Mobile Ready or Missing the Mark?

Mobile Ready or Missing the Mark?:

from Business 2 Community by Christopher Faust


The adoption of mobile devices and smartphones is nothing short of historic.  It took tablets less than three years to reach 10% consumer penetration in the U.S.—and amazingly, there are now six billion mobile lines in a world of seven plus billion people. These numbers demand an investment in creating a strong mobile experience for your customers.

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John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, recently said, “The mobile device has become the central control system in consumers’ lives.”  Mobile and video is where many customers live today and will continue to be in the foreseeable future.
In fact, the majority of Americans use their phones daily and, for most of us, our phones are with us the majority of the day. The millennial generation is particularly hinged to their mobile devices.  According to a recent report in the U.K., 48 percent of 18-24 year olds admit they check their mobile phones the first thing after waking in the morning.
The Big Disconnect
Claudio Schapsis, Founder of Georillas and fellow MENG member, recently emphasized a major disconnect happening during a recent speech he delivered at Columbia University.  He stressed that we spend over 11% of our time with mobile media, which is far greater than reading newspapers and magazines (3%), yet today’s mobile marketing budgets represent only about 1.5%—far less than what marketers are still devoting to newspaper and magazine advertisements.
As a result, mobile marketers are currently missing the mark and, more importantly, a big opportunity to connect with an audience willing to be engaged via mobile devices and apps.  Mobile is not technology but rather a bi-directional and easily shareable medium.
Designed with Mobile and Video in Mind
A simple observation of many websites and content show that companies are lagging behind users.  In fact, 96% of consumers say they’ve encountered websites that were clearly not designed for mobile devices.
This is troubling when 57 % of consumers will not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site.  And 40% of consumers will go to a competitor’s page after a bad mobile experience, according to Compuware.
Once you have implemented a mobile optimized site with mobile users in mind, add video.  According to recent studies, mobile video traffic represented 51% of traffic in 2012.  This was the first year it was over 50 % and, 25 % of smartphone owners now watch video daily.
By 2017, two-thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video.  Video is not just for consumers.  Already, 33 % of B2B buyers report that they purchased a tech product or service online after watching a video.
The PC Information Consumption Era Is Over
Mobile monetization is a rapidly growing part of our economy.  The chart below shows a dramatic increase in revenue from apps and mobile advertising, particularly in the last two years.

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Longform Activity Is Not Often Seen on the Smartphone
Quick-hit information retrieval seems to be the smartphone’s primary role. The smartphone plays an important supporting role to help users get through their day. Much has already been written about how humans no longer have to remember as much since databases and the cloud can do that for us.  One of the smartphone’s greatest roles is that of a personal assistant with us 24/7.

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Trending:  Smartphones Dominate Internet Traffic
In February 2013, Cisco published a fairly comprehensive report on mobile.  Some metrics that came out of the report include:

• Global mobile data traffic grew 70 percent in 2012.
• Average smartphone usage grew 81 % in 2012.
• In 2012, the number of mobile connected tablets increased 2.5-fold to 36 million, and each tablet generated 2.4 times more traffic than the average smartphone.

The forecast out of the same report indicates:

• By the end of 2013, the number of mobile connected devices will exceed the number of people on earth, and by 2017 there will be nearly 1.4 mobile devices per capita.
• Mobile network connection speeds will increase 7-fold by 2017.
• Global mobile data traffic will increase 13X between 2012 and 2017.

It’s amazing to consider the average smartphone will generate 2.7GB of traffic per month in 2017, an 8X increase over the 2012 average.  Studies also show that fully engaged customers represent a 23% premium over average customers in share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth.  Customers who are actively disengaged—and who talk about it—are worth 13% less than the average customer.
The average person influences over 250 people in an analog world.  In 2009, a study from Harris Interactive showed that digital word-of-mouth has more influence than off-line word of mouth.  Those exposed to digital word of mouth recommended brands 20% more often.  The study also showed that all word-of-mouth had better outcomes than managed communications.
What’s even more breathtaking is that iPad adoption has ramped even faster than the iPhone.  And you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand that as more and more mobile devices are used, they cross over into use quickly in the workplace and at home.

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U.S. Mobile Users Are Buying Online with Their Smartphones
It’s evident that smartphones are becoming a constant purchasing companion.  In 2012, research shows that anywhere from 64 to 68 % of smartphone owners used their mobile devices to shop online.  That’s an average of 66 percent of your customers purchasing with their smartphones.
Tablets are a growing favorite for online shopping as well.  Over the last three years, we’ve seen mobile devices enjoy a three-fold increase in usage for shopping.  The iPad has enjoyed a 10-fold increase in usage as a shopping companion.
In-store Sales are Increasingly Influenced by Smartphones
The “mobile influence factor” for in-store sales will increase to $689 billion by 2016. Sixty-four percent of affluent mobile application users say they view brands with mobile applications more favorably.  Four out of five consumers use smartphones to shop.
Smart shoppers compare pricing, products, reviews, and expect to find mobile coupons.  Why be misinformed when making a purchase?  Consumers spent six times as much time in retailers’ mobile applications in December of 2012 compared to a year earlier.
Consumers look at several information sources prior to making a decision, and even B2B buyers complete 66 % of their research before they talk to a company.  After gathering their information, they are primed to take action and will.
The Increase of Smartphone Purchasing Crosses Generations
It’s apparent that everyone is getting more comfortable using smartphones and tablets to make purchases and influence their decisions.

• 1 out of 3 B2B buyers download research such as white papers on their mobile phones.
• 85 % of tech B2B customers research services on their mobile browser.
• 82 % read reviews.
• 72 % compare product or service features.
• 50 % of B2B buyers are multi-device shoppers.
• 91 % of Tech B2B mobile customers access a search engine on a mobile device to shop for tech products.