Signmakers on Smartphones: I Can’t Put It Down!

THIS IS PART TWO of a three-part article on signmakers and smartphones. Click here for part one or click here for part three.

• The mobile phone is the Swiss Army knife for us modern-day superheroes! It’s all-encompassing: communications — learning — social — navigator — control center — business management toolbox and more. People that have a negative outlook on smartphones are perhaps speaking about mindless scrolling without value. Personally, that is not how I engage with my phone. I use it with intention and I am able to move through space and time at light speed! Well, ok, at the speed of business and as my personal needs require! 🙂 — Corey P., Flower Mound, TX
• An indispensable tool. — John M., Branford, CT
• It lets you communicate from just about any place and is an asset. — Kevin O., Danbury, CT
• My main feeling is that being able to have access to modern mobile phones is to have knowledge right at our fingertips. We are able to access websites, and research anytime and anywhere. Having a camera on your smartphone is almost a requirement in today’s world!! The apps are so convenient, especially the bank apps you save so much time banking right from your phone. — David D., Allentown, PA
• Essential! — Jeff B., Fort Myers, FL
• It’s important for me to completely get away from the cell phone a few hours a day and especially on weekends. Being on 24/7 is exhausting. That being said I don’t know how we lived without it during BC (Before Cell Phones). We live in an instant gratification world and this tool helps keep everyone informed at the same time. — Dawn H., Brighton, CO

• Love them! — Geoff O., Campbell River, BC, Canada

• It’s an excellent tool to keep us updated with our office, emails, and social media. — Earl W., Tucker, GA
• Carrying a high-quality camera in your pocket at all times is the biggest plus for me, followed by the ability to easily contact the customer while on site, which saves an enormous amount of time; plus a million other small benefits like determining longitude and latitude and pulling up photos and emails when discussing a job on site is an efficiency game changer. — Gary J., Basking Ridge, NJ
• Great! — Per A., Laguna Hills, CA
• They are great as long as used in moderation. — David, Longmont, CO
• We couldn’t live without them. Specific to the trade, we take surveys, compile photos, take notes, email info, calculate measurements, and even access our job tracking system online. — Sean H., Clinton Twp, MI
• You have to embrace it if you want to grow. Easily 80% of inquiries come from a phone/mobile device. — Ted D., Covina, CA
• I was a holdout for quite a while because I didn’t want to be constantly in touch with others. Now, I am rarely without my phone. We use our phones for work, family, and entertainment. I can still put it away when I don’t want to be bothered, however then I would be without my favorite camera! — Sheila R., Phillipsburg, KS
• It saves me from carrying around like three different devices for field work most of the time … so that’s pretty handy. — Keith D., Chester Springs, PA

• Fantastic tool during the business day but have to be very careful to respect employees, and customers, personal time (after 5 p.m. and on weekends). — Harold P., Guaynabo, PR

• Customers like using their cell phones — being able to text me a photo is easier than emailing and more convenient — if it makes their lives easier then I can support it. — Nonnie L., Norwood, NC
• Don’t give the number out to everyone or you have no time away from the business. That goes for management and sales/service professionals. A good tool for surveys in conjunction with a Spike and the notes function on the phone. Good for quick capture and estimating. — Pat D., Torrance, CA
• It has increased productivity and work volume 10 times and that may be light! — Jeremy V., Salinas, CA
• Oddly enough, I have become less and less interested or excited to use email as a primary form of communication with the ease of quick text messages to my team, clients and vendors. I like to draw an important line of which type of messages are used for the two … but my email inbox is always inundated with extra time sapping messages or those annoying cc messages. I often get quicker and direct answers via text messaging on my mobile phone. The abundance of technology apps available on the smartphone also makes my device an incredibly important part of my business day. — Bob C., Troy, MI

• Very helpful! — Jasper B., Conway, AR

• A tremendous tool for productivity and communications. But, I must be careful to use it as a tool and not become addicted to the phone and all the available apps. — Vince C., Greensboro, NC
• It definitely helps, at least for us. If a client calls about an install while my installer is out, I can easily text him and let him know about tardiness, change of location, etc. We’ve also implemented an app that will allow the installer to make phone calls from their cell phone but it comes through as our shop line on the client end. So no more giving out private mobile numbers to clients that will inevitably call during off-hours. We also pay for a service that allows us to send and receive text messages to our landline. For the small amount of money it costs us, our clients love that they can text us a picture of their vehicle or a pencil drawing of what they’re looking to have on their sign. We can send job completion photos to clients as soon as their project is done, too. — Meri L., Bethlehem, PA
• Indispensable. — Brett J., Spring Lake, MI