Sometime this year the number of mobile internet users willexceed the number of desktop users. In developing countries thishas already taken place. Mobile Internet use in India surpasseddesktop use last spring. The smartphone market has been larger thanthe PC market since 2010. 

The mobile device revolution in and of itself is not a gamechanger. But the combination of ubiquitous mobile devices withunprecedented amounts of unfiltered data available on those devicesand the nearly continuous connectivity available in first- andsecond-world nations is a game changer. 

We have seen social networking drive political change throughoutthe world. We have seen social networking catapult talentlessperformers to worldwide fame and fortune. And we have created a newtype of consumer that we cannot market to or serve in the same wayswe used to build our business. 

Old School = Fail

The enterprises that are able to provide goods and services tothe 21st century consumer will survive and prosper. The rest willdie quick and merciful deaths. I don't really care about thesurvival of individual corporations, but I do care about thesurvival of the people employed by those organizations—and I careabout the investors in those organizations. 

All too often the people who run corporate America don't care;they are stuck in old ways of thinking. Six Sigma might have been asuccessful methodology 25 years ago, but methodologies developed ina pre-Internet, pre-Amazon, pre-smartphone, and pre-email world donot empower organizations. They often serve to decrease the abilityof organizations to act and react nimbly. 

The rate of change in the world today is unprecedented andbusiness must react to the change. And that means having systems inplace to react to change before that change occurs.

Running Faster Isn't the Answer

Radio was around for 38 years before it had 50 million users.Television was a little quicker—reaching that number in 13 years.The Internet took four years; Facebook had 50 million users in twoyears. The PSY Gangnam Style video was released In July 2012. OnDecember 21, 2012 it was played on YouTube for the one billionthtime. 

Change occurs at such a rapid pace in today's world that we mustbe able to react immediately to the needs and desires of ourcustomers. Microsoft missed the boat on the "Internet revolution" afew years ago. Netscape had 90 percent of the market in 1995.Microsoft was able to react and recover because they had a monopolyon the desktop in those days. Once again Microsoft is in the samesituation—desperately trying to win the personal tablet wars withWindows 8 and their own branded hardware. So far that hasn't workedout too well. You can't afford to wait until your competitors haveconquered the market before you enter the market. HP has beenplaying that game for years and still hasn't learned thelesson.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

The amount of data available to the consumer is staggering. Icall it data rather than information because the term "information"implies that the data is useful, actionable and accurate. In factmost of the data available for consumption isneither. 

There was a time in the recent past when authors or publishershad a reputation for publishing the "truth." The New YorkTimes and the Encyclopedia Britannica were consideredauthoritative sources of information. Publications like theNational Enquirer were considered sources ofmisinformation or dis-information. That distinction isgone. 

There is no "truth" in the Internet age. Thereis only trending or public opinion. Broadcast news networks don'treport news—they interpret events to suit the agenda of the owneror publisher. Wikipedia is accepted as a valid source ofinformation. There are something like 1,500 blog posts a minute.There are 700,000 search queries on Google every minute. There arealso 700,000 Facebook updates a minute. 

What is going on is that we are churning all this data andproviding very little in the way of useful information. People nolonger need to think…they just re-tweet or repeat what someone elsehas already dumped onto the Internet. 

I recently had a conversation with a teen-age relative. I askedher why she re-tweeted a particular item the previous week. Shesaid that she didn't even remember doing it nor did she rememberthe sentiment expressed in the original tweet. The idea ofconsuming and evaluating information is gone. If you can't saysomething in 140 characters you might as well not say it. No one islistening anyway.

Where is the Customer?

So how do we attract new customers in this rapidly changingworld of misinformation? Most every good or service that we offerhas become commoditized. There is nothing your organization canprovide that another organization can't also provide. Using thatcertain knowledge, Amazon has almost single-handedly destroyedbrick and mortar retail. Offerings in the financial services andinsurance industry are not easily differentiated. Considerbanking.

I haven't been to a real bank in about three years. The reason Iwent even then is amusing. I was caught in one of those very ruraltowns whose sole source of income is trapping out-of-town driverswho miss the posted 15 MPH sign and charging them exorbitantfines. 

This burgh was in South Carolina on a bit of two-lane blacktopthat cut the corner on the intersection of two interstate highways.I figured to save 40 miles of travel. As soon as I hit town I knewit would have a speed trap but even forewarned I was tricked intoexceeding the limit and was slapped with a $400 ticket. Themagistrate/mayor/chief of police was not available and I wasordered to either return for a court date or send in a moneyorder. 

That sounded a little suspicious to me. Money orders are thosethings you get at the 7-11 and are like bearer bonds. So I calledand spoke to the mayor, et al and had my fine reduced to a coupleof Franklins (still outrageous) and then inquired about the need topay with a money order. I finally got him to say he would accept acashier's check. At least the check would actually be made out tothe town instead of bearer. And that was my last trip to thebank.

Excellent CustomerService

The reason I don't need to actually go to a bank is because theyhave such good customer service. I am able to perform all bankingduties I need online with maybe the occasional fax thrown in. Mysalary is direct deposit; my bills are all scheduled for auto-pay.I rarely write an actual check. I am able to deposit stray checksusing my iPhone. 

Which brings up one other anomaly; my wife has a different lastname than I do. Even though our accounts are joint she always haddifficulty depositing checks made out to me or to both of us. Thenew banking apps have totally removed that difficulty. We are nowable to deposit any checks we want without silly harassment from ateller. Just wondering: Why are tellers so suspicious of good,loyal customers?

So my point about banking is that it is the customer servicethat makes me a loyal customer. I know that any of the big fourbanks are going to be able to provide me with the services I need,but the reason I stay with my preferred banks is because of thelevel of customer service provided. 

I can say the same thing for most of my insurance needs. I havebeen with the same large firm that provides all of my homeowner andautomobile needs—as well as other financial services—for years. Isuspect that I could probably save some money on premiums for thisor that, but over time the service has beenimpeccable. 

They have a marvelous online presence. I recently transferredfunds from an investment account there to an account at my personalbank. The transaction was completed in minutes, the funds wereavailable in 12 hours, and the entire experience was accomplishedwithout having to speak with a customer service representative.

Calling Customer Service

Since we are talking so much about customer service let medigress. Consumers hate to call customer service. To begin with,the chances are that they are only calling because they have aproblem, which sets the stage for a bad experience. Interactivevoice recognition menus are time consuming and extremelyfrustrating. 

Voice recognition is not good. I can't tell you how many times Ihave been speeding down the highway heading to the airport in myrental car screaming into the cell phone "speak to anagent." 

Natural language methods are an improvement. Instead oflistening to the menu you are asked to start speaking. Hopefullyyou will utter the correct combination of key words that will getyou to the menu you really want. 

Even better is customer service chat. You communicate with thecustomer service agent using chat—just like you were on Sametime orOCS or Skype. There are many benefits to using chat. It doesn'trequire 100 percent of your attention. You can do other thingswhile texting with the CSR. 

It is more efficient from the call centerperspective. One agent can carry on multiple chats but only asingle voice call. It removes all ambiguity from spoken language.It also provides a record of the interaction for both the callerand the call center. Typically only the call center has a recordingof a customer interaction. The more chat you are able to use inyour call centers the more time your very best CSR's are availablefor customer conversations. The only downside for me is that Ican't do it while driving (at least I'm not supposed to).

Never Let Go

Getting customers in the door is the hardest thing we can do.Consumers are fickle and capricious. They don't always makerational decisions. If using a lizard or a cute girl in youradvertising brings customers your way you must be doing somethingright. 

But the proof is in retaining that customer. Customer serviceafter the sale is the real measure of success. And that is whatkeeps great businesses successful. A few extra tweets about yourexcellent customer service may bring you a lot more success than afew extra lizard ads. I would rather work for an organizationrecognized for excellence than cuteness.

Please address comments, complaints, and suggestions to theauthor at [email protected].