As mobile takes off, there are predictions by Forrester on how the mobile gap will become insurmountable for some, while some will lead the charge. In addition, one simple fact remains – we are still using mobile as way to push promotions and deals, instead of creating customer experiences. That’s not wrong, and it’s keeping in line with traditional marketing methods brands and retailers have long been using. Those methods are indeed required to survive in a competitive world.

But in the new connected world, things must change or rather, more must be done. All research that points to the success of mobile campaigns should be taken with a grain of salt – because yes, people will respond to offers, more so when you give them discounts on what they are already considering, and increase the chances of them actually seeing the promotions.

Here are 3 things you should keep on the top of your mind as you plan your mobile strategy for 2015:

1. Becoming a partner in the decision cycle
Taking a cue from our own personal experiences, we may not respond to the first offer that comes by unless we are already looking at that product or unless it’s too good to be true. In both cases we actually undermine our business by leaving a lot on the table. There’s no cause for celebrating promotion effectiveness if 80% of the customers were already ready to buy from you, or were anyway going to walk into your store. So this year, while you must keep up on sending location aware and real time promotions, it’s time to turbo charge your mobile strategy by building context and nudging people along. Basically, it’s time to reduce customers’ efforts in analyzing what to buy, and whether to buy. For this turbo charge to realize itself you must compliment mobile by the forums customers are already present on – and that means Facebook, twitter, and their favorite apps. The end effect you should be looking to drive is to answer these questions: 1) Do I need this, 2) which brand should I buy and 3) what’s the best deal out there. Think about it, we’re only answering question# 3 right now.

2. Making sure to connect your mobile experience with physical or online experiences
How many times have you walked into a store with a mobile coupon or email in hand, with the store or even online websites not really aware of what that promotion means to you? All they then do is scan your code and send you on your way. For mobile to become a true game changer, we must focus beyond the transaction. And again, mobile becomes the tip of the huge iceberg that is actually feeding context to it. All of the social interaction, past transactions, promotions history etc. will allow the mobile moment to be leveraged to cross sell and enhance relationships with the customers. Do you have access to the wish lists of customers, or can you deduce one? A simple way to trigger your thought process is this example: will the mobile promotion barcode contain the promotion code only, or will it contain the customer identifier as well, with the capability to trigger a series of engagement methods when activated?

3. Make sure to treat other companies as channels too
In this digital world, we must try to build mechanisms that take you beyond decisions that treat customers in isolation. Chances are that they have a basket of things to consider and all of those products are linked in some way. How about fitness centers connect themselves to Lean Cuisine sales, or nutritionists link to organic food sales? And how about fashion apparel getting linked to Starbucks at shopping malls or to upcoming concerts in the city? Perhaps sportswear could link to local sports events and charities, and to local fitness centers? Activities such as holiday and travel planning, budgeting etc. are fair game too. What are your customers doing? What else are they looking at? You don’t need to initiate a transformational IT program to understand all that. Just plug yourselves into those conversations to start with and the rest will follow. They key is to become relevant, and make it enjoyable for customers to include you into their conversations.

 
Key takeaway

Building context and cutting through the clutter is the need of the hour – or will soon be. After all, there are only so many beacon messages a customer will tolerate. And once they turn you off, it going to take a lot to make a comeback. Finally, the success of mobile is not through mobile alone. Everything else under the tip of the iceberg must work in tandem to make mobile work.

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Photo credit: Bramus! / Foter / CC BY
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