Every business, regardless of its size, has to constantly work at being visible online to its market. Rather than to go to a store to get what they want, consumers prefer to browse the Internet to find information and research the products or services they want to buy. The Internet lets them not only see products but also analyse and compare businesses and pricing.

To be competitive, a business must build an effective website that complements its marketing efforts. Thanks to technology, consumers can access the Internet from a variety of devices on-the-go. This makes it imperative for businesses to ensure that their website design works efficiently and is accessible across different platforms.

Your website’s design

Your website’s design must be consistent with your branding, reflecting your corporate image and appeal to your target market. This will establish a recall in your prospects’ minds.

Usability is a critical factor, which means that your website must be easy to find and navigate. It should encourage visitors to spend more time on your website therefore make sure all your links work. Avoid unnecessary graphics that take ages to load. It is difficult to hold the attention span of a website visitor and a site that takes time to load is usually a site that is not seen. Since visitors should be able to view your website on different browsers, make sure that the text is legible across different platforms. If you sell online, have an efficient payment processing system with help available so that they complete their orders easily.

Every website needs to be search engine optimised as search engines are largely responsible for driving targeted traffic that results in sales. Ideally, you should have a keyword strategy in place even before you begin building your website. Your website is one of your business’ sales tools. An online marketing strategy can enhance the performance of your website but usability plays an important role. Remember to monitor, evaluate and improve your website on an on-going basis.

E-commerce companies are working hard to make online customer care available on mobile phones to drive their sales as this can significantly save on call center costs and get them closer to customer delight. As mobile commerce becomes more popular, companies must not only develop a mobile marketing strategy, but also consider adding more apps with easy self-service features to enhance customer care.

Customer service via mobile phones is offered through a mobile website or an app and is essential because customers expect instant and relevant information. Since mobile internet and technology are evolving rapidly, mobile customer service is now a priority for many brands.

Mobile marketing companies are responding to this by upgrading from basic WAP pages to sophisticated mobile web sites that offer customers relevant content quickly. With growth in mobile internet use, there is a change in the way customer care is being delivered. There is an interesting study whose results endorse that mobile phones are influencing the way customers want to access customer care.

How can mobile marketing companies make customer care via mobiles effective?

To begin with, the contact information of the business must be visible and accessible easily, keeping in mind the average phone’s screen size. Information such as FAQ pages and search functionality must be easy to access. Since customers prefer to reach customer care via their mobile phones, companies must make basic information accessible to avoid the long waiting time with live calls. This would involve redesigning the way customer care is delivered by automating certain functions such as payment processing, verifying information and so on.

The benefits?

At the end of the day, both the customer and the business will benefit by leveraging the mobile phone by enjoying cost savings and improved service. Besides this, mobile marketing promotes brand loyalty, encouraging customers to initiate voluntary interaction with the business. It is critical for businesses to orchestrate mobile marketing in the right way with relevancy, as coverage is another huge benefit. Customers carry their mobiles with them everywhere, and this means businesses can reach them wherever they are.

At the forefront of the mobile marketing revolution are the large airline companies that collect information from their customers so that they can provide value-added services to their services. When companies communicate via SMS, the chances of the recipient seeing them are almost 100%. And that is what every marketer ultimately hopes for.

There is a rapid rise in the number of digital learners today showing us how the delivery of education has evolved. This is hardly surprising when we look at how mobile devices and applications have taken over businesses and consumers alike and it was only a matter of time before educational institutions adopted technology to engage students.

First there was e-learning, which used smart boards, PCs and CD ROMs. This extended to web conferencing and Web 2.0 when the Internet got popular. Learning can be enhanced and supported with different kinds of technology like video content, digital movies, laptop computing, hand-held technologies and podcasting.

Today, e-learning has evolved into m-learning or mobile learning with wireless internet connectivity making it easier for technology to be leveraged in education. What was once confined to a class room now knows no geographic boundaries and the latest upon the scene, mobile devices, are being viewed as a natural addition to e-learning.

The benefits of using technology in education

Here is a quick overview of how technology can be leveraged for education:

• Quick access to information leading to better performance .
• Ability to manage a variety of learning requirements, enabling students learn at their own pace, personalising the learning experience.
• Promotes two way interaction.
• Caters to special education needs for students with learning disabilities.
• Wider reach, taking learning to students who do not have the advantage of a regular education.
• Easy access to experts in a cost effective way.

One school plans to use the iPad to support its curriculum and is moving away from expensive printed text books that get outdated quickly. It plans to use mobile applications to keep its students interested and enhance their learning. They intend to use apps to simulate biology dissections, doing away with the need to buy related equipment for these. Using mobile technology will save them thousands of dollars in investment. Another school plans to use a one-to-one computing program pilot where each child will have a personal learning device that will enable them to have instant access to a huge database of information, web based resources and peers – regardless of geographic location.

The fall 2010 Campus Computing Survey indicates that more than 70 % of the participants concur that mobile apps will play a vital role in enhancing instructional resources. There is a strong market for mobile apps in higher education with students expecting educational institutions to make app-based resources and services available to them. The fact remains that even though many schools have not yet adopted it, technology is critical in education because it brings so many benefits. Schools may not allow cellphones for good reason, but it is possible to take advantage of its uses. Certain apps such as voice memos enable students to record notes for later review. The notes app on the iPhone allows students to email notes to themselves.

Different types of technologies bring different types of content and add value in the classroom, both conceptually and in terms of practice. Technology empowers both the student and the tutor, making the learning experience enjoyable and meaningful.

Technology makes learning dynamic. What are your experiences and views about using technology in education?