Brands need to engage through multiplatform approach: Forrester analyst

By Brielle Jaekel

NEW YORK – A Forrester Research analyst at the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2015 explained the importance of developing a multichannel approach to keep up with consumers' constantly evolving behavior and continual shift toward mobile.

One of the main points from the “Forrester Research: Catering to the Customer’s Mobile Moments as Expectations Evolve Rapidly” session was that as the shift towards mobile continues, brands need to stay on top of this but also incorporate mobile in their strategy as whole rather than focus solely on different devices. Brands and retailers need to focus on creating high-quality and high-frequent mobile experiences and also include that into a seamless multi-platform experience.

"Today the consumer owns more devices than over, is going online more than ever before and is doing so from all locations throughout the day," said Jennifer Wise, mobile marketing analyst at Forrester Research. "So there is an opportunity to reach this consumer at anytime, at anywhere with your message to push them through the consumer lifestyle and get them to purchase and to engage with your brand."

The Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2015 was organized by Mobile Commerce Daily and Mobile Marketer.

Mobile moments
It is imperative that all factions of a business are involved in this mobile marketing process and not just the marketing team. Consumers connect with brands through a series of mobile moments and many of these moments are not always incorporated solely through marketing.

Customer service, sales and technology are all departments of a brand or retailer that customers and consumers will come across throughout mobile experiences. Mobile moments occur in stages and through these stages consumers touch base with all these units.

Consumers first discover the product through a manufactured or borrowed moment with the marketing team, such an advertisement popping up while browsing on a mobile device, and then progress to exploring information about the product and purchasing, which is where the sales team comes into play.

Use of the product is the next phase and consumers then inquire about the product and its operation, whether it is just how-to, more information or a technology issue this takes place with customer service. Finally, the consumer engages more with the marketing team through various mobile and digital platforms such as social media to create a loyalty moment where the brand furthers its authentic image in the eyes of the customer.

Studies from Forrester show that 37 percent of consumers discover products online and a fifth of that is through mobile devices while 55 percent of online purchases are made through mobile.

Working together
These moments span across all devices and platforms, which means all these factions need to work together and all the experiences that a consumer will access through all devices needs to be seamless. Costumers are going from device to device for all stages of the purchasing process.

For instance, for the travel consumer research usually starts online and then the purchasing process or further research is finished on the mobile device. Consumers are taking their experience different places at different times.

These moments span across all devices and platforms, which means all these factions need to work together and all the experiences that a consumer will access through all devices needs to be seamless. Costumers are going from device to device for all stages of the purchasing process.

For instance, for the travel consumer research usually starts online and then the purchasing process or further research is finished on the mobile device. Consumers are taking their experience different places at different times.

"Overall in 2015, it will become imperative to transform your customers mobile experiences," Ms. Wise said. "We know customers have undergone this mobile mind shift and are increasingly demanding and this is what we consider the new battle ground, these mobile moments.

"They extend across the customer journey," she said. "To win it really requires you to reengineer your business focusing on the idea cycle to see who is your consumer, what is the vision and how do you need to re-architect what you are doing to deliver on this real one-to-one type of mobile communication."

Final Take

Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily