Want to Better Engage Your Customers Through Mobile? There’s an Amazon for That

Like social media, mobile commerce is not simply a bandwagon channel on which all companies should jump. If they do not have the resources, the vision and the customer relationships in place, their mobile strategy will undermine the brand’s image. Companies struggle when they enter the realms of Facebook and Twitter "because they have to" and the same struggle can be expected of a rushed, incomplete or insincere mobile app.

Unlike social media, however, there is less ambiguity about the extent to which the mobile experience should mirror the experience found in more-traditional web and phone channels. Whereas many companies have found success by creating a social "personality" in vast contrast to what they espouse in other communication media, with mobile, the indication is that users want to feel "at home" on their smart phones.

Mobile devices should be bandwidth- and device-friendly recreations of the full online channel; they should not ask customers to embark on a truly-different experience.

Evidence of this desire for a "familiar" mobile channel comes from a report on the success of Amazon, which has generated immense satisfaction for sincerely porting its web experience to the world of mobile.

A new report from eDigitalResearch celebrates Amazon’s success in creating the best-testing mobile application, noting that its 90% usability score falls less than a full percent behind the usability of its full web site.

What works and what doesn’t work in mobile apps

Speaking of what works for Amazon, the research organization’s Derek Eccleston writes that mobile application developers "need to make sure that they develop an App that is consistent with brand image, mirroring the sort of functionality a shopper would expect to find on a company’s website – whether that’s allowing users to shop for products, book a holiday, check accounts or reserve a table."

In essence, when customers are navigating a web application, the only thing that should feel "different" about the experience is the convenience and lightweight nature of the programming and design. They should not feel burdened by limitations; notably, they should not feel they need additional apps or to load the full version of a website in order to accomplish their e-commerce-related tasks.

"Consumers expect to have a wide range of products and information available to them through the App, and would not expect this to be less than what is available through the company’s website," explains the latest report. "The Apps that performed particularly poorly were those that were difficult to navigate, took people to other apps/websites and were completely different to the company’s website – all leading to a less cohesive user journey.

"In some cases users were unsure why the App even existed, finding key features were missing and unable to find a fit purpose for the App."

Contextualizing customer response to mobile apps

While those who did not approach their mobile app development from a "re-creation" perspective will undoubtedly be upset to learn of eDigitalResearch’s findings, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: the reason why customers are so dead-set on mobile applications that resemble the full online experience.

Customers want to be able to quickly, easily, safely and securely make commercial transactions on their phones.

Over the next year, the number of smart phone users who make purchases over their devices could rise to 55%, the study reports. The demand is clearly there—and the extent and haste of the adoption will hinge on how well app providers deliver on customer expectations.

More evidence of how integral the commerce function is to the application experience comes from the study’s verbatim analysis on customers’ favorite mobile programs:

Booking.com, favorite hotel app: "Booking via this App was simple and straightforward."
Amazon, favorite retail app: "This App had the same functionality and range of products and information as the website such as customer reviews which assisted users to make informed purchase decisions… Overall easy to use, including the barcode feature and adding items to the basket."
Lufthansa, favorite flight app: "Easy to make booking and check in via this App."
Domino’s, favorite food app: "Easy to make booking and check in via this App."

And the deeper analysis only gets more glowing in favor of the transactional focus: "There was a general feeling among customers that retailers should only release an App if purchases can be made through it," says the study.

Though general usability and "bonus" games and features matter, when push comes to shove, an app is simply made or broken by its commerce element: "Users like the fact that they can browse menu options and locate their nearest restaurant but also want to be able to place an order, book a table or download voucher codes."

Making the most of mobile

Though social has more substantially situated itself into the fabric of marketing and customer engagement in general, mobile has a distinct advantage: viability as a full-fledged alternative to the traditional web. iPhones and iPads are increasingly becoming fixtures of professional and personal lives, and as efforts like Apple’s iCloud push show, the message is being put forth that the "home computer is no longer necessary."

Social media might replace elements of the web—searching for news and funny videos, checking email, sending instant messages—but it remains an extension of personal and mobile computing and it thus most commonly manifests itself as a complement to other e-commerce constructs. Social media generates awareness and relationships, and by extension of that marketing and CRM, companies hope to drive customers to their typical commerce channels.

The customer opportunities in mobile commerce are self-contained. And as long as that is true, companies cannot simply think about how the addition of mobile enhances traditional channels. They must think about whether their mobile app would get the job done in a world without PCs and brick-and-mortar store fronts.

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