Verizon Wireless Introduces Small Business Advisor

Verizon Wireless announced the introduction of the Small Business Advisor, a free, interactive tool that provides user-friendly recommendations for mobile solutions for small and midsized businesses (SMBs). The service is designed to help customers find small business solutions that help boost productivity, protect information and use wireless technology to grow their business.

The Small Business Advisor takes on the role of an electronic consultant and is designed to save the SMB owner or entrepreneur time. There are a variety of applications across Google Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry and Windows platforms. The tool can point the user in the right direction, finding the apps that make the most sense to boost business efficiency in many areas, including customer interaction, office administration, travel and video.

Users find apps and accessories with the help of a wizard that asks a few quick questions about the industry, the operating system of their mobile device, desired mobile tasks and overall business needs. It then analyzes the information and provides the user with a condensed profile of the most relevant and logical apps and accessories to download or purchase via a QR code.

“The Small Business Advisor is a key part of our SMB approach, helping our customers better determine the right applications for their business and get the most from their mobile devices,” said Michael Schaefer, executive director of wireless business solutions at Verizon Wireless. “No matter what vertical our SMB customers are in, they all tell us they want the best tools to differentiate their business, expedite workflow, and save time and money. We are continually refining and delivering the best suite of tools to help our customers manage their business interests.”

A recent study from digital business analytics firm comScore showed Verizon rival AT&T leading the U.S. business ISP market with 20 percent of all browser-based Internet page views (i.e., traffic) in September 2011, followed by Verizon with a 12 percent share of the market. While AT&T continues to lead all ISPs for small businesses, its 13 percent market share is significantly lower than its share in the large and midsize business segments. Comcast (8 percent) and Verizon (7 percent) rounded out the top three ISPs in the small-business segment.