Mobile is huge. And so is the value marketers and companies can wring out of a comprehensive mobile strategy that starts with a mobile-optimized website. Still, there is a disturbing disconnect between the number of consumers that research (and buy!) products on the move, and the number of businesses that have invested in a mobile-optimized website to satisfy their customer requirements. What’s the hold up? Richard Edwards surveyed mobile authorities and practitioners to get the answers.
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Are businesses mobile ready? A look at new research from Google and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) — conducted by Ipsos GmbH and TNS Infratest — should have alarm bells ringing. Only a fraction of businesses in the five countries surveyed report having mobile optimized sites. The break down is even more of an eye-opener: US – 33 percent, U.K. – 17 percent, France – 12 percent, Germany – 37 percent, and Japan – 43 percent.
So why are firms reluctant to spend their money on mobile?
Nick Lane, chief strategy analyst at mobileSquared, blames marketers’ mindsets. “The percentage of retailers that have invested in mobile is very low, it’s around 8 percent,” he says. “It shows that mobile is still not seen as a primary vehicle for brands, which is incredible when you think that 39.8 percent of people in the U.K. have a smartphone.”
Although some companies are already reaping the rewards of investing in what is undoubtedly poised to become an enormous growth market, Nick admits that, in general, mobile is still a “hard sell.”
Ironically, once a marketer or agency makes the effort to understand the opportunity in mobile, they move up the learning curve quickly. As Nick puts it: “Once a client for an agency sees how they can use mobile, how it fits within their own marketing remit, they then start to explore fresh ways of using mobile, especially location. The problem really is getting the next wave of companies in and that’s still quite a tough sell.”
Mobile in the fast-lane
When it comes to mobile, many companies are stuck in their ways, convinced that mobile has a way to go before it catches up with traditional , PC-based Internet. However, there are definite signs that this is a situation will change quickly and dramatically as we move through the current decade.
The best confirmation of this mobile megatrend comes from leading mobile author and strategy consultant, Tomi Ahonen. “There are those in the Internet world like Google, Yahoo and Facebook who say the future of the Web is mobile.” And why not? “We can do everything on mobile today, that can be done on the PC. Not necessarily always as well, or as easily, or as cheaply, but we can do it.”
As Tomi writes in his landmark mobile book, Mobile as 7th of the Mass Media: Cellphone, Cameraphone, iPhone, Smartphone: Mobile is at least as disruptive as every other media that went before. People can use mobile to consume newspapers, read magazine articles and books, listen to podcasts and radio, buy songs and video games and even watch whole movies.
Technological advances mean that the capabilities of both the PC-Internet and the mobile Web are becoming increasingly blurred, a development Tomi argues will see mobile replace the PC as the dominant Web-communication medium altogether. “Mobile can do far more than the Internet ever could hope for,” he says. “The PC based internet was designed for those people who have a desk, who work at a desk, or who have easy access to a desk. But mobile was designed for the pocket. So those people who work in areas that do not have a desk can benefit from mobile, and only the mobile Internet.”
Clock is ticking
Whether its marketers mindsets, or our Euro-centric view of the world (unable to see that mobile THE screen for Asia, India, Africa and much of the developing world), it’s clearly taking time for companies and brands to wake up to the tremendous potential of mobile. Over at mobileSquared Nick believes that more companies will move to mobile when they begin to see a correlation between mobile strategy and bottom-line profits.
As he sees it: “The key thing for driving this is to show people that you can make money on mobile. The mobile operators can see that it’s not just about their relationship with the consumer over communications, they can then extend that into a transactional relationship.”
Once the case is made with real results and real relationships, the business benefits can follow. “The brands and the business can see an end-to-end journey and how you can take the consumer from communication and messaging all the way through, using mobile, to that transaction. They can see that there’s a direct return on investment, which perhaps wasn’t the case before.”
Apps aren’t enough
So far, many companies think they have invested enough in mobile if they simply launch a mobile app. That’s an approach that many (myself included) is akin to pouring money into a substantial black hole.
Granted, apps have earned their place in a mobile strategy. However, I believe it’s important for companies to be clear about what an app can and cannot deliver.
“It’s the age old story,” Nick observes. “Some have been forced to create an app just so their brand is on the iPhone. The problem is, very often, no one is going to use it, and if that’s the case then they’re going to have their fingers burned because they have invested a lot of money, anywhere between £20,000 and £40,000 just to get their name up there, and they don’t actually know if their customers have an iPhone or Android.”
It’s a risky business and one that Martin Wilson, co-founder and managing director of Mobileweb Company, advises companies everywhere to think through carefully.
In a visionary blog post all the way back in April 2010, Martin referred to a new condition he dubbed the iSyndrome, likening it to a kind of debilitating disease. He wasn’t far off since iSyndrome forced companies not to see the Big Picture. Instead of thinking mobile, firms were focusing blindly on iPhones and apps. Short-sightedness kept them from missing the point of mobile, and missing out on huge opportunities to grow their business as well.
Martin kicked off the blog post with a clear objective: “I wish to put the device in perspective in terms of the market and more importantly strategic thinking.” He then presented points that are just as pertinent now as they were then. (I have updated the stats where possible.)
“In the UK the iPhone makes up about 4 percent of mobile devices in circulation (that’s if we count all the legacy devices too), Android even less – a small slice of the pie. Of all mobile devices; some 70 percent accessing the mobile web are not Smartphones [now around 60 percent], some 62 percent using applications are not smartphones.”
In the same post Martin explained why companies should look beyond the app to deliver on their business objectives. “The starting principle should be to deliver an experience that works effectively on any mobile device. For most that does not mean an app, but a mobile web solution. A mobile web solution that works on any device should be able to be delivered for any organization in just a few days, at very low cost. This is the ideal way to deliver a proof of concept, the perfect way to demonstrate value of mobile.”
Big picture issues
Apps and mobile websites are just a part of the picture. With mobile devices now accounting for almost 20 percent of all Google’s searches and a similar level at Microsoft’s Bing, mobile search should also be an essential part of a comprehensive mobile strategy.
As Martin sees it: “Many mobile suppliers can’t enable brands to capitalize on this burgeoning opportunity. Limitations in their platforms mean they simply can’t optimize services and content to be discovered by search engines, let alone work on a full range of mobile devices. Brands are missing a real opportunity to engage consumers and drive business.”
Thinking like this has motivated Martin to found his new company, Mobileweb Company, aimed at helping companies as they develop and implement comprehensive mobile strategies. With the help of a new platform (the company’s own IP) Mobileweb Company enables organizations to create a strong mobile presence within days – not weeks or months. Mobileweb Company also helps clients avoid the many optimization issues already preventing some major brands from taking full advantage of what mobile can offer.
What are these issues? Martin recently shared with me the results of an informal audit he conducted of mobile websites belonging to several leading U.K. retailers. Among the chief shortcomings: “Basic elements, such as optimizing the site and underlying content for search discovery, are overlooked.”
This lack of strategic thinking is out of sync with the phenomenal growth of mobile search. The recent Google/MMA research I noted at the start of my column, for example, reveals that mobile search is once again a daily touchpoint for consumers, particularly if those consumers are also smartphone users. Specifically, the report shows mobile search has increased 236 percent since 2010, with local search leading the growth.
As Martin sees it: “Brand reach and product promotion are important to delivering customer engagement and driving sales. Key traffic sources like Google are key to business growth. Many mobile suppliers are so far failing to take advantage this, forcing their retailer customers to miss out on a massive opportunity.”
My take:
My ongoing conversations with the analysts and experts impacting the industry confirms that the opportunities in mobile are most certainly there. The unknown variable in the equation is how many companies will lead the change — rather than be crushed by it — and harness mobile NOW. But don’t move so fast to catch up that you forget to investigate your options. Look past the big names — many of whom are hindered by their lack of vision, budgets and platforms — and think mobile. If you are going to take the plunge, then companies that have mobile in their corporate DNA are well-equipped to deliver strategic solutions and innovations.
About Richard
Richard is a freelance journalist and mobile enthusiast doing his part to support an ecosystem that helps consumers find and access content regardless of their devices. His work has appeared in the U.K. national press, including the Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express, The Times, Daily Telegraph and the Observer. Sharply focused on sports news and content, Richard has developed a deep interest in sports content and its pivotal place in the digital content mix.