In Mobile Marketing, Thinking Small Can Pay Off Big For Brands

In the new mobile universe, uncovering simple solutions to big consumer obstacles what will keep your customers happy—and coming back.

In Mobile Marketing, Thinking Small Can Pay Off Big For Brands

In September 2014, Apple Pay launched as a “revolutionary” way to pay for purchases. It carried the promise of allowing us to ditch those pesky wallets cramping our skinny jeans and, well, make it easier for us to buy more skinny jeans.

With almost two years in the books and 1 billion iPhones sold, only 20% of iPhone 6 users have used Apple Pay once.

Why isn’t Apple Pay catching on?

To answer this question, let’s look at one company who is killing it in the mobile wallet space: Starbucks. Today, Starbucks manages 15 million monthly active users who use the app at a furious rate. How furious? To the tune of $1.2 billion loaded in Q1 alone. That’s more than most banks get.

When people simply want a damn good cup of coffee, Starbucks delivers, removing obstacles to streamline the experience. This is why Starbucks is succeeding where Apple—one of the most valuable companies in the world—is failing.

The global coffee company is relentless at uncovering the simple solve for micro-friction points in a customer experience and building features that fix the annoying:

Starbucks is winning in the mobile wallet space because it focused on winning at the point of purchase (a small, but mighty moment)—not overengineering a tech solution in search of a problem—and is delivering big benefits to those who use it.

Does this mean that every brand should emulate Starbucks and not Apple? For brands looking to use technology to improve their customer experience, yes.

In the new mobile universe, it’s important to not think big. Instead, think of the small, functional ways you can enter peoples’ lives and deliver big benefits.

Uncovering the simple solve to big consumer obstacles is what will keep your customers happy—and coming back.

Brands must keep the following top of mind as they embark on the mobile commerce journey:

• Use task-based design: Task-driven behavior is highly emotional. Look for the emotional spikes in your customer’s daily tasks that involve your product, and then build on those moments where delight shines. Make sure the design supports your customers as they research, purchase, and use your products. It’s a good idea to set out functional scenarios for each key touch point, and then create solutions for them.

• Enable seamless commerce: If they want to buy, enable a purchase in the moment. A client recently saw an 80% bounce rate in those interested in purchasing a product through a Facebook ad. Why? Because it took an average of six seconds for the site to load in the app. I repeat, six seconds! Take heed: If you’re looking to capitalize on mobile payment, focus on creating native experiences in the apps they’re already in, using lead-gen features in Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest to reduce friction in a simple purchase path.

• Look to chat: This has become especially relevant with the arrival of messaging platforms. With SnapChat, Facebook’s Messenger, and WhatsApp gaining scale in the U.S. and U.K., everyone is racing to create one-to-one engagement. As chatbots enable brands to build experiences that meet simple tasks, messaging apps will force a shift in mindset toward helping your customers get things done in a quick, low-bandwidth way. Embrace the unique little scenarios in which customers will seek out or welcome convenience, and build a chat experience around that.

Successfully reducing friction through mobile requires both insight and empathy: 73% of consumers prefer to do business with brands that use personal data to make their shopping experiences more relevant. As technology moves forward, personalization will become more automated.

Until then, brands need to think small, cultivate an insatiable curiosity for what their customers need day in and day out, and create experiences using new technology to deliver them. Customer Service 101—for brands.