Consumer Applications

Improved commercial processes will result from a combination of communication and information with the purpose of buying, selling, or improving products and services. We sometimes forget the benefits of separately enhancing different steps of the commercial process by focusing too much on the transaction being performed through mobile devices. We can simplify the process by dividing it into six steps:

• Identifying the need for a service or product
• Researching the service or product in relation to the need—price, specifications, and availability
• Purchasing the product or service
• Receiving the item
• Obtaining customer support
• Evaluating the product or service

The step that involves a transaction is the third step, the actual purchase. The ability to order products and services through a mobile device increases the probability that the purchase will really take place. We often say to ourselves: “I’ll do this when I get home.” But by that time we’ve often forgotten what we were going to do or have simply changed our mind. Enabling the customer to be spontaneous, to order something as soon as an idea springs to mind, will increase revenues for products and services that are appropriate for purchase over a mobile device. Although you might not purchase your next car from a cell phone, you might engage in an impulse purchase of items that require less involvement, require less information gathering and evaluation, and are relatively low in cost.

Taken From : Enterprise Guide to Gaining Business Value from Mobile Technologies