is right for you?

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.

The first thing to consider when evaluating the many different mobility applications on the market today is the technology and architecture on which they’re built. Any good mobility solution will provide an array of critical core functionality. Use the following vendor evaluation tool to assess the capabilities of your prospective technology providers:

Chapter 8: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – CONFIDENTIAL: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY — Just kidding, you can read it too

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.

Enabling smartphone devices with real-time data and effective workflows creates opportunities, but also brings new challenges and concerns; one of the most important concerns that needs to be addressed is security. By their very nature, mobile devices are more likely than laptops to be lost or stolen, and Instat estimates that this was the case for 700,000 smartphones in 2007, a number that will only rise as market penetration increases. Businesses that deliver customer, employee, or partner data via mobile devices can find themselves vulnerable if those devices get into the wrong hands or are in any way compromised.

Chapter 7: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – “I have to pay what?!” – Hidden costs revealed

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.

Yesterday, we compared the two options for choosing an enterprise mobility solution. But we need to look at something else: cost. It’s important to consider the “hidden costs” of in-house mobility solutions that often result in an overall higher total cost of ownership (TCO):

• Data mapping and plug-in development
• Software development to ensure compatibility of new devices (Blackberry Bold, Storm, etc.)
• Server and infrastructure hardware and maintenance costs
• Education, conferences, subscription fees, and other costs associated with ongoing training for development and maintenance teams
• Annual maintenance for server, plug-ins, development environment, etc.
• End-user training and documentation
• Support and quality assurance for rollout of the final product
• Ongoing quality assurance and testing of new data sources, devices, configurations, etc.
• Development and deployment of annual custom projects – once people have a certain amount of mobile access, they aren’t going to want less – only more!

Cost comparison between homegrown and third party enterprise mobility solutions (AKA the Reality Chart)

What does all this mean? Well, the Reality Chart puts things back into perspective. By comparing the two alternatives side-by-side it is evident which choice is the right one. Businesses are turning to companies with proven track records in enterprise mobility that can custom build applications and provide cross-platform application management solutions to maintain them. The best of these offer compelling advantages over home grown solutions. They deliver a “design once, run anywhere” architecture that supports a wide-range of mobile operating systems and devices with a single, flexible configuration. Working with the vendors that provide these solutions allows businesses to benefit from industry developments and best practices without hiring and training additional in-house staff, and turns enterprise mobility into a fixed cost, rather than an open-ended, unpredictable drain on company resources. A customized solution that delivers the right data to the right people, provides an intuitive workflow, and works on multiple devices with a single configuration, has a lower total cost of ownership and a higher value to businesses, freeing them to focus on core operations.

Question: Do you think your company could handle the financial burden of an in-house creation? Did you know about these hidden costs?

Okay, reality check over, next time you drop by we’ll be taking a dive into the world of security.

Chapter 5: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – Now what? Assessing your needs

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.

Welcome back! After hearing about all the great benefits having an enterprise mobility strategy can provide for you I’m sure you’re wondering how one can specifically assist you. Today’s chapter is going to help you assess your needs to determine what features would provide the most value for you.

Finding a solution able to deliver an enterprise mobility strategy is a complex proposition that requires careful planning. Managers responsible for such an initiative must evaluate the needs of the entire enterprise.

Key questions managers need to answer:

• What business challenges do you hope to address through a mobility solution? What measurable benefits do you hope to see as a result of its investment?
• How many groups of mobile users do you need to reach? Will this number change over time?
• What different devices and operating systems are in use? And what type of tools are necessary for supporting multiple platforms?
• What business functions are most likely to benefit from real-time wireless data and what specific applications or types of data should be included as part of the mobility strategy? (ie: CRM systems, sales team data, catalog and pricing information, HR and benefits data, etc.)
• What types of workflows need to be developed so that information can be easily accessed and effectively utilized by different audiences?
• How many different back end systems will need to be integrated? What are they?
• Are there existing web portals that can be mobilized – if so, how many? How can they be tied together in a mobile application?

After you’ve found the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed decision about an enterprise mobility solution that is right for the needs of you and your company.

Taking this initial step to consider and analyze all aspects that need to be incorporated in your enterprise mobility expansion will save you time, money, and internal resources in the future.

Single-solution product releases: more than you bargained for?

Earlier this year, a major insurance company launched a mobile iPhone application for policyholders. It allowed the company to capitalize on the popularity of the iPhone, but the employees who developed the application ad hoc didn’t necessarily anticipate the subsequent fallout.

• Upon release, thousands of users downloaded the app to their iPhones, creating a drain on internal resources. IT personnel were diverted to application QA and support, while development time was spent rolling out subsequent versions compatible with the iPhone’s new OS.
• Apple’s iPhone holds an 11% market share10, while Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Blackberry hold a combined 80 percent share. Had the insurer considered this, it could have executed a comprehensive mobile strategy that addressed more than just its iPhone customers.
• The insurer’s customers are only one user group requiring mobile access to its data systems, but the application offered no benefits to employees and partners. If the insurer had conducted a thorough needs analysis and cost benefit analysis, it might have better understood the total cost of ownership associated with releasing an iPhone app as well as the ways that mobile solutions could benefit other areas of the business.

This anecdote underscores the necessity of a comprehensive mobile strategy and the inefficiencies and resource drain associated with single-solution strategies that don’t account for multiple mobile devices and platforms, the needs of different user groups, or total cost of ownership.

Come back on Tuesday for the next chapter where we’ll be talking about the realities of creating a custom solution in-house vs. purchasing a packaged deal. Which do you think is best for your company? Have a great long weekend!

Chapter 4: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – The last piece of the success puzzle – partners

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.

As we've mentioned in the past chapters, there are multiple components to the value that enterprise mobility can bring to a company. The final area that completes the puzzle of success is connecting with partners. External sales and marketing organizations, distributors, supply chain partners, and other business partners are critical components of any business. Mobile solutions strengthen ties between companies and their partners by enabling communication and providing the critical information and data that helps keep project members on the same page. Any of the information that is shared between a company and its partners (contact information, account data, co-branded materials, etc.) can be utilized in the field and at the point of sale if it can be accessed via mobile devices.

“The supply chains of high-performance businesses require unprecedented levels of coordination and alignment.” – Accenture

A well-crafted mobile strategy allows partners to see information that is relevant to them and tailored to their specific needs, and provides authentication and customized workflows to ensure that confidential data is visible only to its intended audience (we’ll be discussing security of information in a later chapter). In today’s global economy, working with suppliers, distributors, resellers, and strategic partners is difficult, especially when team members are spread out around the world. Providing mobile access to rich data sets and materials seamlessly facilitates communication and builds efficiencies that get work done faster.

Now that we’ve covered the three areas that encompass enterprise mobility success, here’s a summary of how mobility drives value:

 

Question: What do you think are your primary mobility needs?

Keep this in mind for our next chapter of Embracing Enterprise Mobility.

Chapter 3: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – Maximize customer face-time; Empower your employees

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.

“When employees go mobile, efficiency increases 15 to 30 percent” – Diane Horton, IBM Canada’s Human Capital Management Practice Leader

As we mentioned in the last chapter, connecting with customers is not the only key to success. A successful mobile strategy allows businesses to empower employees at every level of the organization, driving productivity, efficiency, and job satisfaction. An area we think clearly exemplifies this benefit is customer service and sales. Employees who deal with customers in the field have a more meaningful interaction when enabled to access not only scheduling information but also real-time CRM and account data from their mobile devices. This gives them actionable information which helps to improve customer service and loyalty with their customers and prospects. In a fiercely competitive economy where customers are more demanding than ever, companies that unlock the full value of their sales and account management systems by making them accessible from anywhere will find themselves with a distinct and measurable advantage.

Chapter 1: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – Market expansions are taking off, and so is enterprise mobility – Does your organization need to get on board?

For the next 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.

Let’s take a moment to define enterprise mobility -- Forrester Research defines it as “the ability for an enterprise to connect and control suppliers, partners, employees, assets, products, and customers from any location.” Having this constant contact capability is a critical asset of business operations.

Benefits of enterprise mobility:

• Opportunity to improve productivity
• Drive Revenue
• Build and deepen relationships with customers, employees, and partners

Oracle and Pyxis Mobile Demonstrate Mobile CPG Application at OpenWorld

This week is Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco, CA. During Oracle's session on their new REST API, they presented a demo featuring Pyxis Mobile's consumer packaged goods (CPG) mobile application.

The app, which connects to Oracle using the REST API, is used by a sales person heading out for a day of retail site visits, and illustrates a "store display review" workflow. With CRM integration, location based services, camera integration, and more, the application serves as a template for Pyxis Mobile and Oracle CPG customers looking to mobilize their sales teams.

Watch the video below for more information.

Pyxis Mobile/Oracle CPG Demo from Pyxis Mobile on Vimeo.

Now Is The Time for Financial Mobility

Now? You mean "now" when the Financial Services industry is in turmoil? Everything is crazy and unpredictable, and budgets are being slashed...

Understood. The current economic conditions require that firms cut costs, reduce  administrative overhead and focus on servicing, adding and retaining  customers. But what seems clear today is that financial professionals, from all over the industry, need the freedom to sell, supported by mobile access to their firms' critical enterprise data. Mobility has  NEVER been more valuable that it is right now.