Tablets displacing PCs and why you should care

A new study caught our eye this week and we wanted to share it with you. Researchers from IDC Worldwide predict that tablet shipments are expected to grow 58.7 percent this year to 229.3 million units. Why should you care about that number? Because tablet shipments are predicted to exceed those of portable PCs this year, as the slumping PC market will likely see negative growth for the second consecutive year. The IDC study also said that tablet shipments should outpace the ENTIRE PC market (portables and desktops combined) by 2015.

The tipping point is upon us. Click on these links for additional IDC information about Tablets, and about PCs. With tablets racing past portables in 2013 (and total PCs in 2015), there’s going to be a major change in how consumers and business professionals do what we like to call the 6 Cs:

·         Communicate

·         Compute

·         Connect

·         Collaborate, and

·         Create Content.

What this means for you is that your clients, prospects and stakeholders are increasingly mobile, impatient and distracted. They’re more likely than ever to be reading, downloading and watching what you have to say on a small screen device and away from their desks. You have less room to work with and less room for mistakes.

It also means your email subject lines have to be crisper. Your videos must be shorter and less intrusive. Every webinar must deliver exactly what you promise right from the first minute. Your newsletters must be on target every issue and your case studies, white papers and archived web events must be easier to download and highly relevant.

Special challenges for those in professional services

Most of you are well educated highly skilled professionals. You know how to be relevant. You have the subject matter expertise that so many other “posers” on the web don’t have. You know how to be thorough, accurate and comprehensive. The challenge is being brief when you have so much to share with your audience and when you’re dealing with complex topics, mountains of research, precedents and regulations.

That’s what we do all day long. Do we always get it right? Of course not. But we know an awful lot about how to do it wrong.  Our blog and FREE Resources share more.

Macro View

Today’s jobs report shows that U.S. employers added 175,000 new hires in May, slightly ahead of expectations. While skeptics say that unemployment remains historically high and the economic recovery has shown some signs of slowing, we’re still convinced that the underlying fundamentals remain strong for this economy--remember, we’re in a new normal era. Housing is recovering in most major metro areas and the Federal Reserve said yesterday that that the net worth of most American households is higher than before the recession hit five and a half years ago.

Any more dramatic drops in the financial markets will be a result of investors using the recent worries above as an excuse to take profits.

Conclusion

We’re at the inflection point of a Big Data world hitting a small screen environment. Every word and pixel counts. Respect how busy your target market is and choose your words carefully. Be fast. Be relevant and keep it real.  If you can do those simple things consistently, your clients and prospects will thank you time and time again with referrals and continued loyalty.

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Tags: IDC worldwide. Tablets outpace portable PCs, housing market, jobless rate