Three ways to enthral perpetually connected customers

Always-connected consumers are bringing new opportunities for marketers to exploit but are you thriving or merely surviving under the pressure to satisfy their insatiable demands?

Smartphone ownership passed the tipping point last year as more than half of US consumers owned a device – an exciting new channel to exploit! However, as Forrester analyst Jennifer Wise explains, it’s a little daunting to wade through the endless options to discover what tactics are right for your brand and how to get the programs launched.

The analyst outlined three points marketers must consider if they want to successfully reach today’s perpetually connected consumers:

Understand all tactics available and if they matter: Mobile is a hard landscape to navigate because ‘mobile marketing’ isn’t just a single tactic or channel — mobile is an access point to experiences and an enabler of new marketing pathways. While this is daunting, it’s time to catch-up to your mobile-savvy consumer by understanding the tactics available and determining which are pertinent to your brand today and which to keep an eye on for the future — from adapted digital channels like ‘mobile’ search, to mobile-specific tactics like SMS, to emerging tools that bridge the online and offline world like augmented reality.

Build a bullet-proof business case: Unlike more established channels with KPIs and existing budgets, mobile marketers today struggle to make a compelling business case for mobile —which can mean the difference between falling behind in mobile for another year and seeing your transformative mobile program concept become a reality. But it’s not hopeless. By anchoring your business case in consumer value, enhanced engagement with existing assets and the need to grow mobile maturity even in the face of uncertainty is a strong start.

Identify the people that matter: Mobile programs can’t exist in a vacuum, and you will need dedicated resources to launch the program and maintain it — Hello, IT folks! Your program will also likely create a ripple effect throughout your organisation — whether it’s the in-store experience or changes to call-centre volume. Map out and secure support from the people who hold the purse strings and those that are needed to operationalise the program in the long term.