The mobile revolution will inevitably transform most companies business in the next decade and it will trigger a more radical transformation toward systems of engagement. Mobile engagement empowers people to take the next most likely action in their immediate context and in their moments of need.
But mobile engagement is not only for the customers, there is a host of opportunities and advantages to be gained by empowering the employees with smart, mobile technology.
We can see that retailers are beginning to experiment with wearable technology and devise strategies to complement the capabilities of their existing sales teams with real-time, data-driven insights that help them deliver better customer service. These solutions enable them to deliver improved customer service thus making them attractive in an era of fast-changing product portfolios and high staff turnover. For example one of the companies we work with are about to introduce a smartwatch application connected to the supply/warehouse system allowing the store sales agents to immediately answer questions like if a product is available on stock.
Wearables can empower front-line employees and create better first impressions to ensure high quality, personalized customer experiences. The staff member becomes more productive by having information at their fingertips, in their ears or in front of their eyes that make it easier to provide great customer service. It allows them to manage walk-ins, pre-scheduled appointments and serve customers with intuitive interfaces. The wearable devices can provide real-time status about waiting customers, customers currently being served and notifications on upcoming visits and appointments.
The picture below show the application Mobile Connect by Qmatic. A mobile and wearable application for the mobile workforce. With the app, employees can:
- Get alerts and notifications
- Manage queues and appointments
- Check in customers
- Get context marketing messages and information about the customers
- Add information about service outcomes
- Measure customers satisfaction and NPS
As I see it mobile and wearable computing in retail provides a seamless bridge between the online and physical world. It also put customer information to personalize the meeting in the hands of the employees thus empowering them to deliver better service.
What’s your view on wearables for employees, do you know of any great examples?
In May 2015, Google reported that it received more search queries on mobile devices than on desktop devices. The shift has incentivized Google to reward websites that render well on mobile devices. App development companies Moible apps are scaling up their infrastructure and delivery capability to meet up the demand.