Small Business and Mobile Internet
I was having lunch with Nick White, partner at Ivy Worldwide about mobile internet trends, mobile commerce, QR codes, and a host of other things that impact the future of small and mid-size business. Nick has been at the forefront of these for technology giants and small business and we had met on a project not long ago and decided lunch was in order. In just a short time, I've counted on Nick to shed light on how new technologies are making inroads into the SMB market.
Quick pitch in my own words: Ivy Worldwide is a new kind of agency. Some might say they are social media marketing gurus, but that wouldn't cover it. There are too many of those hats floating around today -- these guys are at the epicenter of word of mouth, social media, advertising, creative. They are defining the nascent term: Integrated Social Media Marketing. Enough of all that, just take a look at their site: Ivy Worldwide.
Mobile is revolutionizing commerce.
As I cover small business software and hardware for Small Business Trends, for my work here at AllBusiness.com, and my work for Sales Rescue Team, I find myself wondering what's next for small and mid-size business owners. What will help them get an edge on the big boys/girls? That is not an easy edge to gain. But if I had to pick one edge to explore, it would be mobile internet.
Part of this blossoming interest in mobile came from Mofuse Premium which was a sponsor for the Sales Kickstart webinar series in April and in studying their work and client's sites; I learned a lot about what's coming for small and medium business. I keep hearing it from the market: the #1 activity of mobile users revolves around local search and results. I actually listed Mofuse in my mobile marketing apps list post at SmallBizTrends. They were mentioned numerous times as a company that gets mobile.
If you are exploring mobile for the SMB space, you'll want to read the Morgan Stanley report presentation by Mary Meeker. I have slides posted at the Sales Rescue Team blog with a full link at the end of the post.
Fun quote about mobile:
"If VoIP Leader Skype Were a Carrier, it Would be Largest ‘Carrier’ in World 521MM Users"
-Morgan Stanley report on 2010 Internet Trends.
