MDM, Mobile Devices, Small Business Owners, and a Hidden MSP Opportunity

Managed services providers (MSPs) offering mobile device management (MDM) solutions may want to focus some of their sales efforts on small businesses owners (if they aren't already). A recent Constant Contact, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) report revealed that 66 percent of small business owners are currently using a mobile device, including smart phones and tablets, or solutions, such as mobile-optimized websites and text message marketing. This statistic may seem like common knowledge to many of us in the channel, but there's another side to the story, which raises the curtain for an MSP hidden opportunity. Where are MSPs leaving money on the table? We'll tell you where your sales team should focus their efforts.

According to the survey, small businesses are leveraging mobile technology mainly for email and social media marketing, but it doesn't stop there. Respondents are also using mobile technology for advertising through social platforms, providing a mobile-optimized website, running a mobile tablet-based payment point-of-sale, and using mobile apps to manage operations. The report suggested that small businesses owners are noticing that their customers are using mobile devices, too.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS wins the hearts of small business owners

iPhone users trampled Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android users 66 percent to 39 percent, while iPad users outnumbered Android tablet users 49 percent to 15 percent — a different ratio than for operating systems being used by the general public. The survey revealed that more than 71 percent of small businesses are using mobile technology to accept mobile payments and 52 percent bring into play a mobile-/tablet-based point-of-sale system, but which mobile applications are these businesses using for managing daily operations?

Operations management mobile apps growing 

The majority of respondents (82 percent) said they are using mobile apps for time management. Customer communication apps rank right behind with 74 percent and 52 percent use mobile apps for GPS and mapping. Accounting, industry news, and travel apps were also top responses.

Show me the money — a hidden opportunity

While the majority of small businesses are using mobile technology, there's a minority that isn't — approximately 34 percent. To find the hidden opportunity, however, MSPs must dive deeper. According to the report, 65 percent of these small businesses have no plans to use mobile technology in the future, citing a lack of customer demand.

Convincing small business owners who have already invested in mobile technology should be simple for your sales teams, so focus on the 65 percent of small businesses without a mobile technology plan, before other MSPs do.