Acxiom exec: Retailers need to take mobile learnings to desktop
Acxiom Corp.,
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, New York, moderated the session.
Mobile data
According to Ms. Chen, the mobile device has become the most trusted device in a consumer?s life.
Therefore, retailers are faced with the challenge of finding ways to add personal touches and engagement with a variety of mobile devices available.
Additionally, many brands have separate teams that handle Web commerce and mobile commerce, making it difficult for brands to find ways to tie data together to give consumers relevant information.
?You ought to have a single view of the consumer because there is a lot of data points to pull together to leverage,? Ms. Chen said.
Based on the strong relationship that consumers have with their mobile devices, users have higher expectations on mobile versus desktop, per Ms. Chen.
One-on-one?
According to an executive from Hipcricket + Augme Technologies, mobile gives marketers the opportunity to create a one-on-one relationship.
?The Holy Grail for marketers has always been a one-on-one relationship, and there is no better way to establish it than with mobile ? however not all marketers are there yet,? said Ivan Braiker, president at Hipcricket + Augme Technologies, Kirkland, WA.
Panelists at the Results 2012: Mobile Marketing Day
Retailers are increasingly looking to mobile as a way to create strong customer service. For example, Best Buy has focused on developing a strong mobile strategy to help the company succeed.
With consumers comparison shopping and actively seeking the best deals, retailers need to figure out where the gap is between in-store and online shopping, per Mr. Braiker.
The executive said that although there is lots of hype around mobile commerce, the technology still needs to be ironed out and is in its infancy.
Added engagement?
Brands need to understand that consumers expect them to be on their devices, according to Nicole Skogg, CEO of Spyderlynk, Denver, who also spoke on the panel.
For example, Spyderlynk recently worked with Lancome and Glamour magazine on a mobile effort during New York?s fashion week. Taxis in New York featured a video that showed consumers a Lancome product and users could snap a SnapTag to buy products while inside the cabs.
?The ability to merge online and in-store shopping is a great idea,? Ms. Skogg said.
?Our thinking is how do I get a consumer to take out my mobile phone and take an action from it,? Ms. Skogg said.
Additionally, tablets have the opportunity to be treated differently as a separate device from smartphones, per the executive.
A mobile strategy is more important that a channel or tactic, according to Ms. Skogg. Before brands start delving into mobile, they need to think about what the goal is to build campaigns on.
Bare bones?
Patrick Collins, CEO of 5th Finger, San Francisco, said that at a bare minimum, consumers expect for brands to have a mobile site.
Additionally, consumers have high expectations for their mobile experiences.
For example, 5th Finger works with grocery store chain Safeway. When developing the chain's mobile strategy, the company found that consumers expected their mobile experiences to be different from the desktop experience.
For the tablet version, consumers wanted to be able to build shopping lists that they could buy from. Although smartphone owners also wanted to create shopping lists, they were not as interested in making the list commerce-enabled.
?The good news for mobile Web is that it is getting easier to figure out what kind of handset a user is on,? Mr. Collins said.
With consumers comparison shopping and actively seeking the best deals, retailers need to figure out where the gap is between in-store and online shopping, per Mr. Braiker.
The executive said that although there is lots of hype around mobile commerce, the technology still needs to be ironed out and is in its infancy.
Added engagement?
Brands need to understand that consumers expect them to be on their devices, according to Nicole Skogg, CEO of Spyderlynk, Denver, who also spoke on the panel.
For example, Spyderlynk recently worked with Lancome and Glamour magazine on a mobile effort during New York?s fashion week. Taxis in New York featured a video that showed consumers a Lancome product and users could snap a SnapTag to buy products while inside the cabs.
?The ability to merge online and in-store shopping is a great idea,? Ms. Skogg said.
?Our thinking is how do I get a consumer to take out my mobile phone and take an action from it,? Ms. Skogg said.
Additionally, tablets have the opportunity to be treated differently as a separate device from smartphones, per the executive.
A mobile strategy is more important that a channel or tactic, according to Ms. Skogg. Before brands start delving into mobile, they need to think about what the goal is to build campaigns on.
Bare bones?
Patrick Collins, CEO of 5th Finger, San Francisco, said that at a bare minimum, consumers expect for brands to have a mobile site.
Additionally, consumers have high expectations for their mobile experiences.
For example, 5th Finger works with grocery store chain Safeway. When developing the chain's mobile strategy, the company found that consumers expected their mobile experiences to be different from the desktop experience.
For the tablet version, consumers wanted to be able to build shopping lists that they could buy from. Although smartphone owners also wanted to create shopping lists, they were not as interested in making the list commerce-enabled.
?The good news for mobile Web is that it is getting easier to figure out what kind of handset a user is on,? Mr. Collins said.
Final Take
Nicole Skogg is CEO of Spyderlynk, Denver
Nicole Skogg is CEO of Spyderlynk, Denver