Bridging the Gap Between the Mobile Web and Mobile Apps

There is little doubt that differences exist between mobile apps and the mobile web. For marketers, working within those differences is a tricky proposition. Terminology is different; taxonomies don’t match; tools are not directly compatible — and let’s face it, both environments were made for entirely different purposes. We have technical and procedural gaps that must — and will — be bridged in time, since both ecosystems have the same objective. That means, for cross-channel mobile marketing to succeed, we have to understand both ecosystems well. (By the way, mobile analytics help to inform that understanding.)

The Digital Analyst’s Approach to Bridging the Gap
I’m a technical guy not a marketer, so my tendency is to talk about tools. In my quest to bridge this web-to-app gap, I define the cross-channel marketing approach in this way: bridging the gap between mobile web and app requires thoughtful architecture, a solid foundation, and the right support system. Mobile convergence insists that we coordinate these three elements so that the path to this convergence can be reached sooner rather than later.

The ultimate self-realization you’re looking for is whether you think about apps as much as you consider the web when designing your outreach efforts to the customer. Let’s ask a few questions to determine whether your organization’s mobile maturity is built on this three-pillared premise:

• Do your performance metrics and associated key performance indicators (KPIs) align for both web and mobile apps? Remember, both efforts are chasing the same objective.
• Are your analytics and reporting the same for both web and mobile apps? Sure, it’s a related issue to the performance metrics and KPIs, but it’s easy to get off track if you’re not paying attention.
• How are you documenting your customer’s journey? If you give this some thought, logic should dictate that the journey should be compatible through web and app.
• Is your marketing strategy inclusive of both web and app, or do you pursue two different strategies?
• Do you believe that gaps are nonexistent and treat the mobile web and mobile app equally?

Keep those answers in mind as we explore the inevitable march to mobile-web and app-data convergence that your brand will experience in the future.

Mobile Web and App Convergence
What do I actually mean by “convergence?” In this case, it is the synchronous merging of distinct technologies, industries, and device types into a unified whole. However, if you look a little deeper into what I mean, convergence relies on the development of product strategies and a complete market vision to be effective. Customers use mobile for many reasons — on web and app formats — all of which contribute to a complete image.

In a broader sense, technological convergence deals with the pace of change in technology — technical maturity, if you will. The revelation in this deeper understanding of convergence will result in a more complete cross-channel, mobile-marketing vision that can drive how we create mobile-customer experiences that are personalized, delightful, and rewarding.

The velocity of technological change leading to convergence is swift. This transformation will enable us to bridge the gap between mobile-web and app infrastructures.

To learn more about bridging this gap, I invite you to spend some time viewing my presentation at Adobe Summit 2016. Click on the Marketing Analytics tab and find session S412. I will walk you through a practical exercise in how Adobe technology already bridges the gap between mobile web and mobile apps.