What the eye doesn’t see: new mobile marketing opportunities
Marketing measurement – and consequently insight – has failed to keep pace with technology, but we’re close to closing this potentially dangerous mobile blind spot, says Experian’s Giles Longhurst.
Marketing is changing fast and fundamental to this change is measurement. Strategies can now be grounded in comprehensive and near real-time data – meaning the modern, savvy marketer can make sure that customers are getting what they want, when they want it and in the ways they are receptive to.
However, it’s easy for marketers to be dazzled by new devices and channels and, while considering the growing list of potential channels through which to engage their audiences, the crucial thing is for marketers to stay focused on what the devices and channels mean to consumers.
It goes without saying that marketers need to keep up with new technology, but it is insight into how these technologies affect consumer behaviour that is crucial, to make marketing ever more useful (to customers) and ever more effective (for businesses).
Making the move to mobile
Take the rise of mobile marketing and a whole new generation of connected devices as an example. Smartphones and tablets are liberating customers from their wall sockets: it’s predicted that by 2017 the PC will be relegated to third place in the connected device market (13 per cent), trailing tablets (16.5 per cent) and way behind smartphones at over 70 per cent.
Most modern businesses have an online marketing strategy, but as consumer behaviour evolves, the way that marketers look to engage with their target audiences must evolve too.
The challenge here is that many of these existing online marketing strategies remain focused on the PC, despite the fact that it’s no longer the ‘go-to’ browsing and shopping tool. The fact is that these strategies will often not translate to other devices – customers behave very differently off the PC leash than they do when they’re on it.
Facebook is a company that knows a thing or two about marketing and it’s recouping big investments in the mobile space – well over half of its Q1 2014 advertising revenue was driven by mobile ads.
Facebook profits from this kind of investment because it understands where its customers come from and which device they use. Experian research, for example, shows that social media claims 13 minutes of every online hour, and more than 80 per cent of UK users log in via a mobile device.
The bottom line is that marketing measurement – and consequently insight – has failed to keep pace with technology. Many businesses have invested in analysis of their online performance and can now cut and slice online data in a multitude of ways, but precious few have delved beneath the headline figures and the ability to differentiate between devices is still lacking for most.
In fairness, this is explained in part by the fact that it’s previously been virtually impossible to access insight with the real depth required when it comes to mobile.
Gaining in-depth insight
Now, however, solutions are becoming available that close this potentially dangerous mobile blind spot. New, mobile-focused analysis pulls in precisely the data that companies need, from desktops and laptops connected via fixed line and WiFi networks, to on-the-go mobile data captured over 3G and 4G.
In addition to this, marketers realise that the proliferation of new channels and devices means that a change in strategy is needed – a 2014 study of UK companies showed that 83% of respondents planned to implement a cross-channel strategy within 18 months, with 100% of those stating that mobile was a top priority.
The rewards of measuring mobile are compelling, allowing organisations to:
– Gain cross-channel understanding for comprehensive customer insight – to deliver the marketing ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ to meet customer needs
– Understand precisely where their organisation is in the competitive environment
– Engage customers in the right places, at the right time, with the right content
– Focus marketing resources where they are most effective for optimal ROI
By investing in technology and insight, marketers will be able to differentiate between connected devices, which will become even more critical, because behaviours vary even at this micro-level.
Smart-phoners are likely to be young, use their device for social media during the day, ‘shop’ rather than ‘buy’ and appreciate mobile optimised apps and websites. Tablet-eers are generally happy with a PC-optimised experience, use the device in the evenings and are more likely to go forward to conversion.
At the macro-level, mobile visibility allows the modern marketer to make better decisions – comparing performance against the competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and learning from those companies that are getting it right.
Perhaps most crucially of all, this kind of insight will allow marketers to truly understand the behaviour of mobile consumers and how this differs to online – this will allow them to develop tailored mobile marketing strategies, rather than simply struggling to port the online strategy onto these new connected devices.
For the consumer, the benefit will be that they will receive much more relevant and personalised information at the right time – if marketers understand them better, they can serve their needs better.
Today, what the eye doesn’t see, the marketer grieves over. But with the right data and analysis, marketers can optimise mobile strategies, customer satisfaction and ROI.
Giles Longhurst is general manager of consumer insight, Experian Marketing Services