Now is the Time to Embrace Mobile-First Strategies

Interbrand recently updated its ranking of top brands by value globally, and guess who came in #1 and #2?

Apple and Google.

Think internet connected mobile devices aren’t the most important change in the human experience in the last 10 years? Think again – not even the mighty Coca-Cola was able to unseat the two leaders in mobile software and experiences in the brand study, and Interbrand cited the two companies’ influence in the mobile sector as a primary driver of their brand value position.

The mobile revolution has proved to be one of the most rapid and widespread diffusions of technology in history and embracing mobile has provided monumental growth opportunities for those companies ahead of the curve.

Despite this, a mere 17 percent of marketers participating in a recent CMO Council survey believe their mobile strategies are “fully integrated and aligned with their overall marketing strategies,” with 31 percent admitting to viewing mobile as a campaign rather than a business strategy.

We thought it was time to shed some light on this issue by sharing some trends and predictions for the mobile industry. As you assess your 2015 mobile strategy, consider the following:

Mobile adoption is accelerating at unprecedented rates.

Growth of the mobile internet. Data from GSMA Intelligence.

• In 2015, mobile gaming revenues are predicted to surpass traditional console gaming revenues for the first time, with upwards of 40 percent year over year growth. Newzoo estimates that the mobile gaming market will total $30.3 billion in 2015 and reach $40.9 billion in 2017.
• By 2020, half of the world’s population will have access to the internet-connected mobile devices. According to a forecast by GSMA Intelligence, mobile internet will be in the hands of an additional 1.6 billion people over the course of the next five years, almost all of whom will come from the developing world.

Mobile commerce is soaring with new innovations in payment systems and mobile assistants.

How U.S. consumers intend to use mobile apps in their 2014 holiday shopping. Image courtesy of Burst Media.

• An unprecedented 53 percent of U.S. consumers intend to use a mobile device to research or purchase gifts this holiday season, according to a recent Burst Media report. And a CEA study anticipates that 77% of Americans will use a smartphone or tablet to help them do holiday shopping this year as well.
• 41 percent of consumers surveyed by the CFI Group intend to make more purchases from their mobile devices in 2015 than they did in 2014.
• Mobile digital assistants – such as Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana – will be responsible for assisting in over $2 billion in mobile shopping revenue by the end of 2016, according to a recent Gartner report.
• U.S. mobile shopping as a whole, Gartner predicts, will grow to 50 percent of all digital commerce revenue by the end of 2017, facilitated in part by NFC-based payment systems including Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

Mobile is uprooting traditional business models.

Mobile is rapidly moving up the list in customer service channel preference. Image courtesy of ClickFox.

• In 2015, mobile-first companies will embrace the mobile channel to reorganize and optimize their business model, creating a significant opportunity gap between the mobile leaders and laggards. According to Forrester’s 2015 mobile predictions, the businesses that stand out as leaders in the coming years will be those that use mobile in new and creative ways to change both their cost structure and revenue models.
• Brands are already dramatically cutting costs on customer service calls by engaging customers directly within their mobile apps. Even better, the market is ready and desirable of this change. 72 percent of consumers surveyed by ClickFox said they would replace some traditional channels with mobile apps if the same customer service features were available and 21 percent said they would replace all channels with in-app features.

How important is the mobile channel to your business? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow @Apptentive on Twitter for more astonishing mobile trends and predictions.