Apple’s iPad has landed. Although it may not be changing our lives us much as some people think, it is for sure an important new tool that will find its way to many thousands of users.
The question people are asking now is what the impact will be of the iPad on B2B marketing. I think we should not get too excited. The impact will be small.
The New Laptop
The impact the iPad has on B2B marketing will be small. It is not really a new development. The iPad is something between a laptop, the latest generation of cell phones and an e-reader. Combining most of the advantages of these devices in one new product.
For most users the iPad will be the smaller and easier to use alternative for a laptop. As Kipp Bodnar writes on Social Media B2B – 5 Ways Apple’s iPad Will Impact B2B Marketing- sales engineers are more likely to show off products with an iPad now than they would with a laptop. But until now they have used their laptop. Maybe less user-friendly and a little bit less effective, but not enough impact to change B2B marketing.
Mobile in B2B
I don’t think mobile B2B marketing in industry is as big as many people think it is. Of course mobile technology is a development that needs to be closely monitored, but most of the decision-makers and influencers in industry are not that mobile. The iPad will not change that.
There is one thing I am sure the iPad will change. It will make the life of a lot of marketeers and webdesigners easier. Mobile internet in iPad format is much easier to realize than trying to squeeze all your information on the relatively small display of a smartphone. But that is all the impact I can think of for the moment.
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