{"id":6202,"date":"2013-06-11T09:15:03","date_gmt":"2013-06-11T14:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=6202"},"modified":"2013-06-11T09:44:35","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T14:44:35","slug":"3-new-trends-created-by-mobile-that-you-cant-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2013\/06\/3-new-trends-created-by-mobile-that-you-cant-ignore\/","title":{"rendered":"3 new trends created by mobile (that you can\u2019t ignore)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"<\/a>As I\u2019ve mentioned in the past, mobile is the fastest growing trend in history. In fact, I just read a study<\/span><\/a> that puts smartphone adoption in the U.S. at over 50%.<\/p>\n

When you consider that the iPhone was first released in 2007, that is an absolutely mind-blowing statistic. In nearly 6 years, smartphones (as we know them today) have gone from 0 – 50% adoption. <\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019d like to go a step beyond the growing mobile trend. I\u2019d like to examine trends created by the rise of smartphones and tablets. Specifically, I\u2019d like to focus on ways mobile is changing business. <\/p>\n

So, how does the rise of smartphones and tablets change business? What new trends are cropping up? While I\u2019m sure there are more, here are 3 big business trends created by mobile: <\/a><\/p>\n

1. 24\/7 is getting longer<\/h3>\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking. \u201cHow can 24\/7 get any longer?\u201d <\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n

Suppose you own a brick and mortar business that\u2019s open 24\/7. Now, suppose your average customer has a family, works a 9-5 job, and sleeps 6-8 hours a night. That doesn\u2019t leave much time to shop at your store. While your store may never close, that customer\u2019s available \u201cpurchasing hours\u201d aren\u2019t nearly 24\/7. They\u2019re hovering somewhere around 3 – 4 hours. <\/p>\n

What happens if you also created an eCommerce website for your business? While the website does expand your customer\u2019s purchasing hours, it\u2019s still somewhat limiting. Customers can\u2019t buy from you unless they\u2019re in front of a computer with an internet connection. How long do your customers sit in front of a computer? Assuming they work an office job, that\u2019s about 8 – 10 hours (on the high end).<\/p>\n

Now, what happens if you create a mobile app for your business? Your customers can buy from you anytime and anywhere.<\/strong> Think about it: A smartphone is a small, always-connected computer that your customers carry around everywhere. With a mobile presence, your customers can purchase from, or interact with you as soon as the thought enters their mind.<\/p>\n

Case in point: I bought printer ink the other day. On my way home…while stopped at a red light. In the past, I would\u2019ve had to remember to buy it when I got home. Now, I can buy as soon as I think about it. <\/p>\n

The question is: Where is your business when a customer or potential prospect needs you? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Mobile gives businesses an incredible opportunity to reach their customers and prospects regardless of time or location. It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re a services company, or you sell physical products. Your customers and prospects need to interact with you. <\/p>\n

How are you using mobile to reach more customers?<\/p>\n

2. Tools are making a comeback<\/h3>\n

I remember hearing business leaders complain about the difficulty of keeping up with technology. That was 5 years ago. That was before mobile became big.<\/p>\n

Can you imagine what those same businesses are saying today?<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, IT departments face the daunting challenge of building applications that not only work across all browsers, but across all devices as well. Businesses find themselves needing an ever growing array of skills. <\/p>\n

These factors combine to create a new trend that I\u2019ve noticed over the past year or so: A renewed push towards development tools\/platforms. Realizing that they can\u2019t keep up, businesses are now opting for development tools\/platforms that let them create applications for all platforms. <\/p>\n

Side note<\/strong>: If your company is looking for a development tool, here’s a short article that explains important elements to consider<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Design is taking center stage<\/h3>\n

For better or worse, mobile has changed user’s perceptions on how software should look and behave. Users now expect intuitive, exceptionally-designed interfaces all of the time. If your software\/application doesn\u2019t meet their rising expectations, they\u2019ll move on.<\/p>\n

Now, some developers might make the mistake of saying, \u201cI don\u2019t develop consumer-facing applications, so design isn\u2019t as important.\u201d I\u2019m sorry, but that\u2019s just not true. Businesses already face the very real problem of \u201cShadow IT\u201d, in which end users bypass IT altogether and use unsanctioned cloud-based software. If your applications don\u2019t meet your user\u2019s expectations, what\u2019s stopping them from moving on?<\/p>\n

The fact is, it\u2019s no longer good enough to build great software or applications. While wildly inaccurate, users are increasingly assuming that poor design equates to bad software. That may be false, but unfortunately, they won\u2019t stick around long enough to learn otherwise.<\/p>\n

Now, don\u2019t get me wrong: I\u2019m not saying design is the most important element of development. In fact, I strongly believe that architecture holds that title<\/span><\/a>. My point is this: In today\u2019s design-centric world, you need both. Your software must have great architecture AND great design if you hope to succeed.<\/p>\n

Wrap up<\/h3>\n

Mobile is one of the biggest and most important tech trends we\u2019ve ever experienced. It\u2019s changing, and will continue to change, the business world as you know it. I\u2019ve only listed 3 mobile-driven trends that I\u2019ve noticed recently, but there are many more. What would you add to the list?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I\u2019ve mentioned in the past, mobile is the fastest growing trend in history. In fact, I just read a study that puts smartphone adoption in the U.S. at over 50%. When you consider that the iPhone was first released in 2007, that is an absolutely mind-blowing statistic. In nearly 6 years, smartphones (as we …<\/p>\n

3 new trends created by mobile (that you can\u2019t ignore)<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","slim_seo":{"title":"3 new trends created by mobile (that you can\u2019t ignore) - mrc's Cup of Joe Blog","description":"As I\u2019ve mentioned in the past, mobile is the fastest growing trend in history. In fact, I just read a study that puts smartphone adoption in the U.S. at over 50"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[34,33],"class_list":["post-6202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-mobile","tag-tech-trends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6202"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6234,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202\/revisions\/6234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}