Technological Connections

Through the years, business has evolved, from storefronts with so-called traditional business hours to a growing number of megaretailers operating around the clock. As technology continues to broaden its reach, it’s no longer as simple as just getting a product or service in front of customers.

“What we’re really seeing is this big sort of shift between the businesses shouting a message toward the consumers (to) now, more of a two-way street. They can respond and critique,” said Clay McGee, project manager and one of four founding partners of Mostly Serious, a Springfield firm launched a year and a half ago to focus on software design, websites, mobile applications and corporate branding.

“If you’re in front of the TV, and you see an ad, you can immediately respond and somebody is monitoring these things,” he said, pointing to the use of hashtags in traditional advertising, inviting people to contact companies via Twitter.

Mostly Serious does about half of its work on websites, with the remainder fairly equally divided between mobile and identity services, McGee said.

Mobile apps shouldn’t necessarily replace websites as a round-the-clock vehicle for connecting with customers, however, McGee said.

“If we’re talking about a mobile app that is its own product … there should always be a Web complement, because people are still on computers (or) laptops while they’re sitting on their couches,” McGee said. “They visit websites to learn about products before downloading (apps) to their phone.”

Conversely, he noted that even companies with Web-based services, such as accounting software, should have mobile counterparts that enable smartphone use of at least some components.

“The majority of smartphone users are expecting to be able to have a native app … that’s downloaded on the phone and easy to use and not a www. browser search,” McGee said.

Citing industry statistics that suggest mobile Web consumption will surpass desktop consumption by 2015, Scott Bratcher, digital director for Marlin, said mobile connection is a requirement for business.

“I’m on a laptop during the day, but the rest of the time, I’m on my mobile device,” Bratcher said. “Our clients understand the importance of mobile and how it is a critical component of their entire presence and brand.”

Bratcher said Marlin, one of several companies under the banner of advertising group Marlin Network, worked with Mostly Serious to develop responsive apps -– which can adjust formatting based on the device being used to access them – for clients and for CauseMomemtum.org, a collaborative project of Marlin and Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The app, to be offered as an added value for CFO agencies, will enable supporters to connect – and give – from wherever they are.

“(CFO) wanted to provide a platform – a tool set, if you will – for their member nonprofit agencies to raise funds online,” Bratcher said. “Right now, it’s in alpha test phase, and that’s going to last through mid- to late September.”

Strategic resource allocation
As businesses adapt to an around-the-clock marketplace, services classified in the telecommunications sector as machine to communications are increasingly being used by businesses to create organizational efficiencies and reduce expenses, said Chris Hager, business sales manager for Verizon in southwest Missouri.

He said machine-to-machine services include remote monitoring, which is being used by businesses such a Joplin-based Empire Disctrict Electric Co. to track usage.

“Instead of having to have somebody go out … to check meters on houses and report that manually, we supply a data connection between the meter and home office or mainframe (and) it takes that information in,” Hager said, noting that service fees start at about $10 per account. “Any time of the day or night, they can collect that data without having to send somebody out in the field.”

Technology also can be used to remotely push content out to display signs, such as for gas stations, allowing for more timely – and possibly safer – adjustments.  

“These companies sort of look at it as a hazard or a risk to have people climbing up those tall ladders to go up and change how much gas is every time (or) put up what specials and promotions are running for the day,” Hager said, noting that Verizon data plans and devices allow users to type in text and add pictures to be displayed.

Using the technology for remote changes can free up employees for other tasks and potentially save on drive time in cases when one employee is responsible for driving to multiple locations to change signage, Hager said.

Machine-to-machine communication also can enable more expedient invoicing and payment collection, as tablets can be used for those tasks in the field. Hager pointed to towing companies and other on-site service businesses as potential beneficiaries.

“Now they can go ahead and take payment right on the spot, instead of writing a paper form, handing the customer a paper form, going back to the office and typing it into the computer system and waiting for payment from the customer,” Hager said. “(It) increases cash flow, speeds the process up and from an accounts payable and accounts receivable standpoint, that money is flowing through that company a lot quicker.”

He said other companies, including Springfield-based Integrity Home Care, are working with Verizon to use tablet technology for information transmission from the field and to explore asset tracking, which can be used to monitor fleet vehicles for employee safety and to make sure drivers are using the most efficient routes to reduce gas mileage. John Dougherty, information technology director for Integrity Home Care, could not be reached by press time.

McGee said Mostly Serious is poised to tap into companies’ desires to streamline field operations with Clockster, a mobile time clock that pinpoints employees’ GPS locations, which could be useful for service employees and those who make deliveries. McGee said Clockster is going through final production stages and will soon be headed to the Apple app store.

Costs of technological advancement
Technological advances come with a price tag. McGee said Mostly Serious charges a flat fee of $90 an hour for its services. Job costs vary depending on the complexity of the task, he said, noting that simple mobile apps can start at a few thousand dollars.

Hager said many of the machine-to-machine services at Verizon actually generate low volumes of data, and data plans can start as low as $7 a month for one megabyte of data and go up to $35 a month per account. Some services, such as vehicle or asset tracking, also have additional third-party vendor costs, such as software writers.

“For the most part, on average, right around $15 a month [per unit] is what they’re looking at spending from a data standpoint, to manage and monitor that type of information,” Hager said, noting that clients with multiple accounts can use share plans to keep expenses down.

McGee said there’s also value in being able to learn about customers through technology, and particularly, mobile apps.

“(We know) who’s shopping with us, what time of day they shop, their age range … and what motivates them to shop,” McGee said, noting that in addition to collecting information, the apps should be used to draw in business. “Everything’s meant to be sold. There should be an option to either be sold to or contacted about a potential sale.”