We’ve all seen the reports and research we need to justify having a solid mobile strategy:

• Mobile video anticipated to reach 390M consumers by 2016: study (http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/11854.html)
• Mobile campaigns with store locator grow 47pc month-to-month: study (http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/11877.html)
• Smartphones and tablets best PCs in click-through rates (http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/01/26/smartphones-and-tablets-best-pcs-click-through-rates)
• Browsers Beat Out Apps for M-Commerce (http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008792)

Although these eye-opening reports and studies make marketers salivate at the opportunities mobile has to offer with it’s ability to deliver personalized, one-on-one communication, many marketers are still missing the boat when it comes to delivering a rich customer experience.   The failure could be a result of many factors:

• Not having a clear set strategy of how mobile-enabled efforts will help solidify their brand messaging
• Inability to properly integrate across social, email, and mobile channels
• Focusing on isolated mobile initiatives rather than designing a framework of success
• Not having a clear understanding of who their customers are, how do their customers like to communicate and what is the value their customers are looking for rather than what they’re being told to expect
• Driving full steam ahead with the online medium of the moment without first investigating what internal resources can be leveraged to support mobile-enhanced initiatives

Mobile in a lot of ways is no different than any other medium.  Just like a strategy has to be put in place for tv, newspaper, direct mail, online ads, etc., marketers must first identify their what their audience wants and understand how they communicate with mobile.  A cell phone doesn’t dictate whether or not a brand has a relationship with a consumer.  It’s the ability of the content, imagery, tone, and setting of the brand to evoke an emotion within a consumer at the spur of the moment, while their on-the-go that builds brand relationships.  That is the key to mobile–accessible anywhere, anytime but first you must ask if I bought my product or service what information would I want to access on-the-go? 

By daring to dream and sketch out possibilities through “what if” scenarios, you are bound to create an unforgettable mobile experience.  Move beyond re-creating a desktop experience–the environment is not the same.  The consumer is out and about with friends and family, in a meeting at work, at the supermarket with energized children, heading to the airport, etc.  They are being approached with brand offers everywhere and yet everyday they fail to see many brands stimulate their senses.  Consumers want to experience what a brand has to say and learn about others experiences; not just read what a brand has to say. This includes incorporating mobile video for product demonstrations, reading customer reviews, accessing social media sites, reserving product/tracking shipments, receiving updates of out-of-stock items. 

With the ample options that exist in today’s market, you have to present your audience with as much educational information as possible for them to feel comfortable purchasing from you.  Think about it like this:  If you don’t first define the journey you are on, how can you decide which route to take?  Now just picture how your audience must feel if you don’t engineer the process for them.

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