Is your organization ready?

The importance of online advertising is well known and accepted by the vast majority of business owners in today's society. However, most of my clients admit that their organization has room for improvement both with the design and use of the corporation's web presence. While many businesses have strong marketing departments dedicated to improving their customer's online interactions with their products and services most admit that their organization is struggling to keep up with an ever changing online landscape.

The fear of falling hopelessly behind the competition is a relevant concern because the online tools and advertising options is growing exponentially. Social networks, blogs, online press releases, Pay Per Click marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Tweeting provide just a small cross-section of the daunting online marketing opportunities. Amazingly I talk with clients routinely who are just beginning construction of their company's first website. They are behind the proverbial 8 ball, but can they catch up with their fast paced competition? Yes, with a highly focused marketing plan and allocation of the proper funds it is still possible to capture an online audience. However, the time to act is pressing because of a new technology looming on the immediate horizon.

Enter White Space Technology. This technology will have a similar impact on our daily lives as the invention of the Internet, and cell phones. It will bring high speed connectivity to White Space devices (such as smart phones) enabling an entirely new consumer experience. Imagine driving through an unfamiliar city looking for a Starbucks. As you move within the city limits your phone connects with the Wide Area Network using the now abandoned analog TV frequencies and queries the networks database for the various Starbucks locations. The network returns the results and your cell phone shows you the nearest locations while tracking you on GPS. You tap a location on your touchscreen and the phone provides instant driving directions to the Starbucks of your choice. In the mean time, you click on the Starbucks menu icon and a complete menu uploads to your phone. You select your items and head to the check-out. Your phone contains your credit card records so you don't have to go through the inconvenience of digging out your wallet and typing in the required name, card number, expiration date, and security code. You just click the pay now button and the transaction is complete. Starbucks' website sees that according to GPS your expected arrival time is 7 minutes. A question pops up asking if you would like your items ready in 7 minutes, but you see a gas station ahead and decide to fuel up first. So, you click no and enter 12 minutes. You arrive at Starbucks 12 minutes later and pick up your steamy cup of coffee and a fresh hot bagel and hit the road. Sound to good to be true? Think again, this technology is currently under development and will be an integral part of your life in the near future.

The key to success in the future depends heavily on the strategies employed today. White Space Technology will bring new challenges and even the experts don't know all of the answers on how to prepare for its colossal impact, but one thing we all agree on is the necessity to stay current and competitive with the current marketing tools in order to prepare for entering the new online
community. So, is your organization ready?