The Mobile Strategy Is the Strategy

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Some interesting insights that pertain to mobile commerce came out of today’s Mobile Insider Summit.

In the opening keynote, JWT Executive Creative Director Eric Weisberg said: “If you don’t have a mobile strategy in 2013, you don’t have a strategy at all.”

Though he was referring to mobile in general, this view and others can easily be applied specifically to commerce.

For example, if a retailer or brand does not have a path on how to interact with mobile shoppers in the future, they have a great chance to fall behind or totally fail.

Weisberg’s general advice to marketers was to build on what people are doing rather than interrupt what they’re doing.

This could easily apply to in-aisle shoppers. Rather than sending ‘interrupting’ ad messages, markets could send more thoughtful and useful service-oriented messages.

The hypothetical example Intel has used in the past is that when a shopper is in a store trying to decide which computer chip is best, to send a signal to illuminate each computer with a certain chip.

An example at the summit was in grocery shopping, to highlight specific products in-aisle that pertain to someone with specific dietary requirements. Rather than an irrelevant ad message at the moment, the mobile shopper could be sent advice helping them do what they are in the process of doing, in this case shopping and searching for specific foods.

At one of the roundtable sessions entitled “What Does a Mobile Strategy Look Like” yesterday, there also was more a less a consensus that a mobile strategy should be more accurately viewed as a strategy, inferring that mobile is core to any overall business strategy.

The very thoughtful participants at the summit who are grappling with the complex and nitty-gritty strategies and tactics for moving mobile forward totally get this.

But when they leave after the end of the three-day summit tomorrow, some will return to face the realities of under-resourced mobile efforts.

However, it could be worse. They could be in one of those companies that does not have a strategy at all.

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6 comments on "The Mobile Strategy Is the Strategy".

1. Randy f Price from Digital Pricepoints
   

   commented on: February 15, 2013 at 4:27 p.m.
   Simple but not easy, add value. And value as defined by the customer, enhance the experience...don't bog it down. The customer value equation is appropriate...energy to engage the mobile solution/benefits to customer, as defined by customer equals value.
2. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin
   

   commented on: February 15, 2013 at 4:37 p.m.
   Dead on, Randy. Great points.
3. Kent Kirschner from MobileBits
   

   commented on: February 18, 2013 at 10:42 a.m.
   Great article Chuck and excellent points Randy. It's clear that marketing through mobile is now turning the corner. I wonder if people that have spent too much time in the space have too much information to think clearly. The opportunity seems so much simpler and relevant now than ever, and yet so few people have harnessed what you're both describing. I like the mantra of 'Give them what they want, when they're looking for. Only in mobile is that possible".
4. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin
   

   commented on: February 18, 2013 at 11 a.m.
   Thanks Kent, appreciated. You may be on to something here, it is relatively simple as a value proposition as you laid it out.
5. Allan Bennetto from JMango
   

   commented on: February 25, 2013 at 7:23 p.m.
   Nice article, the title is bang on. Mobile is the most powerful, direct and personable device that the consumer owns. This doesn't mean you have open slather to bombard them, but rather (as others have pointed out), unlock the true value for the customer in the context of when and where they are and how your brand can enhance that situation.
6. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin
   

   commented on: February 25, 2013 at 9:04 p.m.
   Thank you Allan and great point you made.

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