DMA Adobe webinar: pay attention to mobile elites

Consumers are switching to mobile. That's the top message from Andrew Savory, Adobe's mobile services and solutions evangelist, speaking at the DMA's webinar Mobile marketing: strategic, tactical or way of life? on Wednesday.

Savory said industry trends show mobile is becoming an essential medium. "Why is mobile is important? It's the impact on bottom line, as consumers switch to buying by mobile," he said.

He cited research that shows approximately 31% of website traffic now comes from mobile, with this number climbing quickly. Mobile traffic is expected to overtake desktop traffic in the last quarter of 2015, he said.

Forrester research suggests 16% of ecommerce revenue is from mobile, while 20% of sales influenced by mobile thanks to consumers checking prices on their devices.

"Most brands are under-investing in e-business," he said, although companies like Home Depot in the US are investing $1.5bn in mobile, "Forrester expects a spending and tech arms race, all related to mobile," he said.

Savory's talk then moved onto Adobe's own Mobile Consumer Survey research, which quizzed 3,000 mobile users around the world. Their 2014 report is the fifth Adobe has run.

He said that there is a mobile elite, those that integrate mobile into their lives to a far greater extent than the wider population. This group spends at least $750 per year using their device. This group skews to male and is likely to be younger, he said. This group demonstrates future patterns of mobile usage.

Compared to the general population:

• 80% of elites use mobile banking apps versus 63% of general consumers
• 60% of elites consume music on their mobile compared to 38% for general consumers
• Elites are twice as likely to book holidays or travel via a mobile device.

He said this last statistic is significant when you consider that $61bn of travel bookings were made in 2014. "A small shift to mobile makes a big difference," he said.

To reach this new and growing audience, he had some specific advice:

• Personalise content and offers based on mobile characteristics such as location.
• Build loyalty by understanding the behaviour and preference of mobile users. Apps build loyalty, but the mobile web is good for getting discovered.
• A good mobile experience can boost brand attitudes, while a poor experience will achieve the opposite.

"Without A/B testing, you can’t improve mobile delivery," he said. "Most brands are still just guessing, but a gut feeling is no substitute for data. You have to start with analytics and testing," he said.

"It's not enough to make a mobile app. You have to think about engagement tactics. You have to manage and update experience and analyse engagement across devices and browsers," he said. "Always measure, always optimise."

Questions pondered on whether to use mobile for B2B (yes), and whether you need an app or a mobile site (both).

To watch the webinar, please click here.