What customers want from their mobile marketing experience

By Dana Drissel

Today’s business-to-business buyers are increasingly more self-educated and turning to sources other than salespeople for product information.

Ample research shows that buyers are already more than 70 percent through the buying cycle before reaching out to a sales rep. According to multiple studies, 42 percent of those buyers are using their mobile devices during the B2B research process.

B2B researchers are not just using mobile devices when they are out and about, but also when they are at work conducting research. Therefore, it is imperative to create a memorable mobile moment for your prospects anywhere, anytime.

1. Web mobile optimization is a must
Since 80 percent of Internet users own a smartphone, it is essential to ensure mobile optimization for your Web site.

According to Inbound Marketing for Dummies, in 2015 mobile searches (85.9 billion) overtook desktop-based searches (84 million) for the first time.

That being said, nearly half of consumers say they will not return to a Web site if it does not load properly on their mobile devices. Therefore, creating a mobile experience that allows customers to navigate without the hassle of downtime is fundamental to winning deals.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud vice president of marketing Jeffrey K. Rohrs gave the following advice to help put things in perspective: “The customer journey is comprised of a thousand moments and each one of those mobile moments matters just as much as the one that preceded or follows it. Therefore, by focusing on the present moment and making it unmistakably memorable, marketers can stand out amongst the noise on mobile devices and take the customer one step closer to closing the deal” (‘Make Mobile Moments Matter,’ Jeffrey Rohrs).

2. Interactive selling experiences
In today’s world, you have just six seconds to capture your audience’s attention. That means you only have six seconds to give prospects a reason to care, an interest in responding and spark their curiosity.

You must give them a reason to want to engage with your products or applications on their mobile devices. This is particularly important for large or complex physical products that are too cumbersome for customers to really engage with and explore.

In these cases, the best way to execute this is to hand them a mobile device with virtual 3D products or interactive solution stories that attract their attention right away as it runs an animation or removes a component to continue to hold their attention.

These types of engaging interactions, which can also be experienced using augmented reality or virtual reality, will grab their attention within six seconds and prove their interest for you to further the sales discovery conversation.

3. Tracking every step of the user’s journey (mobile analytics)
Analytics is the buzzword of 2016.

Sales and marketing teams want to make sure all mobile experiences include powerful analytics for tracking and measuring all aspects of user engagement to deliver real insights into the effectiveness of B2B mobile applications.

Tracking every prospect throughout the buyer’s journey on a mobile device not only grasps the particular moment that is keeping them intrigued, but it also allows companies to truly personalize the next interaction with that prospect.

Capturing this data gives marketers ideas to refine their messages and increase application usage across all channels, not just mobile.

Although this happens behind the scenes, these insights help marketing and sales teams better understand where to spend their time and resources to continue attracting more qualified prospects.

BECAUSE TODAY’S customers expect a seamless digital experience that supports and nurtures them along the entire customer journey, crafting a mobile experience that is engaging, consistent and connected at every touch point can be a great challenge, but extremely beneficial by following the three methods above.

Dana Drissel is vice president of marketing at Kaon Interactive

Dana Drissel is vice president of marketing at Kaon Interactive, Maynard, MA. Reach her at ddrissel@kaon.com.