POSTED BY DAN YOUNG

Here is a simple statement: small companies profit more by being mobile than those that are not.

The Business Journals published their findings from a survey of 2,223 owners and decision makers of companies with fewer than 500 employees. The overall conclusion was clear. Successful small businesses are leveraging their mobile devices to strengthen their client base, improve service and grow revenues and profits.

These findings should not be surprising. Mobile provides an extreme competitive advantage for companies who have incorporated the technology into their operations over companies who have not.

In today’s business environment, customers have an expectation of access. They want access to information, about a product, the status of a project or an answer to a question. They want information when it’s convenient to them. Mobile technology enables companies to be extremely responsive to these needs.

Sales teams and service personnel in the field equipped with tablets or smart phones carry with them all the tools needed to engage customers and solve problems. Product information can be remotely updated; revised presentations pushed to the appropriate people. Technical bulletins and services records can quickly be referenced. Customers get serviced faster and more efficiently.

Good customers respect good service. They reward responsive companies with repeat business and referral business.

Internally, mobile technology gives managers and decision-makers the ability to stay in touch with their teams despite not being in the office. The technology frees people from always needing tethered to each other to get things done. People can be where they need to be, all the while remaining connected to each other.

Mobile technology fosters efficiency. Efficiency is rewarded by higher revenues and lower overall costs.

The facts are clear: companies that use mobile technology well outperform those that do not. As more surveys are conducted and the data analyzed, the divide between mobile-friendly companies and those that lag behind the curve widens.