Smart phones may have changed how we do business, but tablets are taking it to a whole new level. Tablets have a lot of the same advantages of phones, like being able to take them with you and use them anywhere, but their bigger screens and advanced hardware make them easier to learn, faster to use, and a whole lot more versatile. If your CRM isn’t optimized for use on iPads and other tablets, it should be. Here’s a few reasons why.
Mobility with Readability
Tablet PCs have a lot of the same conveniences as phones do now, like the ability to stay connected from pretty much anywhere. Their size, though, can make a big difference in how they’re used.
Of course you can’t fit one in your pocket, but the greater size makes for a screen that’s more readable without zooming and scrolling. Text can be enlarged on a smaller screen, but then you often have to scroll back and forth to read it all, which can be frustrating and tedious.
With more room for information to be displayed, it takes fewer clicks to get to the data that you want to see or update. On a phone you might see the first 50 characters of a note about a particular client, and have to click on it to expand and read the full text. Tablets have more room, which can be used to view the full information from the get-go, or to show more menu options or columns that on a phone might be hidden two or three clicks down.
The Write Stuff
Tablets are easier to read from, but they really make a difference when it comes to entering information. It’s terribly handy to be able to take a note or two on a phone, but once you have more than a few words in mind, typing on the tiny touch keyboard gets pretty old. iPads and other tablets have much larger screens, which means a much larger keyboard interface.
Bigger keys mean fewer mistakes and faster data entry. Some sales reps even go so far as to get a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard so they can touch-type. You won’t see a lot of people plugging a full keyboard into their phones!
Ease of Use = Faster Adoption
Some people are reluctant to adopt new technology, even if they know it will enhance their productivity. The learning curve can be steep, and whenever something which should be simple takes a long time, it discourages that adoption.
On the other hand, the most tech-savvy members of your sales team were probably the first ones to learn how to use your CRM, making themselves more effective at their jobs. These are probably the same people who were eager to take your CRM mobile on their phones.
The more fully a CRM is utilized, the more powerful a tool it becomes –an appreciating asset. Tablets speed user adoption because they have built on the intuitive functions of the smaller phones, using gestures and menus which aren’t intimidating or confusing to less technical people.
My wife, for example, was never very eager to use a computer. I brought home an iPad, and before long she was showing our grandchildren things on it; now she’s practically running one of our businesses from it, and I had to get another one for myself!
Tablet PCs have revolutionized how easy it is to learn new technology, and there is no doubt that they speed up the adoption of your CRM. We like to say that a successful implementation is 50% people, 30% process, and 20% technology. Tablets are just the technology, but they make the process easier to understand and help the people feel comfortable, so they contribute to every aspect of a successful CRM implementation.
On the Horizon for SalesLogix and Tablets
Sage has long recognized that CRMs need to be mobile, and that salespeople are adopting tablets in particular, faster than ever. The next release of SalesLogix will offer a tremendous amount of support for tablet use, capitalizing on the amount of space and tweaking the interface to really build on the tablet’s ease of use. Contact us to learn how the new version will help you reimagine your business.
