Become more customer-centric - Part 3: Embrace mobile
Digital disruption can either hinder or progress a business, it really depends on how a business embraces the digital era. Some businesses may even question whether they really need to digitise their business, when good results have come using other avenues. While it is possible to see a steady influx of customers using older methods, businesses as a whole should understand how much the population has embraced the mobile world. To put this in perspective, there were 1.2 billion mobile users in 2012, with this figure expecting to double by 2017. As you can see, businesses could be side-stepping a whole demographic if it doesn't embrace mobile.
Time to embrace mobile
With so many people relying on mobile devices for news, shopping and social networking, it is vital that any business is able to embrace the mobile culture and deliver what consumers expect. This means that a business has to think outside the box a little when attempting to embrace mobile. For example, companies should think about how mobile enhances the experience with their brand, rather than seeing it as simply another screen to display content on. Though of course that content needs to be responsive! A good example of a brand that has chosen to really embrace mobile is Nike. Nike offers a variety of apps, like the Nike Training Club, which offers a 'train anywhere' solution that can be used alongside its sports-related products.
Businesses also need to design how customers engage with them through mobile. Every business will experience periods that see a spike customer queries. In this regard, businesses should look to understand how mobile can help handle this experience and make it positive, easy and convenient for customers. For example it might be as simple as using text messages as a way to manage customers' positions in a customer service queue. It's also important to know how customers behave within an app or mobile website and why in order to enhance that experience. If it's about window shopping, prior to checking out later via a table or laptop then understand that and make the browsing experience easier. It's also worth mentioning apps like MishiPay, as they are attempting to remove barriers to purchase on mobile. Here's a useful resource that provides a list of apps for things like mobile payments.
The right kind of infrastructure is also vital to a business wanting to fully embrace mobile. For a large business this could mean a large investment to ensure that the foundations of the business are going to be in place to better suit the world of mobile. Small and medium businesses may need to look at what is needed to enter the world of mobile. This could be members of staff with specific skills, or technology that will be able to deliver what is demanded when consumers engage with a business via their mobile device.
Businesses should also monitor any data that any app or mobile site is able to provide. This means that tools such as Google Analytics and New Relic are vital for ensuring that any relevant data is captured and recorded. It is also important that the tools used to garner analytical results are configured correctly. The main purpose of setting up such tools in the first instance is to gather information that can help provide an insight to customer’s behaviour while using an app or mobile site. Then use this insight to make improvements where necessary. So it's important to set up tracking capabilities in a robust way in order to capture the right kind of information.
Embracing the mobile world may seem a little overwhelming at first, especially with the investment a business may have to make. But when you consider the demographic your business will be introduced to, it is a change that can only benefit a business in the long-term.
Check out our next post in this series: Become More Customer-Centric – Part 4: Leverage Big Data