SXSW-2015

Mobile marketing and customer experience management are getting closer and closer, the two sides of the same business coin. We have had a further confirmation - as if one were needed - during the 2015 SXSW conference, a place where innovation and disruption meet to change the rules of the game. There are few lessons about mobile customer experience we can take away from the heap of conferences and panels.

It’s not a coincidence that one of the main topics of this year’s SXSW has been the mobile transformation of our human and technological ecosystem. There is a massive interest in mobile, increasingly seen as the primary driver of innovation and revenues. Everybody is trying to figure out what the future will set aside for markets, and all companies look eager to take a step into the mobile arena.

Problem is: talking mobile does not necessarily coincide with going mobile. We have already stressed out - many times - the importance of a mobile first strategy to engage with customers of the digital era. Going mobile for mobile’s sake, in fact, will not ensure you any strategic advantage, the same way that developing an app without a broader digital customer experience vision is pointless in the long term.

Although mobile marketing usually takes center stage, too many brands still tackle customer experience relying on old business funnels and patterns. Mobile technology requires a completely different approach, and can’t be treated like a momentary stage of innovation. It is probably the most important event in recent human history; a total reshape of the lives of millions around the world that has already caused deep changes in how customers and brands connect.

ENGAGE IS THE CHALLENGE

Mobile technology enables brands to reach their customers in ways that were unconceivable just few years ago. The main challenge that you face in your daily marketing routine, then, is not how to reach them but how to engage them. Mobile devices make it easier to find and trace clients but harder to retain their attention and loyalty in an overcrowded arena (a lesson retailers know pretty well). One of the key questions you should ask yourself, then, is how you can create a customer experience that is really remarkable and unique.

HELP SHARE DO

If engagement is the most valuable coin on market, how could you know that you're evolving to meet customers' expectations? The first step in the process is to understand what an engagement strategy is all about. There are at least three basic requirements that will help you keep the pace with wants and needs of your clients: the competence to help (whenever they need it, whetever device they are using); the attitude to share (your storytelling and the values behind it); the willingness to do, (personalize and always exceed expectations).

OPTIMIZATION EVERYWHERE

All marketers understand the importance of optimization when they create contents to share on blog, website or social media. But what about mobile? In a world where the smartphone is already the first tool customers use when they search for product information, too many companies still fail to offer optimized mobile experiences. We're not just talking about a responsive website or a flawless app; we refer to an overall seamless experience across all mobile devices (wearables and smartwatch included) and properties (never underestimate the power of the App store optimization).

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE

With Apple Pay, wearable tech, virtual reality and iBeacon taking over the industry, it is now evident that mobile is the biggest playground for companies committed to developing a successful marketing story. And mobile is the missing link to connect the customer journey online and offline: where brand were used to scream "product, product, product", we now finally hear "customers, customers, customers". What do you value the most, the quality of your products (by now taken for granted) or the omni-channel experience you offer to your clients, from awareness to conversion and over?

INBOUND MOBILE FIRST

In many respects, mobile marketing is still a field shrouded in mystery. This makes it easy to spend huge amounts of money in the wrong places, maybe thinking that traditional push strategies still work in the Age of the Customer. But with the advent of the smartphone everything has changed and there's no turning back: the upgraded client requires new rules of attraction and engagement, respectful and deeply rooted in the customer centrality of the inbound marketing methodology. Always acting mobile-first (if not mobile-only).

And if you believe that you are an old style business after all, and maybe you don’t need to think and act digital first … well, think again: even though you refuse to take an active part into the digital transformation, that doesn’t mean you will not participate in the mobile ecosystem. If you don’t establish your online and mobile presence, someone else will do it for you. At your peril.

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