Mobile devices are carried by customers everywhere they go, while interacting with all types of media. They are present whenever your business engages with customers.
A practical method of adopting a mobile approach is catering for mobile users and capitalising on the opportunities that arise, driving business objectives regardless of your customers’ devices.
1. Get buy-in from stakeholders
Optimising for mobile will undoubtedly require some resources, and you will likely need support from stakeholders within your business.
While making a case for each business or industry is an article in itself, there is a wealth of supporting information on the Internet. You’ll need some stats to awe and inspire, as well as an indication of where and how mobile will improve the business. The process below will assist with this. Gain trust and momentum by implementing quick, measurable changes.
2. Map your customer touch points
List all of the touch points that your business has with its customers in a mind map or spider diagram. Include both digital and non-digital activities and group them into similar parts of the customer journey (awareness, purchase, after-sales, etc.).
Highlight touch points according to:
- Digital and non-digital
- Those that are core to your product or service offering
- The amount of revenue they represent
- Drivers of primary business objectives .
Digital touch points will usually be the easiest to optimise, and will be your source of quick, measurable changes. Knowing which of your touch points drives your goals, revenue and service delivery will prioritise optimisations according to business impact.
3. Optimise your current touch points
Begin by optimising touch points that are already accessible through mobile devices. Obvious choices include websites, online advertising and email newsletters. The goal is to ensure all of your touch points are accessible and easy to use.
Gather reports on current performance to provide a base against which to measure the impact of changes. Next, interact with key touch points as a customer would on mobile devices and identify where the delivery of your intended experience falls short. (e.g. Does your email newsletter open correctly?) Conduct research with colleagues or customers where possible.
List the concerns and the steps to make the necessary changes. Monitor performance and use positive results to your advantage.
4. Capitalise within the customer journey
Once your touch points are optimised, analyse the connections between them. Mobile is the only channel that is present through all stages of the consumer journey. What is mobile’s role when customers move between these touch points, and how can you capitalise on this?
Identify these individual steps, prioritising them by contribution to business objectives, and take note of what consumers need at those points. Does your business have a location where purchases must be completed?
Paid search results, a Google map listing, and a map on the front page of your website will help mobile users find your business and get directions. Through analysing these links you uncover friction points as well as opportunities.
5. Build further with this mobile-first foundation
Moving forward with a mobile-optimised ecosystem will naturally cultivate a mobile-first decision making process. Any addition or change should follow the steps above.
A mobile specialist or agency will be able to further unlock the potential of mobile within your business. With the mandatory optimisations already in place, you will have the foundation on top of which they can bring real value.
