The device is not the future of marketing, it’s the present. Today, the customer journey often begins and ends on a smartphone. So, as a marketer, it’s your job to engage with your customers on their choice of device. Marketers can’t ignore the surge in M-Commerce, as consumers command an experience that rests on mobile optimization. Brands need to prioritize the mobile marketing in their eCommerce strategies.
Today, it has become crucial to maximize conversions on mobile – the consumer’s preferred platform for communication, shopping, and everything in between. The device has deepened the brand-customer relationship and empowered customers to quickly access information and purchase at their convenience.
Mobile marketing plays a pivotal role in eCommerce as more and more people are shopping online using their mobile devices. Here are some ways in which mobile marketing can be used in eCommerce:
In summary, mobile marketing is a critical part of eCommerce as it allows businesses to reach customers directly on their mobile devices and provide them with a seamless shopping experience.
Mobile devices allow brands to reach customers directly and in real time. Channels native to mobile, such as SMS and app push, are like digital real estate for businesses. They’re valuable. Combine these platforms with email and you can make a pretty powerful and compelling proposition.
Effective mobile marketing is about delivering personalized, timely and location-sensitive communications to customers wherever they are. These are the messages that matter. Seamless customer journeys are a collection of joined-up micro moments on mobile:
Customers can get what they want where they want. And while marketers strive tirelessly to make their websites and emails responsive on mobile, few have adopted a mobile-first approach.
The premise is simple: design everything for a mobile device in the first instance. This strategy is the best way to deliver a consistent and seamless customer journey to your mobile audience.
Whilst consumers are ‘always-on’ and glued to their phones, mobile marketing will remain a core pillar of every business strategy – both in B2C and B2B.
Every marketer is increasingly having to think like a retailer. Because let’s face it – every customer is a sophisticated consumer at heart. They shop around, and they do it while they’re on the go.
Mobile erodes the traditional barriers of a transaction. As consumers, we can quickly research multiple product options, skim through reviews and customer testimonials, and purchase confidently at our own convenience.
The handheld device enhances the shopping experience and empowers the customer.
There’s no denying in the rise of mcommerce.
Such exponential growth in mcommerce sales highlights that customers are spending more time on their smartphones The brand response is to ensure the entire customer journey is optimized specifically for mobile.
As a mobile marketer, you should be tapping into every important mobile moment. And the devil is in the data; it needs to cascade from one channel to the next. To achieve a synergy between email, SMS and push on mobile, your systems need to be integrated.
Most important mcommerce statistics
Source: eMarketer Insider Intelligence
Source: Criteo
Bottom line based on the above stats is that eCommerce store owners need to provide a great customer experience on mobile devices.
Below we’ve split the journey stage into four key stages; at each, we’ve outlined the action points you should be taking as a marketer to deliver an exceptional experience on mobile.
1. Welcome: grow your mobile reach from day 1
Journey stage: A mobile shopper browses your site on their smartphone and then subscribes to your emails. First impressions count, so take an interest in this new subscriber and wow them with your bestsellers. Remember, email is your virtual touchpoint and shopfront, so you want to be looking your best.
Marketing action points
2. Purchase: deliver a 5-Star aftersales experience on mobile
Journey stage: Your new subscriber redeems their welcome voucher and makes a first purchase. Customers expect timely transactional notifications, informative delivery updates in real time, and relevant post- purchase content. The aftersales stage of the journey is a honeymoon period between your brand and your customer.
Marketing action points
3. Nurture: engage customers at meaningful moments
Journey stage: You’ve acquired your new customer, so now it’s time to nurture them so they become loyal. You need to meet customers in the moments that matter to them. Make the most of your most engaging sends. That’s where you can leave a lasting impression.
Marketing action points
4. Re-engage: keep customers hooked on mobile
Journey stage: It costs 5x more to acquire a customer than it does to retain one. So, retaining this customer should be a top priority.
Marketing action points
Brands won’t get closer to their customers than on mobile. That’s a fact. On average, people spend 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phones per day.
Individuals check their phones an average of 58 times each day. The ‘it works on mobile’ attitude isn’t enough: adopt a mobile-first approach.
The biggest attribute of the handheld device to the marketer is shareability. Consumers are informed, connected and worldly. They’ll shout about their experiences – the good and the bad. The engagement opportunities are 24/7. When opportunity knocks, you answer.
Nailing those micro-moments on mobile will help you:
Audience segmentation is the glue sticking everything together. Brands can’t send generic messages and generate engagement while bypassing the interruptions on mobile. What works for one customer won’t whet the appetite of another. Since the device is personal to the user, the consumer’s expectation is that all mobile interactions will be personalized.
Communicate with your customers on the platforms where they are. Deliver the right message to the right person, at the right time and on the right channel. This is the winning criteria for maximizing your mcommerce.
Creating a successful mobile marketing strategy in eCommerce involves understanding your target audience and utilizing mobile-specific tactics. Here are some key steps to developing a mobile marketing strategy in eCommerce:
In summary, a successful mobile marketing strategy in eCommerce involves understanding your target audience, optimizing your website and app, using SMS and push notifications, leveraging social media, utilizing mobile advertising, offering mobile payment options, and monitoring and analyzing results.
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As Head - Digital Marketing, Zenul leads the marketing and branding at Krish. He brings with him an in-depth understanding of the evolving digital ecosystem and has a proven expertise and experience in strategic planning, market and competition analysis, creating and implementing client-centered, lead-gen and brand marketing campaigns. He has a heart for technology innovation and has been a keynote speaker on various platforms.
15 March, 2018 According to eMarketer, the global eCommerce sales is estimated to reach $2.774 trillion this year. E-commerce industry has seen phenomenal growth over the years and being an digital commerce agency we have been empowering businesses to get an edge over the competition with out-of-the-box digital commerce solutions.
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