Mobile strategy is one keyword every business in discussing now. This is being asked in board meetings and investor pitches alike. So much so that mobile is becoming the primary launch base for new businesses. “Mobile First” as they say.
The Business Advantage
Many product companies and service-based enterprises that rely on data and have a widespread presence are steadily moving towards the mobile channel. A new promotional channel has emerged with mobile applications veering away from marketing via website promotions, digital marketing or online sales.
Research suggests that about 89% of mobile users spend their media time on mobile apps as compared to a mere 11% media time spent on mobile websites. Evidently, leading the mobile pack are product boutiques like Amazon, Flipkart, Ebay, Alibaba and many others that offer special discounts and offers on their products for consumers that shop through mobile apps alone. Travel enthusiasts are not left far behind with many travel apps like Tripadvisor, Airbnb, expedia, booking etc. offering affordable deals on travel fare as well as accommodation – leading to a burgeoning travel industry.
Many businesses have begun to use mobile applications as a tool and part of their workforce to ascertain or gather critical information for important decision making. For instance, while participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Coca Cola enterprise was looking for a way to measure product availability that is real-time and fool-proof which is critical for a product company like Coke. They hired a company to develop their mobile application on all platforms with which employees could update and report data on-the-field, real time. As a result, Coke was able to collect real-time data pretty quickly that helped identify gaps in product placement by using a mobile application, a very critical decision made.
Consumer Delight
Apart from the fact that you can shop anytime and anywhere, the consumer benefits from a much higher level of service. There is an increased sense of professionalism as all the information is centrally located in the mobile application. Right from the time, he orders the product – there is a lot of transparency about when the product will be delivered to where the product is in the interim – in the warehouse or with the carrier etc.
A good illustration of superior customer focus is AXA, the world’s largest insurance company. They have integrated their CRM and agent database into one mobile application whereby each agent gets a pop up based on geo-proximity to the enquiry resulting in quicker turnaround time. Additionally, the consumer benefits from the use of mobile applications as a primary mode of buying through app-specific discounts, free shipping and many other promotional campaigns that is specifically targeted towards mobile app users, the most recent example being the massive flipkart sale.
Not only mobile is helping businesses, it is the business in the new world order.