WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK: The future is mobile

The Commonwealth Bank debuted its payment app this week, and it was a lot better than many were expecting. The bank has announced a fully-fledged NFC offering, allowing users to make payments to others and retailers using their phones.

It’s an interesting play by the Commonwealth Bank considering NFC hasn’t yet taken off in the mainstream, but especially as it comes after separate research late last week from Telsyte showed the number of smartphones is set to increase by 10 million over the next five years.

The message is clear – smartphones are here and they matter. So what is your business doing about it?

You don’t have to create a fully-fledged NFC offering, but you definitely need a mobile site, and you definitely need to give customers the ability to purchase products through their mobiles. As smartphones replace computers for many people, giving them the functionality they expect on a desktop is important.

Are you putting enough effort into this area? If not, you should definitely get moving fast.

Get in front of the camera

It’s taken far too long for businesses to get on the video bandwagon – and new research from ACMA shows they’re definitely missing out.

A study published last week by the telco watchdog found that out of a sample of 1,250 people, 22% of people aged over 55 watched online videos, along with 23% of those aged between 45-54.

But when you look at the overall statistics, the message becomes even clearer – 46% watched professionally produced content on YouTube, or were open to doing so.

There are people on YouTube who are willing to watch content produced by businesses. This doesn’t mean advertising, it means legitimate videos that are offering some relevant and useful piece of information for business.

Creating video is about setting yourself apart an expert. There are plenty of examples of Australian businesses that do this, and they’re getting themselves a good reputation.

It takes a little bit of effort, but you’ll find that if you start giving customers something beneficial, they’ll reward you with their loyalty.

Want to succeed? Be nimble

Catch of the Day celebrated its fifth birthday this week, and announced a new milestone – it’s set to turn over $250 million this financial year, easily making it the biggest online retailer in the country.

There are plenty of lessons to take from the company’s growth, but perhaps none so much as the fact it’s been able to remain flexible even as it has grown. Over the past two years it’s moved into two completely new categories – groceries and group buying – and has been successful in both.

The new divisions are a testament to Catch of the Day’s ability to spy an opportunity and then take advantage of it as quickly as they can. Moving into these categories has allowed it to dominate new territory extremely quickly.

If you spy an opportunity online, then work on it and take it. Don’t wait for another competitor to take over. Be the first in any category, keep working at it, and you’ll dominate.

Big retailers are forgetting eCommerce – and so are SMEs

Last week, Deloitte partner Damien Tampling wrote in a research report that too many larger retailers aren’t doing enough to improve their online presence. He criticised them for failing to broadcast their innovations to the market, saying younger, faster online companies are outpacing them and stealing customers.

But while younger companies might be liable to start praising themselves, this isn’t necessarily a cause for celebrating.

While larger retailers are slow, SMEs can’t be slow as well. Don’t get left behind with Myer and David Jones – start innovating and offer products online

Too many businesses don’t have a website

But you can only offer products online if you have a website. And unfortunately, too many businesses don’t.

According to the MYOB Business Monitor, of the 62% of businesses that said they don’t have a website, a massive 48% said they don’t even intend to make one.

This is an incredible, and pathetic, statistic. Businesses have no excuse if they don’t have a website. Even if they aren’t offering products, they need information on what the company is, its history, what it does, clients, and contact information.

If you don’t have that, you’re letting yourself, and your clients, down.