Mobile devices vs. traditional online platforms

The world is changing and online platforms need to follow that changing. It’s clear that communicating to customers is becoming ever more complicated. A few years ago there were only a few touch points for brands to engage customers, today there are a huge number, due to new technology and changes in the consuming process. 

Boundaries between the physical and online world are blurred. Today we can buy nearly everything online. This is the reason why companies try to present an excellent customer journey not only in stores but also on their websites. 

Websites should not only be optimized for desktop computers but for mobile devices as well, such as smartphones and tablets as important online platforms.

Customer journey on online platforms : mobile devices

The most important accelerant for changes is the rapid development of technology. Just think about how the Internet and smartphones changed our lives. Today we use our smartphone not only making phone calls and sending text messages but searching for information, listening to music, keeping contact with friends, sharing our important (or less important) moments with others etc. The surrounding devices and the media consuming habits have been constantly changing. 

The buying process online is no longer linear. The customer journey on online platforms is at the heart of the digital transformation of the physical world. It tells the story of a customer’s experience of how he/she interacts and meets with a company. The benefits of a proper customer journey mapping are improving customer engagement, satisfaction and long-term loyalty. In this process the mobile device optimization is a very important step not to lose potential customers visiting the website through mobile platforms.

Mobile devices are already a key platform for digital content and communications. The increasing number of smartphones with large screens is improving the consumer experience. Meanwhile, more and more retailers are optimizing their sites for mobile shopping. The new structure of the websites has to be suited to the changes in the media consuming habits in order to fulfill the requirement of instant access to information. Together, these developments are turning the smartphone into a platform that can support the whole shopping journey, from product search and discovery, to comparisons, recommendations, and payments.

The ability to identify a user’s location and deliver targeted, timely, contextually relevant information, advertising and marketing messages is a powerful, compelling proposition. Moreover, the real-time aspect of location analytics will offer a more adaptive approach to marketing, enabling retailers to change their marketing and engagement in real time to meet an individual consumer’s needs. Mobile will soon become the dominant channel for loyalty programs and rewards. Mobile-enabled loyalty programs can provide levels of interactivity and engagement that traditional programs cannot match. Mobile channels, particularly when location-enabled, can provide rewards in real time. 

Innovations

In this topic we would like to add 3 very important technological innovations that changes online communication fundamentally: 

• the Internet of things, 
• Augmented Reality and 
• the Wearables.

Creating content specialized for mobile devices

Younger generations can be mostly reached through mobile devices. Mobile-first became the new mindset a marketer has to learn.

Marketing professionals have to understand the mobile using habits of these generations. It is very crucial to know where, when and how they are using their devices. There are many researches on the internet on this topic but marketers can hire an agency if they need more specific information.

It is very important that content has to be available on every mobile platform and devices. The content has to be designed according to the mobile platform requirements on which it is watched. It has to be accessible 24/7 on all online platforms.

The design has to be simple because complexity raises the possibility of losing a customer. As youth watch visual contents rather than reading a long article, marketers should get rid of the unnecessary long phrases and texts and rather use images, videos that can be consumed easier by the customers and requires less scrolling.

Contents are consumed usually on the move by youth and they are multitasking at the same time. This leads to a shorter time when marketers can reach and win them. Contents should be short and memorable.

Swiss Tomato’s experts are happy to help to find the best way for you to have an optimized webpage on all online platforms. Just looking at your website will make users feel more comfortable about what you are trying to sell them. No matter what business or service you offer, you definitely need to focus on all aspects. Please have a look at our references to see the examples of the various industries we are working with!