Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are forever changing the sales enablement landscape. These tools offer a unique set of features and benefits in terms of usability, innovation and utility that other pieces of hardware – particularly standard desktop computers – just can’t match.
More deals, greater productivity, better business decisions and convenience for your customers- these are all possible outcomes after integrating mobile sales enablement solutions. The key resides in being able to access all of your business’ mission critical data from wherever you are – at home, in the office or vacationing on some faraway island. Information is crucial to running a successful company, and by putting that data in the palm of your hand, you are able to utilize it that much more effectively.
A recent infographic from Mutual Mobile highlights precisely how smartphones and tablets are revolutionizing the business world, and sales in particular. Chief information officers expect to raise budgets devoted to tablet expenditures by 35.7 percent in 2012, and businesses in general will spend upward of $26 billion developing mobile applications and process reinvention over the next four years. As many as 90 percent of companies believe mobile sales enablement is a high-priority investment.
Mobile Sales Investment and the Different Parts of Your Company
Sales and marketing departments are typically intertwined, with the actions of one side directly affecting the other. Thus, the implementation of mobile sales enablement solutions could have an impact on a variety of business functions.
Sales executives, the people who set revenue goals and help to develop other pipeline opportunities, can benefit from mobile platforms in a multitude of ways. First and foremost, mobile solutions can help companies to grow sales revenue by informing business decisions and improving response times.
Mobile sales enablement platforms can also cut time to market for product and service offerings and make client interaction more productive and collaborative, which are key things executives look for in new technology. According to Mobile Mutual’s report, firms with mobile solutions are 23 percent more able to achieve sales quotas.
Sales operations professionals, those who evaluate the tools and activities that drive sales departments, also stand to gain from the implementation of mobile tools. The right solution enables them to bolster productivity and efficiency throughout departments, lift customer relationship management (CRM) usage, improve the quality of data recorded from customer interactions and enhance performance analytics.
Productivity is a key metric when evaluating any sales department, and mobile device usage correlates strongly with that figure. Research conducted by IDG suggests that of organizations that allow their employees to use smartphones and tablets for business purposes, 65 percent report an increase in productivity. Mobile devices can be used to enhance many sales department operations and functions.
Finally, there is the marketing department. Mobile devices enable brands to constantly monitor and respond to campaigns – if an initiative is performing well, you can double down on these efforts. If another isn’t driving the results you want to see, you can quickly make changes or shift resources to other campaigns. Moreover, mobile solutions give marketers a real-time window into the effectiveness of collateral and help to bolster return on investment.
Overall, sales enablement solutions enable sales and marketing departments to collaborate more effectively. For a long time, a rift has existed between the two functions. Mobile devices can help close that gap by getting the two departments on the same page.
Sales Mobility and the Foundation for Success
Mobile technology has proven to be a potent ingredient in the recipe for success.
Separate data from the Aberdeen Group suggests companies with sales mobility are better able to reach sales quotas as a team (76 percent versus 53 percent among those without sales mobility). Moreover they retain more customers (61 percent to 47 percent), improve accuracy of sales forecasts (61 percent to 44 percent) and achieve a higher number of individual reps hitting sales quotas (56 percent to 39 percent).
Furthermore, companies utilizing mobile tools found they are able to work more efficiently anywhere and at anytime. Businesses with mobile solutions are able to deploy mobile applications that support key sales processes (48 percent), enable sales reps to enter customer data even when in the field (45 percent), gain access to relevant marketing collateral and information at a moment’s notice (41 percent) and process data remotely within company guidelines (19 percent).
As noted by the Aberdeen Group, these metrics are key performance indicators for any sales-heavy business. But what caused companies to invest in mobility solutions? There are a number of factors involved with taking this action.
Mobile platforms are largely viewed as being crucial to settling several consumer qualms. For example, they allow businesses to respond to growing demands from customers, increase business competition to react to customer needs on a timely basis and expand into new geographies.
Another relevant factor is the current economic conditions. Many companies are feeling the squeeze of economic pressures – they have less budget for sales and marketing initiatives, so efficiency has become paramount. Mobile solutions enable businesses to do more with less and raise productivity, which are important factors in a weak economy.
Mobility and the Future
The costs of mobile devices are declining on a daily basis, while the power of these devices is increasing just as quickly. This means that mobility tools will continue to provide more value to sales teams with fewer cost barriers.
When it comes to marketing automation and sales enablement, mobile devices can help your company greatly. By investing in them sooner rather than later, you are able to fully empower your sales teams and get ahead of the competition.