Shift Your Game? Mobile 2013!

Innovating thru Mobile, Social, e-tail

It is now 2013, and the world is shifting everywhere…have you done a shift on your innovation game? There is one area that could be an added catalyst to your efforts.

If you look at recent successes, even the start-ups that are becoming $million dollar (or $billion) ventures, many are coming out of mobile led innovation: specifically Mobile, Social and e-tail (mobile driven retail & e-commerce/m-commerce). This is all part of what I call Business 3.0 (2.0 would be the 21 year old world of browsers, search engines, internet, page based websites and banner ads, Microsoft and the big legacy systems).

The advent of smartphones, tablets and 3G/4G capabilities has given us the transformative tools to innovate with and smart innovators  see how the lifestyles/ work styles are ready for fresh solutions. This all comes from the added dimension mobile can give you: in the occasion, in your hand, in a socially sharable, ready to do or pay with one touch and all linked to cloud based content and data attribution (see mobile is more than a tool or media channel).

At the recent Direct Marketing Conference, I gave a closing keynote to a 1000 energized members, with a focus on Mobile 2013. After illustrating the dynamic shifts occurring around us (smartphone penetration now at 60% in the USA, more than a 1/3+ of social media is being driven by mobile, 75% of shoppers using smartphones pre, post and during store visits, etc.), I shared 5 Mobile Drivers for innovation in 2013 and beyond:

1. Be Steve Jobs: Look into the future trends and emerging insights to define the world emerging for your business, then build a Steve Jobs type road map to innovate and drive against  (mobile/social road map that feeds your planning).

2. WOW UX! (User Experience): This is the secret behind mobile…extraordinarily designed and conceived user experiences (think iPhone and now Samsung Galaxy) and the surprise and delight that results. That is step one: creating the WOW! experience. Then take mobile further, and use it to re-invent your total brand Brand experience and even your business model.

3. Mobile & Social Fusion: People are still trying to understand social yet it is rapidly shifting with mobile. This past Fall, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook is going to become a mobile-led company and came with an enhanced mobile offering for users and advertisers. Then this January, their handheld usage passed online and Facebook market performance has turned around. The reason:  mobile drives social and vice versa: every device led solution rockets when coupled with  built-in social sharing functions. So fuse the two together as you innovate.

4. E.A.T. (Engagement & Activation Technology): 99% of smartphones are shipping with NFC capabilities that  “bring thngs to life” with a simple tap ( Near Field Communication readers that interact with RFID chips in media, retail, products). One tap and get a video, an app, or share wiith friends, get a coupon or buy.  At C.E.S. 2013, one of the the standout innovations was NFC enabling smartphones/tablets that connect to TV’s, mini-speakers, headphones, home systems, with a simple tap. In 2013 the NFC adoption levels in the U.S. will head towards 40% of smartphones.

5. Big Data: Lastly, all the smartphones interactions and usage is throwing off “big data” like a fire hose 100 times anything marketers have had to date. So smart platforms collect and harness (like Thinaire’s NFC platform) the data to improve and enhance follow-up brand experiences while driving greater sales. Another opportunity to harness in your new ideas and solutions.

Take a look at the PatrickTV version of my Mobile 2013 keynote which has been capsulized down to a 14 minute video, complete with innovation demos and related insights. And remember: “Time to Shift Your 2013 Game”: build Mobile, Social and e-tail into your innovation thinking.

image credit: audizine/com

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Patrick Meyer is the Global Correspondent for Innovation Excellence, and an Innovation and Business 3.0 Expert, Author and Keynote Speaker. He is the founder of PatrickTV and The CEO Futurist – Delivering The Future Now.