Mobile devices have increasingly become a part of consumers’ daily habits. A Forrester report found that mobile commerce officially surpassed desktop in retail traffic last year, while a recent InReality study found that 75% of store shoppers use their mobile devices in-store. What’s more, 25% of these consumers claimed to make purchases before leaving the store. What does this mean for brands? For one, it’s critical to support customers on the go by giving them easier, more efficient options for better mobile shopping and customer service experiences. But brands need to take it a step further: they need to better understand their customers’ needs and preferences—and even their location—by analyzing and using mobile data to enhance the customer experience.Mobile data can provide telling–and rather sensitive–information such as customers’ specific location, what they purchase and when, and how frequently they use a brand’s app. Brands can take a strategic approach to using this valuable data to drive a greater customer experience while also boosting sales.Gather data and map the user experience. The first step is to gather the data using mobile intelligence tools and then mapping the user experience by identifying all the steps involved— for example, downloading an app, followed by making purchases, and so on. The idea is to learn about customers’ typical habits when they are using the app so as to tailor future messages to the customer’s needs and preferences.Use geolocation data for push notifications. A recent Teradata study conducted in the UK found that 67% of online retailers are asking for customers’ location, yet only one-third of online retailers who gathered data on customer preferences and had permission to send targeted push notifications actually did so. By tracking location and purchase preferences, brands can deliver pertinent messages to customers while they are in the store—sales announcements, coupons, or checkout discounts, for example—further driving sales and customer satisfaction. This gives customers a personalized experience based on their shopping preferences—the brand is right at their side, making shopping easier and more enjoyable. In addition, automated push messages may be used to test and analyze customers’ responses in order to optimize the customer experience.Engage the customer. Once a customer downloads an app, brands should be quick to offer a welcome with a kind of discount or voucher. It’s also important to reach out to new customers every few days after their initial activation to keep them engaged and incite further interest in the brand—as well as eventual long-term loyalty. Equally critical is reaching out to those who suddenly stop using an app. Teradata reports that 70% of people who download an app delete it or stop using it within 30 days. The first weeks after a download are therefore critical for customer engagement, and brands need to proactively engage dormant users with messages that gently remind them of the app’s features and invite them to revisit the app or ask them if the company could do something to improve the user experience. Such feedback is vital to mobile optimization and a great mobile customer experience.Mobile data provides brands with the opportunity to better understand customers, enabling brands to optimize targeted marketing strategies, drive sales, and deliver a seamless mobile customer experience tailored to customers’ needs. Learn about Vocalcom contact center software solutions for excellent mobile customer engagement.
