The discussion around mobile customer engagement heated up last year with Forrester’s release of its Mobile Is the New Face of Engagement report. While their finding – that by 2016, smartphones and tablets will put power in the pockets of a billion global consumers – isn’t breaking news, the report was a wake-up call for everyone in sales.
As an organization that specializes in mobile customer engagement, we’ve encountered common pain points that businesses share. Whether we hear from pharmaceutical companies or car dealerships, there are key ways they’re missing out:
Customers get so much information from the cloud that when they talk to a salesperson, they already have the information they need to make informed decisions. “Did you see the demo on YouTube?” “What are your thoughts about that blog review?” – In some cases, salespeople don’t have the tools to get ahead of the information curve and are limited resources to customers.
Salespeople don’t connect with customers on their terms. The inevitable delay to send and share information means that information doesn’t reach customers quickly. We all know the potential client we meet at Starbucks will likely forget us by the time we get back to the office. So, how do you follow-up while still in line for your latte?
Salespeople don’t have the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the company, especially recent news and changes. These are the people on the front lines, but they’re caught off-guard. Who doesn’t know that unsettling feeling when outsiders hear the latest news before you do?
For us, mobile customer engagement is about engaging with customers whenever and wherever, and not missing out on opportunities. It’s the answer to the Big Three issues above.
Mobile customer engagement means connecting, building relationships, and adding value wherever you are. That’s one the reasons we’re continuing to add features to Kurryer, such as sharing content with customers while personalizing it with your own brand. (Yes, you can create and send personally branded sales materials while in that Starbucks line.) We’ve also added stronger capabilities to share information within your team, so they see the blog posts, research and videos ahead of customers.
Forrester included another nugget of information in its report: By 2016, U.S. consumers alone will own 257 million smartphones and 126 million tablets. You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that 1) they’ll use them to learn about your industry and offerings, and 2) they’ll have all the information they need before approaching your sales team.
Rest assured that by 2016, one of the most commonly-asked questions in business will be: Do we know what our customers know?