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mobile commerce

Connected customersTHE SMARTPHONE HAS DELIVERED A MARKETING CHANNEL

THAT IS TRANSFORMING COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, BUT DON’T TREATALL MOBILE CONSUMERS THE SAME, DAVE HOWELL WARNS

The smartphone has changed the marketing landscape significantly. Where the broadcast marketing model

once reigned supreme, today more intimate connections can be made with your customers online.

It is, though, a mistake to simply move your marketing messages to the mobile channel without considering how it has transformed the profile of mobile consumers using it. In this new age of the connected customer, a single message does not fit all.

24/7 ACTIVITYA survey of 10,000 connected consumers by global management consulting firm AT Kearney across various countries, including Nigeria, the USA, China, Japan, Russia and the UK, revealed:■ The internet has become a 24/7 activity. More

than half of the survey respondents stated they are connected to the internet nearly every waking hour.

■ People go online because it meets four basic, universal needs: interpersonal connection, self expression, exploration and convenience.

However, respondents from different countries were more motivated by different factors. For example, in emerging markets and places where offline expression is limited, the ability to express an opinion rates highly, while in more mature markets exploration and convenience matter more.

■ Social networks are the places where connected consumers spend the largest amount of their time online. Social networks and social marketing are very effective in generating brand interest and purchases

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among younger consumers. However, the number of users on a social network is not necessarily an indication of engagement or, importantly, purchases. Furthermore, different social media sites display different usage patterns in different countries.

■ While most purchases are still made in-store, more than half of the survey respondents said they prefer shopping online. Connectivity does not mean consumers do everything online, but being connected offers access, speed, convenience and enhances the overall experience. AT Kearney concluded that connected

consumers are not created equal in their behaviours and motivations, in where they get their information and in who influences their opinions. While they share many similarities across the world, there are profound differences from market to market based on demographics, infrastructure and social orientation.

For your business’ marketing messages to effectively leverage the mobile channel, understanding how users of this channel differ is vital to appreciate. Only with tightly targeted messages will your business be able to reach the right people at the right time. Smartphone users are not a homogenous whole, but have distinct profiles that are influenced by their current need, geographical location and propensity to share across their social media networks.

“Knowing your customer should be a central pillar to your customer experience strategy, particularly when you are dealing with mobile,” Oisin Lunny, senior market development manager

at mobile marketing company OpenMarket, explains. “Because mobile devices are, above all, personal devices, one should never use the ‘spray and pray’ approach, as your potential customers will smell it a mile away.

“If instead you use highly targeted and relevant outbound mobile messaging to deliver genuine value to your customers, they will see you as a valued partner who is anticipating their needs, rather than a careless broadcaster of advertising.”

Over the last few years, businesses have become obsessed with social media as the new battleground for customers. This is certainly true up to a point, but social media and an understanding of how social channels are used by groups of consumers is critical information to obtain.

HIGHLY PERSONALISED“The always connected customer will expect businesses to react instantaneously to their needs,” Gareth Poppleton, managing director of Retail Merchant Services, says.

“Shoppers already expect a highly personalised experience - from the buying to the delivery of goods. The more connectivity consumers have, the more satisfaction they get from the experience. This expectation will only increase as technology develops, so small businesses should ensure all customer touch points, both in-store and online, are integrated to meet this demand.”

Businesses must strive to understand the traits of today’s connected customers. The rules of engagement with these groups is becoming clearer, but there is still work to be done in order for them to be fully understood. MM

SUSAN BINDA, HEAD OF LOYALTY MARKETING AND INSIGHT AT PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDER THE LOGIC GROUP

How important is it to ensure businesses segment their customers before developing marketing campaigns, particularly for mobile marketing channels?The first step for any marketing communication is to look at the message. If it’s something like a change to opening hours or it’s announcing a sale, a blanket approach makes sense. The majority of the time, though, segmentation is essential to ensure relevancy of your communications with each customer.

Focusing on connected customers and their use of smartphones to connect with brands, are businesses making the mistake of treating all connected customers the same?These customers do share some important traits, particularly in their willingness to engage with a brand through the mobile channel. These are typically savvy shoppers in terms of how they shop and use their time. Brands should be looking to complement these customers’ in-store experiences with mobile content to help drive sales. Brand interaction nowadays should work across all channels - be it online, in-store, mobile and beyond - in order to provide a consistent, easy and enjoyable experience. However, to treat all these customers the same would be a mistake. With all interactions, relevancy of communication is the key to maintaining and building on a relationship.

Is a high use of social media, usually via mobile devices, also a sign of high levels of brand engagement?This is a popular misconception. High levels of social media activity doesn’t necessarily mean positive brand engagement - it can serve both to endorse and detract from a brand. More and more customers use social media channels to vent their frustrations and raise customer service issues. Whether these social media channels are accessed by mobile is, by and large, irrelevant.

Should small businesses integrate further their online and offline sales channels in order to offer their always connected customers the goods and services when they want them?Be led by your customer base. If your customer analysis shows you that your customers are displaying on and offline behaviour, then you have to integrate these channels to better serve your customers. More and more customers these days want smooth integration between channels. Customers don’t really make a distinction between channels, they just want a brand to be open and ready to serve them when they need serving.

How do you think the behaviour of the always connected customer will evolve over the next few years?Wearable technology is going to make things exciting, opening up opportunities for today’s connected customer to engage with brands in new ways. Personalised pricing will increase, so customers will expect tailored pricing based on their behaviours and engagement with a brand.