Whether we swipe our fingers or ask Siri with our voice, smartphones have become a window into the world of information and knowledge that sits in our front pockets and wallets.
Almost all of us have access to this wondrous device that allows for constant connection and communication with the rest of the world, and on the rare occasion that we are not out and about with these smartphones or other digital devices, we are likely to ask the person next door us to use their watch to check something for you, as every day as we used to ask someone to check their watch for the time.
A paradigm shift
As soon as business people and consumers moved away from devices like the BlackBerry and instead turned to a Samsung or iPhone, there was a paradigm shift in behavior.
We can now text or make calls, send high-resolution photos and videos with flawless precision, search for anything we need via web browsers, and listen to an unlimited collection of music on Spotify, or even stream TV on YouTube, the TV that obsessed us with ours Use time as efficiently as possible. This limits our patience for tedious or everyday tasks and makes us frustrated with people who cannot move as fast as our devices.
Does that make technology good or bad? To tell the truth, it’s neither. A smartphone is a tool, much like a hammer for a carpenter. It’s not the tool; that’s how we use it. So how can we use them to create a better future for the world?
Thinking exponentially about smartphones
A smartphone’s ability to go into the cloud and give you access to these aforementioned virtual products and services is only part of the puzzle. While I teach senior executives and executives with my Anticipatory Organization®Model, we need to think exponentially of both software and hardware to stay ahead of disruptions.
For example, the ability of our smartphones to act as supercomputers opens up unlimited business opportunities. Think for a moment about the location services of a smartphone. How often do you think about what’s in the functionality and reliability of Google Maps? I bet you think about the mechanics of GPS navigation on your smartphone as often as you think about the fact that you would go anywhere without it: almost never.
With voice commands on smartphones and comparable functions in our vehicles, many of us even do without typing in an address and simply say where we want to go. The app gives us the best route and even an ETA with AI and in seconds you are on your way.
As a consumer, this function does its job perfectly; the Point is a matter of course for us as consumers. But to bring exponential thinking in that direction, we as entrepreneurs and business leaders can understand the capabilities of GPS and location services that are so easily accessible, and we see an amazing wealth of new opportunities.
A small component in your phone makes it easy for you to access a large network of Global Positioning System satellites, which provide the device coordinates of the respective location of the phone or tablet. This is a fairly extensive use of software and hardware combined with geographic information systems (GIS) in the cloud to instantly capture and present spatial data that enables users to locate not only themselves but their surroundings as well.
Once we understand this process, how can we look at this technology exponentially and start solving a problem as a business leader or entrepreneur? Which industry also has a problem that needs to be solved by a smaller version of a smartphone GPS app?
GPS powered grocery stores
Grocery shopping changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when customers not only had to plan a little better on their weekly shopping spree, but just as many opted for roadside pick-up or delivery of groceries whenever possible use.
How will grocery shopping change after COVID-19? For those customers returning to in-person shopping after pickup or delivery, which was made slightly easier by using an online shopping cart and searching for a specific brand of product, their patience is likely to be razor-thin as they wander the aisles.
Businesses are already capitalizing on our obsession with instant gratification through the use of smartphones and tablets in many other ways, particularly when shopping online. But how do we get customers back in the door of the stationary locations and, even better, do we combat the disadvantages of instant gratification and make it a desirable experience for them?
With this information, coupled with an understanding of GPS in our phones, it should be easy for a grocery store to find a way to both tap into the positioning industry and combine it with the inventory technology already in use in their online store . Essentially, create a real-world user experience that resembles an online store, where the shopper built their list and possibly activated the grocery store’s app as they walked through the store, where it pings when you approach a specific product. re looking and helping you find the exact location.
This is an both / and world
The desire of individual consumers for instant gratification is growing like a tough trend Not means that grocery stores, convenience stores, and personal retailers will all give up their previous activities. The connectivity of this world and the exponential increase in virtualization thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic have also made many want to leave their homes and physically shop.
Implementing an improved location awareness app in a grocery store only improves that part of the grocery shopping equation that many before COVID-19 found frustrating. Another exponential opportunity with this app idea is to include a feature that suggests another brand to the customer, possibly more health conscious, possibly in conjunction with statistics from a wearable device like an Apple Watch.
Improved location awareness through in-building systems allows customers to take their time and enjoy something as tedious as personal grocery shopping, with the tedious part solved for them. It also brings the inventory of an online grocery store into the personal shopping experience as the app could also inform the customer when something is out of stock and another brand is available.
Expand with anticipation
Remember, the hard trend is people’s desire for instant gratification in all walks of life, driven by the instant gratification of our smartphones. Knowing this, your entrepreneurial opportunity antenna should be up and running.
Consumers want what they want, when they want it, and increased location awareness is increasingly being used by retailers, large and small, to accommodate those desires. By leveraging this powerful tool and using it proactively to resolve problems ahead of time before they become problems, organizations can meet their customers’ needs in new and powerful ways.
Originally published here.
