When deciding to venture into mobile marketing as a company, you must analyze your mobile capabilities. Where do we begin, how do we identify the issues and how do we improve? These are all question that need to be asked, researched and answered before you start. “Harold Leavitt coined the phrase people, process, and technology in his 1964 paper, Applied Organization Changes in Industry” (Weinzimer, 2019) and we still use it today to help us identify our strength and weakness when making changes in business. We can take the three main components: people, processes and technology and they can help us determine our mobile capabilities. This article will discuss how important it is to equally invest your time and energy in each one to be successful.
People
Starting with the people in the company, knowing where everyone’s strengths lie and their level of skill is number one, because without the support of everyone in the company you cannot move forward. “People: Employees (everyone from junior staff to senior executives), contractors, partners and vendors. A thorough review of all their capabilities is needed, including understanding what they’re good at. For example, are they good strategists and problem solvers or are they more task driven? Understand if they know how to use the technology available and if they like to learn new technologies. Essentially, marketers need to know everything that these people bring to the table that can help service customers.” (Becker, 2019). The people in the company will be the ones who will be implementing the processes as well as working with the technology so this component is very important to the success of any new undertaking.
Processes
The second aspect mentioned is Processes. By setting up steps or actions for work to be accomplished you ensure efficiency and stability. Everyone needs to be on the same page. If there is a set list of procedures and everyone understands their role, it avoids confusion and loss of time. Processes helps to create a less stressful environment because there should be no reason to waste time figuring out what to do should an issue arise.
Technology
The final component is Technology. Is the technology needed for the type of mobile marketing your company wants to pursue up to date? Do the people in your office understand how to use the technology? Will your clients be able to navigate and be served quickly and efficiently by it? Taking stock of all technology used for marketing including software applications, website hosting, the type of computers used in the office or mobile service providers, to name just a few, is necessary if you need to update anything before you begin. Training staff to use any of the new systems is necessary as well. “Technology helps people do faster, more innovative work – especially in the age of artificial intelligence. We hand off rote, mechanical tasks to machines, from brewing coffee to transcribing speech in order to free up our time for more creative, cognitive endeavors” (Penn, 2018).
I have created a template to help organize and simplify this process. This format allows you to establish an easy way to see and know what processes are being implemented and who you need to go to regarding any issues. It will help you to see what your goals are and how you plan to accomplish them. If you would like to download the template please follow the link below. By taking the time to invest in the people, processes and technology of your company you will better be able to identify and nurture your mobile capabilities so you are successful.
