Reaching the Mobile Tipping Point: 48% of organizations do not have a mobile strategy in place

Mobile has transformed how we shop, socialize, research, work, and connect with today’s world.  In this age of mobile connectivity, marketers are fully aware that they must think mobile or get left behind.  While this has been an increasing focus for some time now, many marketers are not prepared.  According to a recent report by Econsultancy and Adobe, 48% of organizations do not have a mobile strategy in place. And for those that do, many do not have a cohesive plan.

However, marketers are playing catch up and doubling their efforts to reach mobile-first consumers.  Other key findings from the study include:

• Companies are continuing to invest in their mobile capabilities, with 60% increasing their 2016 spending and only a tiny fraction moving away from their mobile investments.
• Nearly three in five (57%) organizations are aware of the different technologies available to support their mobile strategies.

Never before has a mobile strategy been so pivotal in the overall marketing mix.  Mobile accounted for 45.1 percent of web-shopping traffic in the first quarter of this year, just edging out desktops at 45 percent, according to a study from Demandware.  This number is expected to climb and by year’s end, mobile is expected to account for 60% of all ecommerce traffic.

For retailers, shopping will continue to evolve until it reaches a mobile-only space. A report by EMarketer predicts that 71% of U.S. consumers will have a smartphone by 2019.  This is compared to today’s 59 percent of smartphone owners. Furthermore, according to Demandware, the company predicts that by the fourth quarter of 2018, smartphones will overtake computers by 13% for consumers placing online orders.

While mobile certainly plays a key role in ecommerce as more consumers turn to their smartphone for shopping and checkout, mobile also plays an important role in the overall path to purchase.  Many consumers are cross-device and cross-channel shoppers and researchers, meaning they start on one device, move to another, before finally completing a transaction through yet another channel or device.

Example of cross-device shopping. Image source: Google

 

In another example by Google, 57% of people who use mobile search are more likely to visit a local store and 40% more likely to make a phone call.

With so many consumers engaging in cross-device and cross-channel behavior, the one constant is that mobile generally plays a role at some point in the journey.  According to a study by Facebook IQ Source, 45% of all shopping journeys contain some type of action on mobile and 1 in 3 omni-channel shoppers do research on mobile before buying on a desktop or in a brick-and-mortar store.

Mobile affects virtually every industry, whether a consumer is conducting research on the brands they wish to do business with, searching for items online before heading into a physical location or actively engaged in shopping on an m-commerce site.

Mobile Pays Off

Marketers who have embraced mobile this year have seen a 147% return on mobile investments from 2015 to 2016.

As the world switches to mobile, marketers will need to understand mobile-first consumers through the right mix of data, technology and analytics in order to deliver relevant messaging and the personalized experiences mobile consumers are seeking.

Most Popular Mobile Activity is Email

When thinking mobile, an obvious starting point is ensuring that your website is optimized for mobile.  Mobile consumers will quickly leave your site in favor of a competitor if it doesn’t render properly on a mobile device.  This includes your website, landing pages, videos, and other content.  Just as important is email – one of the most cost effective and affective mobile channels available.

For those who read emails on their desktops, many consumers turn to mobile first to sort through their emails before reading them. 40% aged 14-18 will always read emails on mobile first, 29% for ages 19 – 34 and 8% of the group of 56 – 67. – Adestra “Consumer Adoption & Usage Study” (2016)

 

 

Because email is such an effective channel throughout the purchase journey, marketers must be extra diligent to ensure that emails have mobile-friendly and responsive designs. Extra protocols should also be put in place to ensure email lists are up to date. A third party vendor can quickly correct and validate current emails and append missing emails to customer and prospect records.

With 73% of marketers agreeing that email marketing is at the heart of their business according to Salesforce’s 2015 state of marketing survey, integrating mobile email marketing should be a key priority for a successful cross-channel strategy.

Integrate Mobile Advertising

According to Zenith’s new Advertising Expenditure Forecast, mobile ad spend is expected to near $100 billion by the end of 2017. With 95% growth last year, Zenith predicts growth of 46% this year, followed by 29% growth in both 2017 and 2018. By 2018, mobile will make up 58% of the total ad market.

According to Zenith, “As such, online video and social media will be the sole sources of growth for display advertising over the next three years. Specifically, online video advertising will grow by 20.1% a year on average between 2015 and 2018, while social media will grow 23.6%.”

Mobile opens up marketing possibilities unlike any other channel. Mobile gives marketers the power to virtually follow customers around, get to know their habits and lifestyles, and target them with the right messages.

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