Cellphones have become our
umbilical cords to the world
The Power of Mobile Analytics
Check your pocket. Check your purse. If you are like 90 percent of mobile users, you’ll find your cellphone there or no more than three feet away (Morgan Stanley).
Cellphones have become our umbilical cords to the world. With that comes a wealth of information that when extracted, analyzed and skillfully used gives businesses powerful tools to fulfill needs and reach goals.
Mobile is far different and more effective for sales than the desktop and laptop. It is unique in that it is totally personal. It belongs to one owner. A desk/laptop may be accessed and used by many people— brother, sister, father, grandmother, coworkers. A mobile device, on the other hand, travels with its owner. Information from the mobile device can give insights into the patterns and habits of that particular person. The sophisticated sensors and “always on” nature of modern smartphones give you the opportunity to capture data about user behavior in the real world. This information, combined with Web analytics, allows you to create and deliver highly targeted, relevant, and timely incentives.
How is this data obtained? Through the device’s • GPS
• accelerator • camera
• voice recording
• connections with social media • emails
• texts
• calendar appointments • music and video library
When companies are permitted to use this information, they can create personalized content in
applications. This can lead to increased customer traffic, loyalty and satisfaction. Which in turn increases profits.
The unique features of mobile computing work in concert to make the mobile device one of the best data-gathering tools ever invented.
Location-Based Data:
One of the most important technological features of the modern smartphone is the GPS. The ability to locate itself anywhere in the globe has become a ubiquitous feature, and this brings with it seemingly endless opportunities for user engagement and data collection. From live traffic monitoring, to crowd-size estimation, to seeing the effect of a sale based on where the user is, location-based data represents a potential wealth of information that has yet to be fully tapped and the analysis of which is unique to mobile analytics.
Personalization:
Because mobile devices are generally used by a single person, the information mined from the device will be user specific and more accurate than that gathered from PC sources. Knowing that the interests, likes, dislikes and buying patterns are that of 17-year-old girl and not a 34-year old man will lead to different conclusions on what messages are appropriate and will yield the most desired responses. It is this personalization that gives mobile analytics such incredible power.
More and more, people are using their mobile devices in place of PCs for tasks such as searching the Web, checking email and online shopping. Research shows that the percentage of Web browsing done over mobile devices has more than doubled within the last year.
Source: BGR
Unique Features of Mobile
Proximity:
Because mobile devices are almost always on, users receive and respond quickly to information sent to them. Whether the information is a news article, an especially clever or insightful tweet, or a push notification for a new sale, mobile users are in the position to react quickly, regardless of where they are. The ramifications of this can be enormous. Companies are already exploiting users tethered to their devices to drive sales in a variety of ways. These include offering a limited number of coupons to subscribers on a first-come, first-serve basis, informing subscribers of offers at nearby retail outlets or restaurants and many more. Along with these new opportunities to drive sales come ways to monitor their effectiveness right away. Mobile analytics allows for an instant evaluation of how effective, say, a sale is.
Social Context:
Social media and mobile devices go hand in hand. The massive success of Twitter and Foursquare, among others, could not have been possible without the proliferation of smartphones. This relationship between social media and mobile devices allows marketers to understand the social context of information. What people buy, with whom they talk, where they go and what they do can be monitored and understood through mobile analytics.
Mobile Analytics in Action
The power of analytics can be seen in the example of a hip clothes shopper.
Erica receives a J.Crew catalog in the mail. Flipping through, she spots a pair of super-cute suede MacAlister wedge boots. She scans the QR code on the page with the J.Crew app on her iPhone, and the app displays several pictures of the boots along with additional data.
She taps to view the boots in mink, size 7 and adds them to her cart. The app displays some items that go well with the boots: a pair of matchstick jeans and a contrast stripe tee. Erica taps on the shirt, selects medium size, and then goes back and forth a few times viewing it in neon peach pink and yacht blue.
At this point, Erica’s phone rings, and she closes the app. Even though she has not purchased anything, we already have a lot of useful information:
Built-in Payment System:
Mobile devices make paying easier and quicker. The cost of apps already gets folded into a phone bill or credit card, and app revenue is expected to exceed $35 billion by 2014. Online shopping using mobile devices is extremely popular. Recently, major carriers like Verizon and AT&T have teamed up with credit-card companies to create services that allow users to pay for virtually any purchase—in store or on the Web. Mobile devices may eventually replace credit and debit cards as the most popular and convenient form of payment.
Source: IDC
Sensorization, Point of Inspiration or Decision:
The “don’t leave home without it” mentality of mobile-device owners means their smartphones are on hand anytime, anywhere. People can share
experiences, creative inspiration, thoughts, jokes, and so on instantaneously. Although this “impulse communication” is often characterized as frivolous, researchers and doctors are tapping into the ubiquity of smart devices to provide valuable health information such as how much a patient is exercising, his or her pulse and heart rate, and more. This sort of real-time feedback
creates a virtuous feedback loop that could lead to positive changes in behavior.
Erica received and read her catalog
the catalog prompted her to launch the app the time she launched the app
where she was when she launched the app current weather conditions in her area
she seems to be very interested in size 7 wedge boots in mink
she appears to be considering the contrast stripe tee, but is undecided on the color
she’s probably not interested in matchstick jeans • • • • • • • •
• • • • • •
Admittedly, this is a lot of information to crunch—but its value will be obvious to anyone with a cash register. The power of mobile analytics to collect so much behavioral data presents marketers with an unprecedented opportunity. Namely, to forge relationships with consumers that border on the intimate. Put another way, J.Crew will know things about Erica that she doesn’t know about herself.
Given this information, there a high probability that the manager of Erica’s local J.Crew store could sell her a $198 pair of MacAlister boots and perhaps a $39.50 contrast stripe tee by sending her a push notification for 10 percent off on the next sunny day that she’s within two miles of the store between 10 and 3.
Based on her previous behavior, the system determines that Erica is often willing to pay full price for items, but will take advantage of discount opportunities. This is especially true when offers are sent via push notification while she is within two miles of a physical store. She browses online and in-app often, but rarely buys there. She prefers to purchase in a retail outlet, usually the one nearest her house. In the last year, she has visited her local store 18 times, but never on a day when it was raining and always between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
whether she typically pays full retail or waits for clearance or sale items
what colors and styles she tends to prefer
whether she likes to buy in-store, in-app or online. how often she launches the app without being prompted externally
her preferred communication channel (e.g., email, SMS, push notifications, direct mail,
voice, chat, etc.)
Erica is an existing J.Crew customer, so we can cross-reference this mobile data against her previous browsing history and purchases across all channels (e.g., online, in-store and in-app) to determine things like:
A.
Increased User Engagement
—By analyzing customer activity on mobile applications, developers can understand how an app (or mobile site) is used. For example, by identifying which features are being used most, and for how long, developers can focus on improving the experience of the app’s most important functions to increase usage and time spent on it. As users visit more frequently and stay longer, the ROI on the app will probably go up.B.
Increased Loyalty
—Consumers like promotions and coupons. Apps can deliver them straight to their mobile devices. Coupling market responses with customer profiles and demographics provides analysts the data needed to segment and identify audiences through Cluster Analysis. By designing optimal offers and rewards to specific customer segments, companies are able to acquire, build and maintain loyal customer bases.C.
Customer Satisfaction
—Customer-satisfaction ratings measures the application’s appeal to users, but does not show how to make improvements. By analyzing comments using text-mining techniques to discover common themes on requested features, application developers are given clear directions on what users want.D.
ROI
—All these different functions come together to help increase an app’s ROI, especially one that is business related. Whether an app is meant to drive sales, sell in-app content, increase user interest in a product or any other income-related goal, mobile analytics will provide a better understanding of how to boost revenue.Delivering a Richer Mobile Experience
Mobile analytics help you deliver the right information to the right audience at the right time and place so that you may achieve your business objectives. The sooner you seize this opportunity, the greater your competitive advantage will be.
