How to get your mobile strategy right without falling into the apps for apps’ sake trap
It is becoming impossible to ignore the daily avalanche of statistics on increasing levels of mobile and tablet adoption, so the question is no longer “Why should I invest in mobile?” but “How should I invest in mobile?”
'Mobile does not sit in a silo,' says Kim de Ruiter
And yet mobile strategy is still often misconstrued as app strategy. This is a massively dangerous trap. We know from several high-profile examples (including notably Facebook) that 60-70 per cent of traffic to web properties now takes place via mobile or tablet.
The evolution of smartphones has heralded a massive shift in consumer behaviour. Gone are the days when consumers could only access and consume media on mobile through an operator’s walled garden environment, such as Orange World or T-Mobile’s T-Zones. The very first apps (i.e. Java) were basic and clunky, and up until relatively recently heavy data charges, speed and user experience all deterred consumers from using their handset to access the open web.
Today, the mobile phone is essentially a mini computer, capable of most of the things we use our laptop or desktop computers for. The fact we’ve got it with us on a 24/7 basis opens up huge opportunities for retailers and businesses to target us with relevant and personalised messaging, especially when we’re shopping. Consumers can price compare, ask for advice and opinion from loved ones and order items for home delivery instantly, all at the touch of a few buttons.
Optimising our digital strategies for consumption through mobile is no longer a choice, it is consumer expectation. A clunky, cumbersome site with text too tiny to read is no longer just an annoyance: at best it’ll have a negative effect on brand perception; at worst it’s going to have a direct impact on sales.
Mobile does not sit in a silo. Mobile is digital, and vice versa. The two can no longer be divided.
The Approach
Don’t forget the fundamental principles of marketing. Establish your objectives, measurement metrics, budget and realistic ROI. Then review your insight and research materials…what is the demographic and attitudinal profile of your prospects and your existing customers – where are they spending their time, what do they want from you, where and how are they spending their money? Make sure that the solution you offer fits the needs of your consumer as opposed to the template of your platform provider. Be creatively innovative, be sure your content is engaging, and your user experience is smooth, slick and fast.
Example? Airlines such as British Airways and most recently Easyjet now allow you to check in, download and carry a boarding pass on your smartphone. Streamlining this process both improves the customer experience and helps to simplify process in the airport itself.
Engaging consumers in an ‘always-on’ 24-7 environment can be massively lucrative, however the time you have to convert your prospect from ‘Check-in’ to ‘Check-it-Out” to ‘Check-Out’ is scarily short. Apps such as Halo (which can instantly both find and book you a black taxi at your specific location without the need for cash payment) are perfect examples of a mobile solution that addresses an obvious consumer need with a simple and slick user experience.
Quick-Review Mobile Marketing Checklist…
• Ensure your marketing team considers mobile alongside their other activities as part of the overall marketing mix, not as an afterthought. Mobile IS digital, and vice versa
• Define your value proposition by determining what your consumer wants to do with your business in mobile
• Optimisation for mobile is no longer optional. According to a recent report from Google, this should be your top priority for engaging mobile customers. 57% of users said they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site, and 40 per cent have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience.
• Consider building your mobile website first with an app designed for a specific segment of your audience or tailored to a specific need
• Check out your competition. What are they doing in mobile, and note what works well, and what doesn’t
• Don’t forget to promote the app, track performance and optimise it based on usage
• Track your mobile search campaigns separately from other marketing programs so you can test, measure and develop messaging specific for mobile.
Digital campaigns and properties should, as a rule of thumb, creatively fulfil the basic consumer need to be entertained or to consume something that is wholly relevant and timely. To that end, integration is key, so leverage all the media and the entire medium available to you. Your creatives need to understand how to adapt and produce content suitable for a daytime TV ad through to a press, retail and digital. If they don’t – get an expert in to help. Trying to backfill a campaign after it’s already started is a mistake.
Kim de Ruiter is head of mobile and entertainment partnerships for Cheil, working across a number of international campaigns for Samsung. Sje has been shortlisted in the top 50 leading women in the mobile industry by MEM, and nominated as woman of the year by Nordoff Robbins