Consumer expectations in mobile are high. They want slick services and they want them now. Their demands go well beyond having a mobile optimised site (although some brands still need to do that) or dabbling with mobile advertising.

Consumers now expect brands to know where they are, what they are doing and deliver relevant content and experiences directly to their mobile device. Making that a reality means focusing on four key areas:

1. Think customer not platform

Mobile strategy is not simply about replicating what you do on desktop. Banners might work on desktop but they won’t necessarily be right for mobile. The customer needs to be at the heart of your strategic development process. Think about who your customer is and where they are likely to be when they access your brand. If you are a retailer your customers come armed with their mobiles into your store everyday – what are you doing to help enable that experience? If you are an airline – your customer has the mobile on them every step of the way from booking to check in to in flight wifi and beyond. Are you keeping them updated with flight information? Perhaps you could offer then a deal on car rental, a hotel or information on their destination?

2. Invest in mobile technology

Desktop technology will rarely deliver on mobile. Whether it’s the ability to serve rich media adverts or something as fundamental as tracking users on mobile devices, desktop technology just isn’t fit for purpose. Brands need robust technology that won’t let their consumers down on mobile. That’s essential whether you are live streaming content from an event to millions of viewers or delivering tailored offers to consumers based on their location and live loyalty information from the CRM.

3. Measure what matters

Too many mobile campaigns still judge success based on of “clicks”. The customer journey could well be completed on a different mobile device, desktop or in store. Brands need to work harder to “close the loop”, tracking consumers from CRM to point of sales and create a new set of mobile metrics. That also means better understanding of how mobile reacts and compares with other media.

Brands need to work out which platform is contributing to the customer journey and where, rather than simply adopting a last click approach. It’s not acceptable that desktop gets all the credit for a purchase if 50% of the journey took place on the consumer’s tablet.

4. Data

Brands need data rich customer profiles taking their planning approach beyond simply whitelisting sites for the campaign.

They need to amalgamate the data they already hold in CRM systems, with the device IDs and other data such as operating system/handset that they will have captured when a consumer downloads their branded apps. This can be combined with advertising data from their publishing partners.

Smart brands are working hard to take greater ownership of their customer and move away from working with the same old mobile ad networks. That means working hard with partners who bring robust retargeting and attribution capabilities to the table.

Only by tackling each of these four areas will brands be able to deliver a truly “connected experience” for consumers. It could happen at an airport, a shopping mall, in the comfort of their own home or somewhere far away.

The critical question marketers really need to ask is: Are you and your brand simply getting in the way of what a consumer wants to do or are you making their life easier, more interesting, or exciting?

 

By Jon Hook, VP of Mobile Strategy at Phunware. 

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