Innovation is a constant consideration for small business owners and entrepreneurs, not only because of the changes they need to make in their products or services in order to compete, but also because the tools for marketing and operating their businesses are ever-changing. In this roundup, we consider one major revolution– the rise of mobile–and how this innovation is changing everything.
The Age of Innovation
Cut rate communications. A report suggests Apple is developing a cheaper iPhone for release later this year with a price somewhere between $99 and $149. The trend toward mobile technology is affecting every aspect of how we interact with customers, suppliers, and partners. With these devices becoming less expensive all the time, more of your customers will be ready to do business on a mobile platform. Bloomberg
The next runner up. Apple is not the only company making waves in the mobile niche. In fact, columnist MG Siegler argues that a very different kind of company, Samsung Electronics, may become the most important tech firm of 2013. Recently, the company announced its intention to start selling phones running on the open source platform Tizen in addition to its Android-based offerings, making the company a dominant player in the market. TechCrunch
Evolve or die. You know your business has to innovate to keep up with the pack. The mobile revolution is just the latest example of this as your customers make big changes in the way they communicate and do business. But whether you are trying to make changes in your products or services or in the way you interact with your customers, small privately held companies often face the greatest challenges, writes management consultant Marc Emmer. Here’s why. Executive Street
On the Move
In the black. If you want to know how important mobile devices could be to your business’s bottom line, check out these statistics collected on the impact of mobile purchasing during the 2012 holiday shopping season. Specifically, PayPal numbers show a 173 percent increase in mobile purchases on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. with a 193 percent increase in mobile sales on Black Friday. Overall, Paypal saw a 164 percent increase in mobile payments over 2011, reports blogger Rieva Lesonsky. Grow Smart Biz
Face the realities. An estimated 75 percent of the world’s population now have mobile phones, according to this infographic shared by blogger Wong Ching Ya. This means that even something as simple as your Facebook marketing should be done with mobile users in mind. Here we see some tips for making sure mobile users stay engaged with your Facebook page. Suggestions include focusing on quality content in your feed, the only thing mobile users will really see, and investing in an advertising strategy that includes Sponsored Stories and Page Post ads. Social@Blogging Tracker
Monetize your mobile startup. As might be expected, the upswing in mobile usage has brought about an increase in the number of mobile startups to accommodate users. The major challenge for these businesses from day one is figuring out how to earn a steady revenue from their applications, a challenge even for some larger businesses with mobile apps. When you launch a mobile business, monetization should be part of your strategy from the beginning, not something to be considered only after your application is completed. Rahul Varshneya
Time to get started. You’ve heard about the importance of mobile technology to many aspects of your business. Not least of these, is the way in which customers are paying for products and services. In this post, Dave Thomas gives us more data from research firm Gartner. The question is whether your business is ready for the next step in digital marketing, or not. The mobile reality of the marketplace means its time to make some changes in your business. Tweak Your Biz
