AutomatedBuildings.com Column - Mobile is the way to Go!

I recently installed a Skip the Dishes system in a Pizza and Donair shop after hearing the news that McDonald’s now delivers via Skip the Dishes. My mind was blown when I heard that news. Life as we know it has completely changed. I can now order chicken nuggets whenever and wherever I want! All I need is a smartphone and a credit card.

Now readers of this article might read the paragraph above and not realize the significance of the statement that it made. What the above paragraph is saying is the mobile devices, and digital marketing are changing the way that we live and shop. We are so busy that we no longer have time to cook, but we will order food through an app, and for a small fee, have a complete stranger deliver it to us. We no longer want to go to the brick and mortar store to shop for food; we can do it right from our phones. Shopping as we traditionally know it is changing quickly, and with the advances in drone technology continue, we could quickly see flying robots carrying packages and delivering pizza for us.

I was reading the CPCStrategy Blog (https://www.cpcstrategy.com/blog/2017/05/ecommerce-statistics-infographic/), and I’m going to borrow an infographic that really breaks down the evolving trend in online Shopping. The infographic states that 96% of Americans have purchased products online. That is a huge number, and anyone thinks that online shopping is just a “trend” then they need to take a good look at the infographic below.

What the above infographic means is that more and more businesses need to have a strong mobile responsive website that is easy for us, and accepts all major forms of payment. The success of your business depends on it as your customers are looking for you on tablets and smartphones. We’ve always known that we need to be seen where our customers are looking, but for some reason, many business owners are still reluctant to invest in their mobile appearance and functionality.

The owner of this boutique pizza shop and I got to talking one day, and he told me that he wanted to grow and expand his business. The first thing that I suggested was to rebuild his website into a mobile friendly version. (It launches next week by the way).

The second problem that we needed to solve quickly was how to increase his production and daily income without drastically increasing his overhead. Any business owner will tell you that they watch their overhead expenses like a hawk.

We needed to think outside the box, and the answer was to implement a delivery system to increase business. It was completely impractical to hire delivery drivers, buy a car, insurance, fuel, etc. We needed a more practical approach, so we asked ourselves where are hungry customers looking to order food? The answer was online through applications like Skip the Dishes, and Uber Eats.

We implemented Skip the Dishes on October 31 where the business owner’s daily take was around the $300.00 per night mark. In just under a month he has a nightly take of between $800.00 - $1,100.00 per night. He has hired four new staff and is pumped every night to hear that little tablet chime with a new order.

The moral of this article is that no matter the business, big or small, it needs to be where its customer base is looking for it to continue to grow. Knowing how your customers will look for you, and looking good on mobile devices is a key strategy as we continue our evolution to live like the Jetsons.

The future of shopping for what we want and need is online, and that future looks good!

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