Mobile Website Design

At first glance, this March 31, 2010 article on AdWeek.com titled, “Forget Apps, Text Still Reigns in Mobile,” appears to outline a logical case for pursuing text message marketing over mobile apps.  For example:

“…stats…show it’s (apps) still a plaything compared to text messaging, which continues to deliver impressive year-over-year growth across all demographic groups.”

“only 18 percent of all phones in the U.S. are smartphones. Further, Juniper Research forecasts that smartphones worldwide will account for just 23 percent of all new handsets sold per annum by 2013, hardly representing the mass market for general consumer goods and services.”

“Strategy Analytics confirmed…with its October 2009 report that showed only four to six mobile apps are used on a consistent basis. Brands need to be aware that there’s intense competition for share of the mobile phone desktop. It stands to reason that consumers are not going to continue to download and use an unlimited number of mobile applications, and there are many questions over whether we have reached the saturation point already.”

Before abandoning your mobile app project, consider this statement:

“These are hardly mouth-watering statistics unless they’re your specific target market.”

This remains the sole reason to pursue an application on a particular mobile platform, iPhone or otherwise.  If the user demographics match closely your customer base, then it makes sense to consider a mobile application – only should one be pursued if the customer experience can be improved in a way that benefits the business.  This gets the heart of targeting the Mobile Customer Experience, which the article points to as THE point at which all mobile marketing efforts are converging.  Interactive Mediums thus to date has focused on helping its clients in this exact manner:

“Despite the relatively small user base, what is interesting from the known behavior of those who do download mobile apps frequently and own smartphones is that they’re massive users of text messaging and mobile Web sites. This shows that those on the leading edge of the technology curve are continuing to grow their engagement with texts, not reduce them, which is where the rest of the market will follow.”

The other day my colleague Drew Myler posted about HTML5 and its ability to serve as a basis for mobile web applications offering a very similar user experience as native applications for the iPhone and other smartphones.   A lot has been written about mobile web browser-dependent applications offering a less ideal basis for engaging experiences due to the latency around data transfer involved in loading pages that a user links to in the browser.

Moreover, should the network connection be lost, a user must re-start the browser session, which does not occur with native mobile applications.  HTML5 apparently has the ability to stage data in memory on a device such that the user cannot perceive the data transfer usually associate with web browsing.

Drew points out HTML5’s ability as well to access device functions that historically were the domain of native apps, such as the built in GPS capabilities of the iPhone.  What this all means for marketers, agencies and others considering mobile application development projects is that the mobile web offers essentially a “write once, run anywhere” experience that alleviates the need to create unique applications for different smartphone platforms.   At least for those devices with browsers supporting HTML5.  Of course, were it that simple, demand for iPhone applications would not be so strong, which Drew correctly identifies as a strength Apple brings to the table via the App Store.

This article I came across yesterday on InternetRetailer.com titled, “Apps versus sites,” doesn’t discuss recent developments aimed at closing the gap between the mobile web and applications, which illustrates how important maintaining touch with the technical community is so critical to success in the mobile channel.  Things are happening so fast, that once defacto stances around what works/what doesn’t are constantly being revised.  For example:

“M-commerce sites and apps differ in four fundamental ways: reach and discoverability, which favor sites, and experience and performance, which favor apps.”

In reality, apps are probably as “discoverable” as mobile websites given the visibility of the App Store.  Their point is that just like SMS text messaging, smartphones of all varieties have web browsers.  But with “experience” and “performance” becoming an immaterial aspect of the debate, it will be interesting to see what decisions marketers make with respect to mobile web and application projects.

Here’s a suggestion:  If torn between smartphone application development platforms due to the demographics and reach associated with each, why not create a rich web-based application that is universally accessible.  Then, in order to leverage the marketing-might of the App Store and other smartphone application stores, simply create small applications that offer a gateway to the mobile web app.  In this way, you lower your costs, ensure access to the widest audience possible while tapping into the demographic niches associated with different smartphones.  Don’t be surprised to see more than a few retailers and other industries begin taking this approach as HTML5 becomes more mainstream.

The news seems to be increasingly populated with stories about 2D or “quick response” codes used as mobile calls to action.  As this article points out today on MobileMarketer.com, “bar codes offer a shortcut to accessing mobile content, information and mobile commerce.”  Considering the simplistic analogy to a shortcut, it’s rather amazing Neustar is attempting to solve the reach/incompatibility problem of 2D codes and in so doing add a presumably high growth aspect to their business.

The article outlines how Visa used 2D bar code technology as part of a sweepstakes promotion conducted at the recent Mobile World Congress in Spain.  You can read the specifics but as we mentioned recently here and here, 2D bar codes tend to find the greatest success in highly localized and controlled environments where there is some certainty around consumer handsets capable of reading the codes.

What Neustar wishes to do is offer a “clearinghouse” service so marketers can employ 2D codes without restricting their potential audience.  They plan to do this by standardizing previously incompatible codes across devices and operating systems.  It sounds like a lot of work to enable consumers a “short cut” to redeem information on their mobile devices.

2D bar codes appeal to our visual nature and longtime experience with traditional bar codes such as those scanned at the grocery store.  These codes imply ease of use, as well as data — lots of data about who purchased what product and when.

Marketers considering building sweepstakes or other promotions around 2D bar codes like Visa should consider the ease by which consumers today text a keyword to a shortcode to redeem information or be pointed to a mobile website – the exact same use case as with a 2D bar code.  Not only are you assured universal reach but even more data about the consumer can be obtained since a text interaction is bi-directional and can include a question and answer component in real time.

Marketers should focus less on the technology employed to engage their customers, and more on creating a compelling message or incentive which calls their customers to action — and then evaluate options for packaging and delivering the offer.  Right now marketers appear blinded by the “sexiness” of 2D bar codes, and Neustar is betting a new line of business on it.

Having been in meetings with marketers and via anecdotal third party comments, I know many are sitting on the fence with respect to mobile, uncertain whether it’s a novelty, tactic, strategy, channel or alternative to email.  For better or worse, it can be some or all of these.

When you add to this mix that many businesses are reaping mobile marketing benefits, as shown every day on MobileMarketer.com and other sites, marketers in all industries sense urgency to at least try mobile marketing – be it developing a mobile optimized version of their website, an iPhone application or trying to employ SMS text messaging simply due to its reach.

I think this is the landscape documented in research covered today on eMarketer.com, in an article titled, “Mobile Marketers Demand ROI.”  Results of a survey suggest marketers will pursue mobile marketing efforts in 2010 – even allocating budget – but obstacles remain (as shown in the diagram included in this post).

“It appears that 2010 will be a year of experimentation and education on mobile marketing as marketers struggle to come to terms with its practicality and ROI.”

The greatest challenge – not surprisingly – is uncertainty around building the business case for mobile marketing, followed closely by a lack of ROI metrics and mobile not a part of the “strategic roadmap.”  I’d argue all of these issues fall under the heading of simply “I don’t know where to start, given my business, my product or service and customer base.”

For this reason, Interactive Mediums developed an exercise called “Mapping Mobile to Your Marketing Strategy,” that when complete identifies the best candidate projects that align with your existing marketing plans and channels.  This is based on our direct experience and observation of the ways leading companies are going to market with mobile as strategic elements of their business.

Taking time to experiment and educate is simply not an option for marketers given the pace of advancement among leading mobile marketers.  Even trialing various approaches will leave you behind the curve as competition for consumer mobile mindshare escalates.  Taking a thoughtful approach to mapping out a strategy can ensure your business plays a role in the mobile customer relationships that will surely separate the winners from losers.

I once before blogged at taking pleasure in reading contradictory views on important goings on in the mobile industry, and much to my delight (or chagrin) it has happened again.  It’s important to highlight and interpret these cases, as both savvy and novice mobile marketers look to supposed experts to help guide their decisions.

On one hand you have this February 4, 2010 post on MobileMarketingWatch.com citing expert commentary from a recent event, where the consensus view was that mobile advertising was “harder than ever…citing extreme fragmentation and a plethora of new devices sporting varying technical aspects as the main culprits.”  The situation sounds intimidating to say the least, begging for a wait and see approach.

Juxtaposed with this is research cited in a February 5, 2010 article in MobileMarketer.com titled, “Mobile ad campaigns 5 times more effective than online: InsightExpress study.”  Based on the title alone, you can imagine the article describes how much more effective mobile advertising is today than its online counterpart.  And that is the case.

You can read about the differences in effectiveness but it all comes down to “engagement and context” according to the study, both of which we describe as central to mobile marketing’s value proposition, be it a focus on advertising or direct engagement via SMS text messaging, email and mobile web.

I think the disconnect between “experts” and the facts on the ground is due to control; advertising networks are the gateway to this value while many experts working on the boundaries are left struggling for relevance with end customers who have cash to spend.  Marketers would be wise to quickly discern the quality and subjectivity of viewpoints they consider when prioritizing mobile marketing efforts.

This January 20, 2010 article on Mobile-Financial.com features results of a survey of mobile commerce shoppers that retailers would be wise to review.  As we have blogged about before, comparison shopping on mobile devices represents a challenge to retail marketers, one that begs for compelling engagement strategies to keep customers from leaving stores for better deals elsewhere.

The survey finds product recommendations accessible via mobile devices as a huge opportunity for retailers, with 65 percent of those surveyed saying they would make purchases were it easier to find products of interest.  Retailers heeding this advice will implement mobile-accessible product reviews and recommendations based on factors such as real time inputs by a consumer (looking for a plasma screen TV, what are my options?) and historical transaction data if available (purchased TV in the past, suggest a DVD player).

A potential battleground retailers need to keep eyes on is the mobile product reviews/recommendations/comparison space.  On one hand, retailers can develop branded mobile experiences for their customers that are essentially “closed” environments by virtue of product selection limited to that one retailer.  Combined with clever engagement strategies such as mobile promotions, this can effectively combat third parties that aggregate product information, prices and reviews across retailers.

These services could render retail store environments as mere “pick up” spots for products browsed, reviewed, and compared by mobile shoppers.  The retail sector may be in store for a complete shift in power unless mobile engagement strategies rise to the top of marketing plans and priorities.

This post today on MobileMarketingWatch.com cites a Business Week article in which the Apple honcho bluntly describes his view of the utility offered by current mobile advertising formats.  He also apparently sees this as an opportunity for Apple to innovate and ultimately dominate the mobile ad medium, even in the face of online ad champ Google and its mobile focus.  We have speculated as much here.

Just the other day we blogged about the hype around mobile advertising created by recent acquisitions.  We’ve also covered issues surrounding mobile ad metrics.

We’re keeping close tabs on developments in this area for our customers so they understand where to prioritize mobile advertising alongside their broader customer engagement charters inclusive of SMS text messaging, mobile optimized websites, smartphone applications and social media.

An integrated approach to mobile channel marketing – akin to creating more effective mobile ads – is an innovation which greatly increases the likelihood your mobile marketing efforts won’t suck.

That’s the phrase which popped into my mind upon seeing this January 14, 2010 post on MobileMarketingWatch, titled “Tracking Mobile Ad Click Rates: Symbian Rules.”

Mobile advertising, just like traditional web ads, is an exciting area because of the reach and audience segmentation possibilities.  In parallel with significant investment moves by Google and Apple to get involved via acquisition, the hype around mobile ads is at a fever pitch right now.  I’m afraid customers and investors who fixate here are in for some disappointment down the line, however.

Click through rate, or CTR, is the measure by which mobile and traditional online ads alike are gauged, and the article highlights global research showing that the unlikely Symbian platform is the leader in offering high CTRs, even in the U.S. where it’s not as dominant in terms of market share.

Clearly, a lot of advertisers are thinking “I have to be on Symbian” yet the hype and press would never point an ad buyer at this platform as opposed to the iPhone or a Google Android device.

Advertisers need to remember as well, where are those who click through going to?  A mobile optimized landing page or website?  A smartphone application download?  A coupon or bar code for redemption at the point of sale?  If the answer to any of these is “none of the above” and instead “we’re just happy to have lots of eyeballs seeing our message,” a huge opportunity to drive sales, engender loyalty, or cultivate brand affinity is wasted.

Viewing mobile as an engagement channel that allows businesses to create highly personal interactions that induce action on the part of customers is the real opportunity represented by mobile advertising.  It needs to be viewed as just one part of the value equation, which is why marketers are increasingly coming to Interactive Mediums to leverage our mobile customer engagement platform and expertise around creating effective mobile dialogues with customers across SMS text messaging, mobile web, apps and social media.

Dwell time was a concept I first came across years ago as a web analytics measure designed to provide ecommerce marketers with insight into how long a visitor took to either make a buy decision or abandon the site for another.  It seems the same is happening around mobile enabled consumers as they browse retail stores, introducing new challenges for marketers.

Although it doesn’t say so, this post yesterday on eMarketer.com suggests that providing incentives designed to keep your mobile savvy customers in store is closely tied to ensuring they don’t bail and visit another store for a better deal:

“The threat comes from in-store shoppers using their phones to check sales prices at other retailers.  Compete found that 41% of iPhone users and 43% of Android users do just that.”

“You could argue that every retailer on the planet is an off-balance-sheet showroom for Amazon.  So if you go into a retailer’s store and you see something you like—type in that manufacturer’s SKU number and check the price on Amazon. You’ve looked at it, you’ve touched it, felt it, and now you’re getting the benefit of potentially getting the best price on it too.”

To meet this challenge, the post recommends “A retailer’s best defense for maintaining customer loyalty is to develop a mobile offering that allows in-store shoppers access to customer reviews and other product information on its Website.   This is where the opportunity lies for retailers.  By providing mobile access to their extensive online product information, they help customers feel more comfortable about making a purchase.”

This is a logical recommendation, yet it will not prevent price sensitive, mobile enabled customers from comparison shopping and potentially leaving the store.  It also ignores reseach suggesting that loyalty not be the target, but rather engagement.

To keep customers in-store and increase the probability of purchase, retailers should build engagement strategies into their mobile plans such as text message promotions like sweepstakes and other contests.

Consumers value their time as much as their money, which is why many are excited at the prospect of instantly performing a price comparison quickly then moving onto another store.  Retailers who create engaging mobile programs that keep customers in-store such as promotions lessen the likelihood that they will take the time to visit another store.

2009 marked the beginning of an effort at Interactive Mediums to keep watch on the mobile marketing industry and lend our unique perspective on happenings as they relate to the value we bring to our clients.

The pace of innovation in mobile and urgency to begin engaging customers in mobile interactions demands we pay attention to news of the day.  More importantly is that we have a relevant point of view.  Hello Mobile! is our forum for communicating these views.  Others are listening as well, such as MobileMarketer.com which today recognized our article “9 Steps for SMS Marketing” among the “Top 15 industry-expert columns of 2009.”

As 2010 begins, look for further insights, commentaries and directives from our blog.  Before we look forward though, here are the top 10 most popular posts of 2009 – I wonder what this list will look like next year, the key trends and topics?  Stay tuned.

• Is Apple the Mobile Walmart?
• The Key to Mobile Customer Data
• Acxiom Clients Seeking a Differentiated Mobile Offering Should Look Elsewhere
• Advice to Marketers: Don’t Confuse Mobile Advertising with Mobile Marketing (or Active Customer Engagement)
• Establishment Converges on Active Customer Engagement
• Lessons From Less Than Successful Mobile Apps
• Thankfully, More about Active Customer Engagement
• Vendor Lines Blurring but One Thing is Clear: Active Customer Engagement
• Insight into Apple’s App Store approval process
• Best in Class Marketers to Focus on Customer Engagement in 2010