Our World Is Changing
ByThe world is different today than it was yesterday. Smartphones have a life expectancy of about 2 years. They are designed to be disposable as the next better, faster, more amazing version comes out every year. Apple doesn't even allow you to replace the battery. The smartphone is a supercomputer that is designed to be thrown away. If not thrown away, then at the very least it's been designed to be retired from the initial owner after a year or two. Computers are not much different. The hardware may be designed to last a little longer, but software packages change pretty rapidly. Internet Explorer already has version 9 out and Microsoft is trying to force people to retire IE 6. Cars aren't designed for a long lifespan. A car loan is roughly 5 years. It can almost be expected a car will be traded in after 7. How long do people stick around in a job?
The point is, that the world changes and pretty quickly. Smart phones, computers, tablets have made it even easier to be connected. FaceTime, Skype, any of the handful of messenger/communication softwares capable of audio and video chat. And with technology, business has changed as well.
Technology has Shrunken Our Borders
With the advent of instant communication, instant streaming, huge data channels on phones and in homes, we can get albums, movies, software packages at the drop of a pin. We can speak with someone a world away as if they were standing right in front of us. This changes our business practices. We have to be “always on” which means we need a presence on the web. We need to understand how to reach out (market) to potential clients. We need to have an avenue of response, even while we are sleeping. Taking orders, answering questions, troubleshooting problems all while we sleep and probably in a dozen different languages. How do you learn all these things? How do you create a web of connectivity, a hand of constant outreach to your customers?
Tsunami of Information
Almost everyone has Facebook, Google+, and Twitter in their pocket. We are constantly bombarded with text or SMS messages from friends, family, and loyalty programs. You may not want to add to the din of voices screaming for attention, but if you don't, subscribe to at least one information stream, you may be completely alienating your customers and how they choose to get information. You need to learn the best way to touch base with them. Everyone will choose their best method. I have a preference for RSS, as far as information I want to gather and email for things I want to be informed of. Your customers will pick their best method that they like, so it's important to offer them some choices.
We Are All Paparazi
The World is truly watching. Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame. Everyone wants to be a celebrity. Everyone thinks they are on reality TV. We Twitter, we post, we +1, we Share. There are so many pictures of us floating around, you'd think you were a celebrity. Whether or not this is a result of technology or the very thing that lead to that technology is a tough question to answer. But it has become a valuable tool. There are places where cell phones are more prevalent than toilets, running water, or even electricity.
The point is, you can't ignore being out there using all these advertising channels to get your message out, your products seen.
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