While recent studies have shown that using mobile technologies — such as apps that help consumers connect with a business over handheld devices — can significantly increase revenue, other experts say businesses that don’t use mobile technologies will eventually wither and die.
Harsh or not, the truth is that consumers are adopting mobile technologies at a rapid clip, and the day is already dawning when any business, large or small, that does not recognize the importance of mobile technologies is playing a fool’s game.
Margaret Rimmler, vice president of marketing at Kinvey, a Boston-based company that provides backend systems support for mobile applications, says the mobile technology market is very powerful and growing even more critical for any business.
“If you don’t have a mobile app to engage your customers it is like you don’t even have a website anymore,” Rimmler said. “You will just be kind of left in the dust because your competitors will have great ways to engage their customers.”
A big mistake businesses make is assuming if their business is not technology-based they don’t need to worry about mobile apps, according to Rimmler.
Kinvey has some big clients, including Aetna, Bayer and Nascar, that are not providing technology services as a main product, but have recognized the need to offer the most up-to-date mobile tech options to their customers.
New demand
Though these larger companies may have the revenue and capital to invest in mobile technologies, companies like Kinvey are making it possible for smaller businesses to keep up by providing all the systems and support needed to develop and run mobile apps with little overhead.
Businesses such as Rexnord Bearings, Flooring America and Schneider Electric are using Kinvey to provide mobile apps to their customers in some of the oldest industries in this country. These industries have operated almost the same way for hundreds of years, but now the demand for mobile technology from consumers has made them change their tune.
“Even if you are an old school company you at least need to figure out how to deliver your website in a meaningful way for a smart device or people are just not going to go there,” Rimmler said.
There are also plenty of small startup companies that are using mobile technology to get a foothold in industries that have been dominated by the same companies for years.
Perhaps the most well-known example is Uber, a mobile app company that has turned the traditional taxi industry on its head by giving anyone with its app the ability to put the days of standing on the corner waving down a taxi behind them and simply order up a ride with a few taps on a mobile device. Uber’s use of private cars and rideshares with individuals has left decades-old cab companies on the outside looking in at an industry they once totally dominated.
Trillion-dollar impact
Rimmler expects mobile technologies to continue to impact businesses across the board, which is reflected in the wide range of clients Kinvey has.
“We only have picked the top of the surface of what these companies can do,” she said. “All of these guys are being able to reach customers or redefine process or cut costs or reach new customers.”
A recent report from the Boston Consulting Group, titled The Mobile Revolution: How Mobile Technologies Drive a Trillion-Dollar Impact, indicated that the mobile technologies industry generated revenues of almost $3.3 trillion worldwide in 2014 and is directly responsible for 11 million jobs. The industry also saw $1.8 trillion in research and development from 2009 to 2013 as companies scrambled to secure a piece of the exploding market.
Examining consumer trends in six countries — the U.S., Germany, South Korea, Brazil, China and India — the report also highlighted the growing importance of mobile technologies and the willingness for customers to shell out cash for the newest products.
In the U.S., Germany and South Korea consumers valued mobile technologies at approximately $6,000 per year, or 12 percent of their income. In China and India, consumers were willing to spend more than 40 percent of their annual income on mobile technologies.
The majority of the consumers also said they were willing to give up dining out or going on vacation for a year in order to keep their mobile phone.
With the high value that consumers put on mobile devices growing, the report also examined the impact of this on small- and medium-sized businesses.
Notably, Boston Consulting Group found that small businesses that adopt advanced mobile technologies increase revenues up to two times faster and add jobs up to eight times faster than small businesses that don’t. In the six countries surveyed by the report, this is estimated to lead to 7 million more jobs added for these companies.
In the United States, the mobile technologies sector now pumps more into the economy than long-time big industries such as entertainment, transportation, automobiles, hospitality and agriculture.
With just the tip of the iceberg in mobile technology advancement in view so far, the future for the industry — and small businesses that engage it — is extremely bright.
“Mobile has been a huge driver of economic growth — creating jobs and improving consumers’ lives,” said David C. Michael, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group and a coauthor of the report. “But much more innovation is still needed.”