Innovation is sometimes an 0ver-used word.
Mention innovation and most people will immediately think of high-tech companies. In today’s mobile environment I’m sure many immediately think of Apple; it’s so common its almost cliche’. I would argue that all successful companies in all industries innovate in some fashion in order to survive.
Most businesses have been innovative at some point in their existence… Most industries do not allow companies to survive in perpetuity by following status quo. I’m sure someone will point out examples which refute this point, but I would say those are few and far between.
Think of your own organization. Are you interacting with your customers and prospects in the same manner as you did 2 or 3 years ago? I would guess not, and if you are I would assume you have customers,prospective customers and employees asking why.
The funny thing about expectations is that they rarely go down. Your customers are always expecting more. They want to work with companies that are innovating, always striving to better themselves.
For example, consider Cushman & Wakefield, the world’s largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm; operating 235 offices in 60 countries with more than 14,000 employees Cushman thrives in highly competitive real estate markets such as New York City, London & Tokyo. Their customers have high expectations and little patience for dealing with poorly equipped brokers.
As a leader in their space, Cushman is always striving to better its approach, improve service and differentiate its customer experience. The company’s cross-functional team quickly identified mobility as a key component to their strategies.
Cushman engaged Antenna Software and AT&T to brainstorm a comprehensive mobility strategy for changing the way its brokers interact with customers at the most crucial points of the selling cycle, including on-site tours of commercial properties. 
The result is CWMobile, a mobile application which provides the brokers direct access to in house proprietary systems. The app enables brokers to share various data, images and video with the prospective tenant while they tour various properties. This could be on any Cushman issued or personal device that the broker may choose – iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.
The end result is a greatly improved customer experience, brokers who are more knowledgable about the properties they present and what should culminate in faster closing of sales.
Think about what Cushman has done and then ask yourself: What can my company be doing to rethink customer interactions?
To learn more about the CWMobile Project, check it out on YouTube:
Tags: Antenna MEAP, Antenna Mobility Platform, Antenna Software, AT&T Enterprise Mobility, AT&T MEAP, Business Case, Business Mobility, Business Process, Cushman & Wakefield, Enterprise Mobility, Field Automation, Human Centered Mobility, iPad, iPhone, Matt Torgersen, Mobile Real Estate, Pragmatic Mobility
