“Wearable devices” is the name given to a whole range of new electronic devices that can be worn and therefore carried around at all times. The smartwatch, for example, was one of the top topics at the IFA consumer electronics fair, which closed in Berlin last Wednesday. These “watches” not only tell the time, but also allow users to make phone calls, send emails, watch videos, listen to music and much more. These new miniature computers worn on the wrist are intended to bring the internet even closer to users.
Even closer than a watch is the “Google Glass” eyewear. Equipped with a camera and a kind of mini screen in the lens, these glasses connect everything you see directly with data from the internet. At a party, for example, the camera can capture another guest’s face and, thanks to facial recognition and an internet connection, Google Glass can instantly find that person’s name. It is then displayed directly in the wearer’s field of vision. Gone are the days when you could not remember someone’s name.
Mobile First!
The mobile use of internet content will continue to develop rapidly. Whether on a watch, in glasses, in a car, on a plane, or more simply on a mobile phone or tablet computer, more and more data is being consumed on the move, and more and more companies are responding by thinking seriously about how their websites are used on mobile devices.
“Mobile internet users want to access information especially quickly and easily. Websites for mobile devices need to be even clearer, with text that is shorter and punchier,” explains communications specialist Fabrizio D’Aloisio from the agency “Spot Werbung” in St. Moritz. “When people are on the move, they usually do not have time to spend minutes browsing websites and reading long texts. In addition, screens are smaller than they are at home or in the office.”
“At the start of the coming winter season, we are launching a dedicated website for mobile devices, because mobile use of our website has risen from just under three percent to more than 20 percent in the space of three years,” explains tourism director Urs Wohler of Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair. “Guests are now also using the mobile web during their stay. While at home they calmly research travel arrangements, hotels or sports offers, during their stay they spontaneously search for restaurant addresses, opening hours, events or excursion tips.”
The right thing, at the right price.
“Even guests with a relatively high budget want to be sure they are buying the right thing at the right price. That is why our guests also use their smartphones in our shops to get information about our products. They are certainly also comparing prices,” says Conradin Conrad.
Conrad, whose family runs Ski-Service Corvatsch with 13 branches in the Upper Engadin, has turned this apparent challenge into an advantage: in his larger branches, guests not only have free wireless internet access, they are even loaned an iPad for surfing the web.
“Mobile first” is the order of the day, including in the business world. The ability to browse the internet is increasingly in demand outside hotel rooms and restaurants as well. When asked what this service should cost, a survey of Engadin hoteliers, tourism professionals, restaurateurs and business owners produced only one answer: of course, nothing. Today’s guests regard internet connectivity as a basic service, like a television in a hotel room.
The moment matters more and more.
Constant internet access does not just allow customers to retrieve data. It also means that uploading texts or images is possible constantly and from anywhere. A beautifully presented starter dish finds its way onto the internet just as easily as a sunrise, a kind waitress or a friendly bus driver.
Immediate impressions play an ever greater role in shaping a company’s reputation online. And a good reputation cannot be bought, it has to be earned. For companies in every sector, this means it is wise to focus even more consistently on their customers.
Current seminar on this topic
29 and 30 October in Scuol and Pontresina.