Enhance Customer Lifetime Value with Mobile Experience Optimization

Your mobile strategy should go beyond just having a responsive site or app. It’s about creating well-thought-out approaches to guide users to your mobile platforms, understanding traffic sources, and tailoring content to boost conversions.

A study by the IBM Global Institute highlights the importance of mobile solutions, with “64% of CMOs believing mobile will significantly impact business in the near future,” and “two-thirds of CMOs prioritizing the development of deeper, more meaningful customer experiences.”

This article explores five key strategies for optimizing mobile experiences, helping brands foster stronger customer relationships.

Read Also:  M-Commerce: Why Going Mobile Is Important For Businesses

1. Optimize for Mobile Micro-Moments

Understanding the customer’s journey through various micro-moments is crucial for brands aiming to prompt immediate action and cultivate loyalty. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s essential for brands to be present and responsive to customer needs in real-time.

Google identifies four key types of micro-moments, crucial for engaging customers effectively.

Want-to-Know Moments

These are moments when people seek to learn something new. They represent opportunities for brands to satisfy the consumer’s thirst for knowledge with timely and relevant information.

Examples include:

• how to fix a car dent
• how to use a function in Excel
• who is the father of the computer
• what happens during sleep
• Micromax Canvas 6 overview
• Google’s parent company, Alphabet
• tips for applying eyeshadow

Want-to-Go Moments

These moments occur when people are looking to visit somewhere, whether it’s nearby or a distant location. They signal a readiness to act soon.

Examples include:

• ice cream shop near me
• book a flight to Dubai
• coffee near me

Want-to-Do Moments

When people are keen on trying new activities or tasks, they are experiencing want-to-do moments.

Examples of such queries are:

• learn karate
• where to repair my mobile
• download WhatsApp
• get married
• surfing lessons at Bells Beach

These moments indicate a strong intent to engage, offering brands an opportunity to connect with customers right when they’re most open to it.

Want-to-Buy Moments

At this stage, customers have decided to make a purchase, marking a critical point in the decision-making process.

Typical queries include:

• buy iPhone 6s
• Renault dealers in Delhi
• cheap jewellery online
• register LLC in the USA
• replacement windshield wipers

Engaging with Customers in Their Micro-Moments

Here are five strategies to connect with your customers precisely when they’re experiencing their critical micro-moments:

1. Map Out the Moments

Create a comprehensive map of potential moments in the customer’s purchase journey. By understanding these moments, you can tailor your marketing efforts to meet customers at each stage, enhancing the likelihood of conversion.

2. Understand Immediate Customer Needs

Timing is everything. For instance, if a customer is looking to book a cab for tonight’s party, sending a discount offer after the party has ended misses the mark. Recognize and respond to immediate needs to capture the moment effectively.

3. Leverage Context for Optimal Experiences

Employ location and time data to deliver relevant experiences. Inform customers about product availability in nearby stores when they search for items close to your location, enhancing their purchase journey.

4. Ensure Consistency Across Devices

Customers use various devices during their buying process. Ensure your brand’s presence is optimized across all platforms, with a user-friendly interface and secure environment that supports the customer’s decision-making process. Select colors and design elements that reflect your brand’s identity effectively.

The Business of Color guide from 99designs provides insights into selecting the ideal color for your brand.

5. Measure All Impactful Moments

While not every moment may lead directly to a sale, each plays a vital role in the purchase cycle. Track and analyze these moments to understand where customers spend their time, what interests them, and, crucially, the timing of their interests.

2. Smart Use of Location Extensions

Location extensions in Google AdWords enhance your ads by displaying your business address, operating hours, and ratings directly in Google search results, along with a button for instant customer calls.

Consider this example of a location extension from Wensmith’s Stores, showing various store locations sorted by distance, complete with a direct call button.

Location extensions are beneficial for both large businesses with multiple locations and small businesses with a single storefront, helping to attract nearby customers or those planning a visit to the area.

Effective strategies include:

1. Activating location extensions alongside SiteLinks for enhanced visibility.
2. Adding multiple addresses by connecting your account to Google My Business for broader reach.
3. Utilizing Google’s free location extensions reporting to monitor their effect on conversion rates.

3. Harnessing Location Data for Targeting

Smartphones today come equipped with technology capable of determining your exact location, a feature that can be leveraged to target local customers effectively with services like meals, rides, tips, or coupons.

Utilizing location data enables your brand to tailor marketing strategies to the specific mobile micro-moments of your audience. Incorporating social media and leveraging location data for audience segmentation are critical for identifying and targeting potential customers.

Relying solely on brand hashtag and keyword searches on social media to gauge brand perception is an outdated approach. A staggering 74% of location-tagged posts might not mention your brand’s keyword or hashtag directly.

Instead, tap into the power of location-tagged content and posts to unlock the potential of location-based social data.

Foursquare: A Case Study in Location Intelligence

Foursquare exemplifies the effective use of location intelligence to enhance consumer experiences by providing timely and relevant data during micro-moments. Their approach to location-specific marketing offers valuable insights for developing targeted marketing strategies.

Read Also:  Crash Course to Location-based Marketing Technology

For instance, if you’re in New York City and visit a restaurant, Foursquare can suggest specific dishes to try based on your location. Similarly, if you’re searching for a place to enjoy a chilled beer, Foursquare can recommend nearby locations. This level of targeted marketing optimizes engagement by reaching customers precisely when they’re most receptive.

4. Implementing App Deep Links

App deep linking enables Google to index your app’s content, enhancing user experience even before the app is installed. To index your Android app, follow these steps:

1. Add intent filters for HTTP URLs. Below is an example code snippet for an intent handler:

    <activity
    android:name="com.example.android.mystoreActivity"
    android:label="@string/title_mystore">
    
    <intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
    <data android:scheme="http" />
    <data android:scheme="https" />
    <data android:host="www.mystore.com" />
    </intent-filter>
    </activity>
   

2. Implement logic in your app to respond to the intent filters.
3. Link your app with your website using the Search Console and Play Developer Console.
4. Utilize the deep link testing tool from Firebase to verify your App URIs are correctly formatted and functioning as intended.

For comprehensive details, refer to the Google guide on App indexing.

Advantages of App Indexing

• Boosts app downloads by making it more visible in search results.
• Apps often provide a better user experience than mobile sites and can significantly increase customer lifetime value (CLV).
• Google considers app indexing as a ranking factor for mobile searches, potentially improving your app’s search ranking.

Similar to Google, Bing also supports app deep linking. Learn more at Bing’s guide to managing deep links.

5. Enhancing Brand Trust Through Search Visibility

Trust is crucial for conversions, with people more likely to purchase from familiar brands. A strategic approach to improve both trust and brand visibility is to secure a prominent presence in search results.

Strategies for Building Trust Equity

• Secure a spot in paid search ads to ensure visibility.
• Utilize site links to provide multiple entry points under a single search listing.
• Establish a presence through Knowledge Graphs or Wikipedia entries.
• Be present in local search listings to connect with nearby customers.
• Aim for top positions in organic search results to enhance credibility.
• Enhance app visibility through app indexing, keeping your app’s download link prominent across search pages.

The ongoing mobile revolution reshapes how brands engage with their audiences. Adopting these strategies can significantly increase mobile sales and strengthen your brand’s trust equity.