Today I came across part 3 of a story on a site called Retail TouchPoints, titled “Two Quick Takeaways On Where To Start With Mobile In Retail.” I could not figure out how to access the prior two installments, but was glad to at least see the third. The author describes retailers as a whole playing catch up with today’s mobile savvy consumer, a position no business wants to in but especially when the economy is struggling. I suggest retailers take the advice here as a “call to mobile action” and begin taking an aggressive, yet measured approach to the mobile channel as prescribed by us in this recent paper.
If retail marketing leaders are as fixated as described in the following quotation, I strongly suggest they tap into knowledge bases like Hello Mobile to see how retail and other industries are moving beyond the novelty factor to leveraging mobile strategically:
“The retail CMO is looking for some new-fangled, high-tech way of engaging with this itinerate shopper. The sage truth is that the marketing department is chasing shadows…Instead of focusing on the consumer and how they are leveraging mobile in their stores, they are investigating widgets and apps that have little to no reach or frequency in their consumer base.”
The author lumps retailers and packaged goods firms together in making two recommendations to their marketing leaders:
- Learn from history: We blogged about this idea in a slightly different context here, but the gist is that the desktop computer/Internet/email drama is again playing itself out in the mobile space and leaders unable to see the similarities are missing the boat: “I-want-one-too CEOs are running to their agencies and IT department and developing application that only five percent of consumers are returning to after a lonely month on the phonetop.”
- Learn from your consumer: We talk about a focus on the Mobile Customer Experience, and the author wisely recommends observing your customers in the store environment to see how they use a mobile device while shopping. “They are doing two things in your aisles: using their phones to browse and text. Is the consumer opening the browser to find tips and information to help with their shopping experience? Are they messaging home for the shopping list? Possibly. But the shopper is certainly not scanning 2D codes with their phones. They are not opening the security on their Bluetooth settings for inbound offers. They are not all downloading your app to their phone.”
The greatest challenge marketing leaders have is knowing how to start and who to partner with to realize their mobile aspirations. There are numerous technology, consulting and agency resources ready with capabilities and proven successes to share best practices and prescribe the best way for retailers and packaged goods companies to begin using mobile strategically to develop and improve customer relationships.
