The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, formerly known as the Department of Commerce [insert Prince-like symbol here for fun] is doing just that – changing things up, in a concerted effort to put Wisconsin on center stage at the BIO conference in Boston this June. To use a corny phrase, they’ve shucked the old trade show booth in exchange for one that is more reflective of the modern, technologically advanced forces at work in our state. If you stop by the Wisconsin Pavilion at BIO, you’ll see a “Mad for Science” theme and phrases like ,”we’re crazy about green energy.” Or, “we’re changing the world through bioscience.” These are big, bold statements, presented in a fun and graphically compelling way.

The great thing about these bold statements is that Wisconsin can back it up. We’ve got world class companies, scientists, research institutions and state resources. We’ve got patents galore through WARF. Companies like Lucigen, Shine, Quintessence Biosciences and Standard Imaging continue to innovate and put Wisconsin on the map. Organizations like BioForward and the Wisconsin Tech Council help get things done.

Wisconsin is definitely going to get noticed at this years global BIO conference.  It starts with a visual change-up and is supported by the powerhouse minds that will be in the booth.

To see what I mean about changing things up, go home and rearrange just a couple pieces of living room furniture. Or go really crazy and change the side you part your hair on. Then take a look – these small changes will make you see things differently. Our minds tend to ignore that which we see every day in the same place and way. So for your company, change things up a bit. Your customers will notice even the smallest changes.

I checked Facebook this morning to update some SoLoMo info and I noticed my mom’s latest status update, admitting her addiction to Stupid Zombies – a pretty mindless, but fun little app on her iPad2. This new addiction, which runs in parallel with a pretty wicked Tetris “situation,” means that my mom spends 2-3 hours a day goofing on her iPad. There’s nothing wrong with this; she’s a perfectly productive citizen with lots of friends, family and art in her life and she plays night while she’s taking in the evening news. I actually think it’s pretty cool because I see her playing it side-by-side with my 13 and 10 year old sons (who are on their own iPads) and watch as they help her get to the next level.

Seventy years ago multiple generations would huddle around the radio. Today, we huddle on our own devices, but still in congress with each other.

There is a point to this story. Every day, as marketing consultants, we hear about people building and planning apps to reach younger generations. Many businesses are consumed with how they can reach the digital natives. They assume that their market are digital natives–young hipsters in their 20s who share every life detail on their so-nets. This is a reasonable assumption, of course, but they are leaving something out. And by something, I mean everyone else!

My mom is mobile. Highly mobile. She is a spunky, cute 60-something with an Android phone, a Macbook Pro and an iPad. I have news for businesses too…she spends money! Don’t count out people who are 30, 40, 50, 60 or older when you’re thinking of reaching new customers. These generations (the enigmatic “Xers” and Boomers) may respond to different campaigns than the youngins, but that doesn’t mean they won’t respond.

And trust me, when the zombie apocalypse comes, you’re going to want my mom on your side. She really knows how to throw a punch.

Don’t worry, it’s not as daunting as it sounds, but it does take some work. We recommend you get the stakeholders from different departments together and note individual business goals. Then, instead of spending time allocating resources in your individual departments, look at the overlap in goals. How can you now pool or share your resources to address the overlapped items? Put ego and the past behind you; businesses who address their future using this new approach will start pulling away from their competitors.

Have questions? Don’t hesitate to send us an email. Liz Eversoll, Randy VanderHeiden and Karen Dettinger are here to help.

In fact, Facebook has become so functional and integral to business that over 23% of firms use Facebook to offer customer support.  That’s a pretty startling figure considering that only a couple years ago, most of my b2b clients didn’t want to have anything to do with Facebook. The standard line went something like this, “my customers aren’t on Facebook; I don’t even know how we would use it, so no, let’s not spend any effort there.”

What’s cool is that businesses that have invested the time and energy are seeing just rewards in increased customer satisfaction and brand awareness. Add the ability to share, check in and more, and you’ve got yourself a great tool.

But there are some limitations to current social sites and that’s where companies like SoLoMo will quickly gain ground. Our ticketing application, and several other mobile business solutions (to be released soon) will augment the social scene and add even more value to the mobile market.

We tell customers and peers all the time, “mobile is here. It’s now and happening fast. You’ve got to figure out your strategy now to stay relevant.” This could seem a bit hyperbolic or even like scare tactics, but it’s not. No worries! There are some friendly people out there who can help you (like SoLoMo and like-minded firms) get mobile, quickly and efficiently. We can even help to make it affordable for your organization, whether you are a small, medium or large company.

In somewhat related news, I enjoyed listening to an interview with Ian Sigalow, an experienced VC investor.

SoLoMo knows how to throw a party!

He talks about how strong the market is for mobile and how the investment landscape is shaping up right now for companies like yours truly. When you have a chance, listen up and let me know what you think. We at SoLoMo have every intention of playing to win in this space by adding turnkey mobile solutions for businesses.

And, of course, we’re planning to have a lot of fun along the way!

Both quick-response tools function as a “trigger.”  When you see a QR or barcode on a product, it can be a trigger to learn more. In the case of our business cards, the Tag is a trigger that launches our SoLoMo Business Card application.

So if both function as triggers, why would someone use one over the other? For us, we like the flexibility of the Microsoft Tag.  We can put the desired URL in the Tag Manager and title it according to the activity or campaign. (It’s essentially a site redirect). If we want to change the content of the promotion or campaign, all we need to do is go into Tag Manager and change the destination URL. Tag also has analytics attached to each code, so you can also see the scan rate. I, for example, have had over 2 million scans of my business card.*

With QR, the printed icon is always associated with the original URL designation. This means, if I want to change campaign parameters, I need to change the content of the destination URL, which translates to changing page content. Which may not always be feasible or efficient, etc.

QR Codes definitely have more market awareness, but Tag is coming on strong. Look at your latest home magazine or Wired or trade publication. What are your competitors using? What are your vendors using? There’s really no right or wrong answer, but there is usually a”best” option.

And no matter which quick response tool you use, remember that you need a strategy to go with it. QR, Tag, and the like are marketing tools, so make sure you have a plan, a call to action or valuable content when customers hit your site.

*If you believe that, there are some other things I’d be happy to sell ya.

At SoLoMo, we frequently discuss this gap because technology and business are so intertwined these days that a gap doesn’t mean a problem for your IT department. A technology gap is a big problem for your entire business. Products, services, information. Everything is available, much of it free, via mobile devices and companies that aren’t poised to keep up are at a serious disadvantage. As Hinchcliffe points out in his article, business isn’t just moving fast, it’s fundamentally changing.  Companies that want to rise to the top of this evolutionary ladder need to make sure that they don’t atrophy. Think about FedEX and UPS…their emergence as logistics superstars radically changed the way that products were delivered and customer accounts were managed. FedEx didn’t affect the business landscape, it altered it for good.

So, what is business to do? SoLoMo will dole out some advice to help you navigate this new landscape. Of course, you need a strategy. You need effective tactics. You need to plan the work and work the plan. These are a given. And certainly we can help you do that.

But the first step is to rethink your relationship with IT. Get your sales, marketing, financial and IT managers together and start building a team that can work together toward the common business goals. If you have a culture of “no”, you’ll need to retool it to a culture of “yes.” If your IT guy says “you can’t secure mobile devices,” understand his concerns, then tell him how your company needs to grow and ask, “how can you design a security plan that gets me there.” Build friends not foes.

And hey, while you’ve got that IT guy on the horn, ask him a question for me. Why is Superman faster than a “speeding” bullet? Isn’t  it a given that the bullet is speeding? Does it not suffice to say he’s faster than a bullet? Comic-Con fans (I know there are a couple in your IT department), weigh in!

Thanks for reading, Karen

Our friend from Microsoft told Liz that he recently left his Windows phone in a cab in Chicago, but he didn’t remember which cab. So instead of throwing up his hands in defeat, he simply popped open his laptop and logged into his mobile device to track its location. He could actually see his mobile device traveling from city block to city block, getting -literally- a backseat tour of Chicago. From his laptop, he was able to override the mute setting on his phone and call it so that cab driver knew it was there.

I love this story because it makes me a little less freaked about losing my iPhone. The me.com settings allow me to find my phone via an alert that works, even if the phone is muted. This is the really fun side of technology for people like me, who are not “techie” but appreciate all the benefits we receive from mobile technologies.  And now, I have the benefit of a back-up plan if I ever lose my phone/pacemaker.

Social.  The engagement with our customers and friends to share experiences, recommendations, and information building a collective conversation and community.

It is your social web.

Local.  An experience based on your location and intent including checking-in to locations, receiving information and offers based on your location.  I also want you to learn about me so I  only receive information that is pertinent and personal to me and what I want to do.

It is your local experience.

Mobile.  Any time, any where, any device.  Your mobile device will provide you all of your services and information.  It will be your wallet, identity, loyalty cards, records, bank information, travel information, provide access to your home, remote start your car and any other function or task you can dream of accomplishing.

It is your mobile life.