How The Internet Can Boost or Hurt Your Business
I recently read a fantastic article on Linkedin by Henry Blodget that elaborates on the future of internet business. How, exactly, has the internet changed the way consumers purchase items? As stated in the article, “one-third of the world’s population is now online…and that one-third of humans earn about 85% of the world’s income.” For business owners, this means that your customers are now looking to purchase your product on-line. Have you made sure to accomodate them? If you have yet to account for a significant portion of your business coming from on-line formats, then, as this article alludes to, you MUST start to forcast for it. For consumers, you can expect a dramatic increase in applications for smartphones and tablets that will allow you to easily navigate the internet and purchase anything you want, with the touch of a finger and decent 4G access.
How has this shift happened over the last 3-4 years? Well, according to this article, since early 2010, the sale of smartphones and tablets has boomed. In fact, the sale of smartphones and tablets has left sales of personal computers in the dust. PC sales have remained constant and flat since 2008, while smartphone and tablet sales have seen a 300% increase in the same time frame. Mobile access to the internet is now a constant. People are able to access the internet from any location near a cell tower. There’s also an expected rise of 4G in 2013 which means mobile data speeds could increase from 3 megabits to 5 megabits of data per second and more. Faster speed, a significant increase in data, and a dramatic rise in the sale of smartphones and tablets means that the future of business and sales on the internet is certainly the wave of the future. Get your surfboards ready if you want to be on it.
Make sure, if you have a business, that you are utilizing this medium to stay competitive in the market. Of course, if you decide that you will stick with alternative outlets, like the newspaper, you and your business will find an alternative benefit. You will find yourself with a dramatic increase in free time to play games and take long walks on the beach, because you will be out of business. According to this article, “the internet has already demolished the newspaper business. The question now is whether TV is next.” The printing press, while historically significant, has gone the way of the dinosaur. The touchscreen tablet has taken its place. The market has spoken loudly. Are you listening? The huge boom in the sale of smartphones and tablets is pointing you in one direction. Onward to the internet! Make sure you have a significant online presence that allows for easy navigation. In the immortal words of one of my favorite movies, “if you build it, they will come.”