Researching the mobile experience

As the mobile customer experience specialist here at Foviance, I take every opportunity to attend professional events that are dedicated to the smaller screen.In November I went along to the mobileSQUARED Roadshow in central London, which showcased strategies and case studies to guide businesses wanting to embrace the mobile web. With over four billion handsets in use around the world and approaching one billion owners connecting to the internet using those phones, the business opportunities in this sector are immense and will grow significantly over the next decade.

The event itself saw a number of speakers from influential companies in the mobile sector and the latest market research collated by the Lightspeed Research consultancy was delivered. My fellow delegates included internet marketers, researchers, web analytics companies moving into mobile space, and of course numerous directors of large companies with mobile ecommerce aspirations. Together, speakers and attendees formed an eclectic mix of people from across the mobile ecosystem and connected industries, each drawing out unique perspectives and expert insights on topics that concerned us all.

It was certainly a very interesting day, with a particular emphasis on examining precisely where money is being generated in the mobile space. There was a strong sense of anticipation for a bright future, where new, creative revenue streams will be developed. And this was constantly supported by recently gathered data concerning mobile internet usage and the increasing regularity of people going online. As it turns out, not as much usage as you might think is actually being driven presently by ecommerce but by the swelling interest in social networking and gaming, especially among female and younger users. It was also suggested that the focus for marketers should move away from developing a transitory ‘killer app’, towards a wider, more adaptable strategy able to feel out future opportunities and potential.

What is certain is that this mobile internet boom was fuelled by the rise of 3G, smartphones and data package tariffs. Several speakers pointed to the fact that many users coming out of lengthy contracts in 2009/2010 will create a new spike in smartphone adoption. They also predicted that the iPhone will face stiffer competition in coming years as the smartphone becomes ubiquitous. Right now there’s an indisputable focus on apps, but many businesses are already looking to the future and, depending on the demographic of their target audience, would rather now focus on the web experience. To do this they need to develop a clearer strategy of how the mobile web will fit into their broader digital plan and current marketing.

Amid the positivity there were obviously some specific concerns that came across from attendees. One was the difficulty they had in measuring analytics due to a lack of standards when compared to the desktop. A more diverse set of operating systems, browsers, protocols and apps currently make it difficult to quantify return on investments with any certainty. Another worry was the slow take-up of micropayment and credit payments via mobile handsets, presumably due to a gradual cultural mind shift among users and a perception of security vulnerabilities. Finally, it was evident that advertising was a critical issue. Specialised approaches are needed to ensure snappy, intriguing campaigns and branding promotions that support the web experience and draw in consumers without irritating them by slowing their browsing and making them think less about buying products and more about their dwindling battery life and high tariff costs.

Although mobile phones seem to have been with us for a long time, the mobile web experience is a relatively new phenomenon, and events like this are full of excitement, innovation and anticipation. It’s a bit like the early days of the wider web once again, with lots of dialogue and discussion about opportunity and ROI. As a result, a lot of businesses don’t actually have a clear idea of what they should be doing, and it will fall to specialist consultancies like Foviance to guide our clients in enhancing the mobile web experience for their own customers as we have done for rest of the web. Right now though, while we continue to develop our own strategy, it’s important to attend events like the mobileSQUARED Roadshow. We all need to talk to more people, to learn from both trailblazers and the more established players, and in doing so understand as much as we can about both discovery, and experience.

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Originally written by Amanda Roach