7.3.1 | Blogs
February 13, 2008 | A Day in the Life
By Mark Ouyang
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My last posting ended by asking the question, “Are you meeting your customer’s information needs?” Using my own personal experience, I urged publishers of content to realize that consumers increasingly want to be able to access information in any format, on any device, at any time.
A quick look at what the average workday is like for most people should make this clear. It’s no longer sufficient to just be working and communicating in a single medium. If you want to get and keep your customer’s mindshare, you need to make sure your content can be re-purposed and re-deployed on as many channels as possible.
Here’s a glimpse into my day. It starts with the radio going off. During the time I am getting ready for work, the radio is the most convenient and appropriate way to get my attention. It continues with the drive to the train station but then switches to my smart phone while I am waiting for the train to arrive. (When I travel by air, my dependence on the smart phone is even greater).
Once on the train, due to the unreliability of network/ cell phone connections, I switch to the print medium. Magazines and newspapers are preferred when I am not working on my laptop. Reaching the office, my attention and preference switches again, this time to the desktop. Here, the desktop screen and websites dominate. This scenario reverses itself on my commute back home. My day typically ends by viewing a news/entertainment broadcast on the television or on the web.
The medium I prefer and use is whatever happens to be the most convenient and appropriate for me at that particular time or situation. For example, I may switch fluidly between CNN’s TV broadcast, its website, or mobile delivery of content to my cell phone depending on my circumstances. The service they provide promotes their brand, gains my attention and builds my loyalty.
As an information service provider, hopefully the answer your customers give to the question, “Are You Being Served?” is a resounding “Yes”.
