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Johannesburg - Cellphones, smartphones and other mobile devices don't have to be cheap, as long as they are easy to use, of high quality and dependable, according to a survey of 1 000 small business owners in South Africa.
This is a key finding from the Mobility 2009 research project being conducted by World Wide Worx and backed by First National Bank (FNB) and Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry's distribution in SA.
"The findings of this survey demonstrate clearly that small business owners attach a high value to the benefits of staying in touch with clients and colleagues at all times, wherever they are," said Deon Liebenberg, regional director for sub-Sahara Africa at RIM. "Dependable, easy-to-use and high-quality mobile solutions pay for themselves quickly by enabling small businesses to be more responsive, efficient and productive, and allowing them to do more with fewer resources."
The Mobility 2009 study is being conducted in four phases, with the first three looking at the use of mobile technologies by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), corporations and consumers, and the final phase exploring the mobile internet.
In the first phase, announced at a press conference on Tuesday, it was revealed that SME owners and decision-makers considered a range of other factors before price entered the picture for purchase decisions. For over 80% of the businesses surveyed, ease of use was an important criterion, while 79% rated quality as important. Maintenance and reliability were a little further behind, with 74% and 72% of respondents respectively rating these as important.
Price came in at a distant fifth place, with only 64% of respondents rating it as important.
"Whether you are designing a phone or a cellphone banking service, ease of use and consumer education are critical for users," said FNB's Mobile and Transact Solutions CEO Len Pienaar.
Managing director of World Wide Worx Arthur Goldstuck said: "These findings explain why many seemingly valuable and useful technologies, tools and applications are not embraced by SMEs."
He said that while marketing campaigns for cellphones in South Africa had traditionally relied heavily on the power of brands, the survey showed that brand loyalty was no longer a factor in the mobile market. Only 55% of respondents rated brand loyalty as important.
"This suggests the mobile arena is about to undergo fundamental changes in market structure and dynamics," said Goldstuck.
Liebenberg said: "Small businesses demand that their mobile devices be reliable and rich in functionality as well as simple to deploy and use."
Mobility 2009 included research among 1 000 consumers, 1 000 SMEs and 240 large enterprises in South Africa. The enterprise findings will be released at the end of September, and the consumer findings at the end of October.
- Fin24.com
