Why It Makes Sense to Own a Smart Watch

Mock up of what the iWatch would look like.

It doesn’t matter if you have a smart phone or a “dumb” phone, since cell phones have become so widely used the wrist watch has become more for a fashion status than for telling time. Rumors have it that Google, Apple and other technology companies are trying to change that.

When I first heard of the iWatch (or whatever it ends up being called), I thought it was just an stupid idea from technology companies trying to innovate for the sake of innovating. I laughed at this idea because I didn’t see the real potential behind having a smart watch. I recently had my eyes opened when I read an article claiming that you’d check your iWatch 95 times per day on average.

This article focus’s on one of the slides from Mary Meeker's Latest Masterful Presentation On The State Of The Web. This slide shows that the typical smartphone user check’s their phone 150 times per day. 95 out of 150 check make sense on a “smart watch”.

After looking at these statistics, I am sold. Text messaging, voice calling, checking the time, listening to music, alarm to wake you up, get news, calendar, and alerts all could be used easily on a watch.  You might be asking yourself, “Why would I ever want a watch instead of a phone?” I asked myself the same thing at first but here are 3 reasons:

1.     Convenience
You wouldn’t have to keep pulling your phone in and out of your pocket. How many times have you been sitting down and had to almost stand up in to pull your phone out of your pocket? When you have a “smart watch” you only have to pull up your sleeve (if you have one).

2.     No more dropping

Who hasn’t dropped their phone at least a dozen times? Even if you didn’t end up breaking it, you still had time slowed down as you watched your digital lifeline crash to the floor. Then the moment of truth came as you picked it back up in hopes that you didn’t break anything. The “smart watch” would be attached securely to your wrist.

3.     Don’t miss updates

I love going to movies, where I have to silence my phone. After the movie I sometimes forget to take it off ‘silent mode’ and end up missing an important text or call. Even if your “smart watch” is on ‘silent mode’ you are more likely to glance at your watch on your wrist than the phone tucked away in your pocket.

I’ll be excited to see if this innovation really takes off. Let me know what you think. Would you buy one? Why or why not?

I Want Proof You Care

I am a big social media advocate. I love being able to build my personal brand through status updates, tweets, and sharing links between other social media platforms or websites. Many people use social media as another form of entertainment but everything you do, especially online, represents you. It is easy to build (or destroy) your personal brand online.

Recently I read an article from Sprout Social titled, “Customer Support Professionals Share Their Tips on Using Twitter Well,” which talks about the power of using social media for customer service. I have always preached that customer service is one of the most important things you and your company can do to build a positive brand. After reading this article it reminded me of an experience that I had recently.

Just 3 weeks ago I went to Hawaii for my spring break. While there I ran into a very cool guy who told me he worked for Proof, a company that makes and sales wooden sunglasses. I expressed that I have seen those before and have wanted to get a pair but didn’t want to pay a high price for a pair of sunglasses that possibly didn’t fit my face right. After listening to my problem he gave me a promo code saying, “Use this, it’ll get you half off any of our products. I know you will like them!”

My Bamboo Sunglasses

He was right, I do like them! When I got home from my trip I ordered 2 pairs of sunglasses and a wooden wallet. I was excited to sport my new sunglasses and use my new wallet. Sadly, just 5 days later my wooden wallet would snap in half.

The next day on Facebook, I noticed they posted a photo promoting a giveaway on the same wallet that just broke on me. Follow the link and pay attention to all the comments, you’ll notice 90 percent of comments are negative. They all say something about their wallets snapping in half. Proof’s response was weak, “Yeah they are made as a front pocket wallet.” A good customer service/social media representative at this point would’ve said something like this:

“I am sorry to hear about you not being satisfied with the quality of our product. We pride ourselves in making high quality products that make our customers happy. We appreciate your business and would be glad to replace your wallet or give you credit towards another one of our unique wooden products. Please contact (insert customer service e-mail or phone number) and we’ll take care of you!” 

This type of response shows that you care about your customers by listening to their problems and want to make it right, even if they misused the product by putting it the back pocket instead of the front pocket. Many businesses do not understand the consequence’s of poor customer service nor the reach of good customer service. I have two examples of this:

Example 1:

When I had my wooden wallet friends, family, or strangers that I was exchanging money with would be like “Woah…That is a cool wallet! Where did you get it?” I would respond by telling them I got it online at iwantproof.com. Since my wallet is broken I don’t have that happening anymore. Furthermore if someone later asked me about what happened to it when I pull a different wallet out, I would tell them that the product was a waste of money because it broke on me in just a matter of days.

Example 2:

Without fail when I wear my bamboo sunglasses I get someone asking me if they are made out of wood and where I got them. I tell them I got them online and they ask if they can try them on. I gladly let them try it on and tell them where to get them. They get all excited while writing down the website and thank me as we go our separate ways. I even had a friend send me a picture wearing her new sunglasses saying, "Thanks!"

In the first example they could’ve replaced the wallet. This would’ve not only got me to feel appreciated and love their company but I would’ve continued promoting their product every time I pulled it out to pay for something. Except this time, I would pull it out and would be more enthusiastic when talking about the product and the company.

I may not recommend their wallet but I do like their sunglasses. Proof is a start up company and I understand they are growing at a rapid rate because they were on ABC's Shark Tank. I hope as time goes on they don’t continue using this as crutch and up their customer service in order to match the rest of their brand.

I am rooting for you Proof, don’t let me down!