Choosing a medium to sell your goods and services used to be simple. Depending on your budget, you could spend your money on Print advertising in news papers and magazines. Or, for a change of pace, radio advertising or Outdoor bill boards. If you were really flush TV would be an obvious choice. Or a combination of all the available media. Then some bright spark coined the terms ‘Above the line’. And the pits ‘Below the line’. Of course the former referred to Press, Radio TV advertising and Outdoor, media that were in the public eye as it were.
And yes, you probably guessed it, “Below the line” was another way of saying “Junk Mail” only slightly more politely. Plus all the other hangers on like letterbox drops, bumper stickers, telemarketing and the like. Stuff well-bred advertising folk would turn their noses up at. And now we can add the Social media. Facebook. Twitter. Google and the Internet. To my mind it’s all a load of crap.
I object strongly to the notion of that mythical ‘Line’. Strip away all those descriptors and what are you left with? What is the true purpose of all those different media, no matter how trivial they may seem? I can tell you in one word: COMMUNICATION. At the core of it all, regardless of what you care to call it, that’s what it’s all about. And savvy users will always gravitate to where they get the best results. How many hits. How many coupons. How many phone calls. How many store visits. How many minds changed. All great but, in the end, the only measurement worth a cracker carries a dollar sign before it.
There are exceptions. Take the real estate developers with a new residential estate. Paradoxically, too many visits on the weekend often depresses the number of contracts they sign. The reason is simple. Buying a home is a big deal. Too many people mean the the sales guys don’t get the chance to spend quality time with prospects.
Talking of quality time makes me think of primary schools. Specifically, Show and Tell. Teachers have found this method hugely successful in teaching young children the how and why of all sorts of different things. It’s different, involving, seldom boring and makes learning very effective.
Now think about how how Show and Tell, can be applied to business. You can use it in elaborate presentations. Or in expensive printed literature. Seminars. Even in a time restricted TV commercial. Today, more and more businesses, large and small, are finding a better, less expensive way. It’s called the iPad and it’s revolutionizing the way they do business.
It let’s you carry your office around with you wherever you go. All in what has to be the most involving, most intimate form of introduction around. As sales people around the world have discovered, the sheer simplicity of the iPad is the greatest ice breaker around. Prospects cannot resist involving themselves with it. You have a clever video presentation? Show it right there on your iPad, no Internet connection required. Need to sift through hundreds of small but important parts like medical hardware? Load it all on your iPad and forget about lugging around expensive, unwieldy catalogues that soon look the worse for wear. It’s all at your fingertips in a flash. Incorporate Order Forms and Invoices so everything can be done on the spot. Forms that can even be digitally signed, securely. Communicate with your teams in the field instantly, automatically update any changes as they occur. These are all great ways to use your iPad for business.
Every day, businesses are discovering new ways to put the iPad to work for them. Why only today I passed a large building site in the city. I came across a worker, resplendent in his fluoro vest and hard hat which you’d expect. What you wouldnt expect is that, around his neck an iPad was slung, obviously being used to regularly check something. If I see him again I’ll make sure to find out what he uses it for.
Well, there you go. There’s one thing you can guarantee when you explore this versatile device.
Expect the unexpected.
Great Post. Thanks