M-commerce strategy tips

Mobile commerce is growing at a rapid pace. According to industry organization Thuiswinkel.org millions of consumers shop on their mobile and spend about a billion euro per year on their smartphone and tablet. Time to give some thoughts to a solid mobile commerce strategy! In this article some tips and steps you can take to succeed with m-commerce.

1. Is the time right?
A lot of consumers love mobile shopping. But is this also the case for you target market, product or service? The best way to find out is by checking your website statistics. Google Analytics for example registers the percentage of mobile visitors to your current website. Is it less than 10%? Think again if you want to invest in a mobile strategy right now. Is it more than 30%? Than you are loosing money without a proper mobile strategy.

2. An integrated approach
Mobile is not a stand alone channel. It needs to be an integrated part of your commercial strategy and marketing mix. Its just another element in the customer journey and your customer does not look upon it as a separate part. On the contrary, the customer just wants to be serviced in the most optimal way, no matter what channel he uses. Coordinate your efforts in all channels and for all messages and use their specific advantages. 

3. Build a responsive website
The simplest way to have a mobile presence is a responsive website. A responsive website automatically optimizes for the size of the device your visitor is using. Nothing is more annoying than a website that does not work correctly on a mobile device. Did you know that more than half of all searches for products and searches are done on a mobile device? The smartphone and tablet are the starting point of the customer journey nowadays. With a responsive website you make sure the potential customer has a pleasant experience.

4. Keep it simple
Speed and comfort are the most important reasons for consumers to buy products and services on their smartphone and tablet. On average, about 20% of all web traffic is from mobile devices. But only 11% of all purchases are done from a mobile. This means that the consumer still experiences certain limits when shopping on a mobile. Small buttons, poorly readable texts and confusing registration- and login procedures are all reasons that your potential customers are getting frustrated on leave your website.

Mobile is the ideal channel for luring customers in. Keep everything as simple as possible for your visitors. The less you are asking, the better it is. Less is more. Make sure the visitor can reach his goal within a few clicks. Don’t forget to measure the user experience and optimize every part of it. Know why consumers leave your website and solve their problems.

5. Apps need added value
Apps can help to reach more consumers. But with a million apps in the appstores you have to do something special to make sure you will stand out. Give some thought about the added value you can offer with apps. Can’t seem to find it? Perhaps its better to reconsider this investment. If you decide to go for apps, don’t spend all your money on the development. Dedicate about 50% of your budget to the promotion of your apps. Appstore optimization is important to be noticed among all those other apps. To cater to the needs of all users, you have to be present on both the Android and iOS (iPhone / iPad) platform nowadays. But next to native apps you could also opt for an HTML5 app. A bit slower perhaps, but cheaper if you want to be present on all platforms.

6. Don’t forget your newsletter
Consumer not only search for products and services on their mobile, they also read the majority of their mail on it. Your newsletter has to look good in the mobile inbox. Screens are smaller, so optimize for it. You will loose money here if you don’t. Once you have built a professional responsive website its time to give your newsletter the same treat. Its not a big effort, but it can boost your mobile sales.

7. Mobile advertising as an accelerator
Now you got everything prepared, its time to fill the funnel with interested consumers. Google Adwords, affiliate marketeers and dedicated mobile advertising networks can all target the mobile shopper. If you choose for mobile advertising give it a boost at the start. This can help to get extra attention for your mobile presence. Especially if you are promoting apps an extra boost can help in climbing the appstore rankings. And this will definitely give an extra push to more downloads.