Mobile Marketers: Let The Desktop Go

Mobile-first continues to be a hot topic. So why are some marketers still centering their marketing strategies around desktop?

Mobile Marketers: Let The Desktop Go

Mobile-first continues to be a hot topic. So why are some marketers still centering their marketing strategies around desktop? Plenty of mobile marketing trends have been discussed recently:

However, only 20% of marketers have a well-defined mobile strategy, according to a recent global survey conducted by Adobe and Econsultancy. (Note: Adobe is CMO.com’s parent company.) Why are so many still stuck on desktop marketing? According to 40% of companies surveyed, lack of resources—including budget and staff—was the top challenge. Additionally, 23% indicated a lack of mobile expertise, including knowledge and understanding within the organization. However, if you’re still centered on desktop, you have to stop! You must move on and shift your focus to mobile as the hub for your marketing efforts.

For years, I have been encouraging marketers to bake mobile into their marketing practices. Some marketers have felt they were limited on mobile web, but that is changing. Now, the world of mobile web has become more interesting—so really pay attention to it. For instance, Apple Pay will be supported on mobile web—not just in apps—which opens the door for more transactions and commerce. And, with the introduction of progressive web apps (PWAs), mobile sites can now behave like apps for a more interactive web experience.

Mobile Websites Are Important!

As technology improves, it is even more important to have a solid mobile website. But wait — it cannot be just a dumbed-down version of your desktop site. It must be redesigned to minimize page load time for completely different types of interactions. According to Kissmetrics, 47% of shoppers expect a mobile web page to load within two seconds, 40% abandon the site if the wait exceeds three seconds, and each additional second of loading time results in a 7% reduction in conversions. Slow pages lose customers—and conversions!—and every touch or swipe may require something to load, so your mobile deployment has to run lean.

Get On Mobile Web

If you want to become mobile-first, get leads into your marketing funnel with a great mobile web experience. Mobile web—not apps—is where you acquire customers, so use this channel appropriately.

The progressive web is something you should be looking at. PWAs enable more interactive mobile web applications—especially through Google’s Chrome browser—allowing you to do things like send push notifications from your mobile website. Until now, that capability was only available through apps.

Google explains it like this: “They are useful to users from the very first visit in a browser tab, no install required. … It loads quickly, even on flaky networks, sends relevant push notifications, has an icon on the home screen and loads as a top-level, full screen experience.”

Mobile technology like this is enabling the mobile web to become more interactive and more capable. So, if you feel like you are limited in what you can do with the mobile experience, it’s time to change that perspective.

Don’t Just Jump Into Apps!

Avoid the temptation others have followed. Don’t simply focus on mobile apps. You cannot put all your eggs into the app basket, even though apps are really powerful and can be very useful. You need to have a dual-pronged strategy to reach people through mobile web and apps. Consider a capability called deep linking, which allows you to connect your mobile web page to your mobile app if it has been installed on a consumer’s device. It’s a way to basically connect web content and app content. Make these mobile experiences work together and start thinking about use cases to help your customer seamlessly navigate your digital experiences.

Hopefully, I’ve convinced those who still focus on desktop web marketing to follow the mobile marketing trends and bake mobile into your marketing. Don’t simply “shrink and squeeze” your desktop site to a mobile site. Really think about how mobile will be used by your customers and focus on ways to blend mobile web and mobile apps for maximum engagement.