For today’s online shoppers, the importance of the mobile experience simply cannot be overstated. Recent research by the regulatory body Ofcom finds that mobile devices are now the number one choice for online consumers. Our own mobile engagement research, in fact, found that more than half of respondents claimed to carry out research for impending purchases using a mobile device either ‘frequently’ or ‘all the time’. The same research showed that the number of consumers making frequent mobile purchases went up 41% year-over-year.
The BoldChat research also revealed, however, that there is a gap between the amount of people using mobile devices to make purchases, and the amount of money they are transacting. Last year, only 1 in 10 people spent more than £1,000 annually via their phone or tablet. The frequency of mobile buying is on the rise, but the total amount transacted isn’t keeping pace on a per consumer basis. This seems to indicate that the while there are more mobile transactions, the value of each purchase is lower.
Why then do these tech-savvy consumers who rely on their mobile devices for nearly every aspect of their lives not make bigger financial commitments from those same devices? Security and privacy concerns are likely a strong factor, especially in Europe. Recent iOS and Android security breaches, such as the Stagefright or XARA vulnerabilities, may play a role in lack of consumer trust for larger purchases.
But we suspect a simpler reason – lack of mobile engagement.
The aforementioned research also revealed that a full 25% of mobile purchases had an antecedent engagement, which was also on a mobile device. In other words, a quarter of mobile buyers reached out proactively before making a purchase, presumably to ask a question about the product or the company selling it.
And here’s the problem – most companies don’t actively encourage, seek out, or attempt to optimize the engagements they have with mobile consumers. If they did, as we know from other types of engagement, the number of people who buy, and the amount they buy, would increase.
Here are a few tips for businesses looking to improve mobile engagement:
Speak or Type the Same Language as Your Customers
It may sound simple, but language barriers are still a problem. A recent estimate by the UK government regarding the impact of poor language skills on small businesses suggested that they are losing out on up to £48 billion on an annual basis. Hiring multilingual candidates is a simple way to ensure effective communication across all UK nationalities, but there are also sophisticated and automated translation platforms, which enable direct communication with consumers via their mobile devices.
Another benefit of these platforms is that real time translation of text reduces the time and costs associated with an awkward contact-centre call, in which neither party is clear of the desired outcome. Translation tools can be pre-programmed to identify and translate branded terms, industry vocabulary, slang, typos and shortcuts common in mobile device interactions, resulting in a higher quality conversation.
Anticipate Customer Needs with Proactive Chat
It’s wise to identify the point in time where a proactive engagement would be most rewarding. The days of crude chat implementations should be far behind us, thanks to advanced mobile optimizations. Chat invitations can now intelligently determine the form factor of the customer’s device and, if appropriate, send a mobile-optimized version designed to render appropriately on that device. This allows ecommerce experts to build a proactive invitation program specifically targeted to mobile consumers.
Nevertheless, don’t assume every engagement needs to be a plain chat invitation. An offer for a video demonstration of a product or a targeted promotion are often far more appealing depending on the where the visitor is in their buying journey. Successful proactive chat implementations strike the perfect balance of being where consumers need assistance, how they need it, and when.
Understand the Customer
The key to chat success requires a commitment to understanding customer identification and creating personalised, relevant engagement that shows customers they are valued.
Research demonstrates that traditional channels of communication are still the preferred method for mobile customers. More than half of respondents listed voice call or email as their primary means of seeking support from their mobile device.
Another important practice is to map out the most prevalent customer journeys by customer group. Journey maps reveal detail about the customer interactions, the relevant available data, as well as the communication channels and touchpoints that can be the most effective.
No matter what channels you choose to use to support and proactively engage with mobile customers, there are two things to keep top-of-mind. First, mobile engagement is different than other types of engagement and requires your organisation to rethink process, people, and technologies. Mobile engagement is a discipline and until your organisation embraces it as such, you can’t excel at it. Secondly, and most important, all engagement really comes down to people. The knowledge and empowerment of the staff you put on the front lines is the key to any customer engagement program – no matter what channel, no matter what device.
By Ross Haskell, Director of Products at BoldChat by LogMeIn.
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