5 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFULLY BUILDING YOUR 2015 MOBILE STRATEGY
As 2015 is just around the corner, and budgetary discussions are taking place in almost every meeting room, it’s also time to discuss and plan the organization’s mobile strategy. While all will agree with the thought that “there is a NEED for mobile strategy”, it’s often not clear what it REALLY means… To help you get started, we collected 5 tips for successfully building your 2015 mobile strategy. Naturally, this is just the beginning, but we have to start somewhere, don’t we?
Enterprise Mobility – What is it all about?
Mobile technology, driven by consumer demands, has revolutionized the way we live, do business, and has forced enterprises to adapt. Facing increased pressure from A-C level executives, enterprise IT departments are compelled to respond with a broad and comprehensive mobile strategy for their organizations.
A survey conducted by Helix Mobile in 2013 among 300 American and British CIOs reveals that 78% have a mobile strategy for their enterprises and 87% of them think that their employees would benefit from mobile access to enterprise applications. However, examples of companies that are successfully implementing mobile strategies are few and far between. In fact, only 14% (!) are actually using mobile solutions to transform their business processes – and they are reporting increased revenues and new income streams.
It’s no secret that some of the main concerns of enterprises when addressing their mobile strategy includes complexity and the high cost of projects; and this is before talking about the complex and fragmented nature of the mobile market. Taking into consideration that enterprise mobility includes so many aspects, starting from B2C applications facing the consumers, to B2E application (for employees), B2B and legacy, this makes a perfect sense.
With this in mind, it is very important for every company to lead and follow a comprehensive mobile strategy that is planned to cover all aspects, over a pre-decided time-frame and budget, using the right resources and tools;
Tip #1: Be there – be everywhere; Multi-Channel and Multi-Device
Confront and be prepared for the major challenge of your mobile strategy and implementation process – Mobile fragmentation.
Mobile fragmentation includes 3 parameters:
1. devices and channels (Android / iPhone, Smartphones, Tablets, Phablets, Smart TV, wearable);
2. operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows-Phone); and
3. Medium (web-mobile-app/ downloadable app –> native/ hybrid).
When building your mobile strategy you have to make sure that your plan includes all three parameters (even if implementation will take time – at least you have an organized plan that takes into consideration the requirements and needs for the present and evolving into the future).
If you decide to “ignore” one or more of the parameters (and sub-parameters) do it consciously – don’t sweep it under the carpet, as it will haunt you, and end up costing you more than you expected.
Tip #2: When you “Over-simplify” user experience you simply underestimate your clients expectations
When mobile started, a few years ago, the message was clear: “keep it simple”. Include the
necessary information that people will be looking for on a mobile device – mainly, contact (phone numbers, address), and basic information. Today, when our first (and last) screen is our mobile screen we have to make sure that our customers receive what they are expecting – and guess what? They expect a full surfing experience, no matter which device they are using when checking your application or website.
With this in mind, let’s talk about the “continuous browsing” philosophy. In the past we adhered to creating a different UX for each device or OS, today it is clear that with device and OS fragmentation it is almost impossible as service providers to follow those rules. But even more amazing is the fact that clients are now expecting a coherent UX and UI, no matter which device they use, saving them the headache to “learn from new” the UX and business logic on every new channel.
Simple is relevant if you don’t ask your customers to compromise on the result. Make everything accessible, coherent, mobile and touch-friendly, but don’t make them turn to a different screen to complete a simple (or complex) task they started on a smaller screen. Mobile is no longer secondary to your client. It shouldn’t be secondary to your strategy.
Tip #3: Security is still very (very) important
Cloud solutions are revolutionizing our lives, bringing our web (and mobile assets) to new directions and making expansion and accessibility easier than ever. Though most enterprise companies are stalling on cloud solutions, there is a shift in secured cloud offerings (like Amazon and IBM) as well as other solutions (GOOD) that help ease the transition.
The growing BYOD trend brings with it additional challenges that must be addressed properly when working on your mobile strategy, such as Mobile Device Management (MDM) as well as Mobile Application Management (MAP). In each case, make sure to have your IT and security team involved in the process from the very beginning. Security is high priority for your clients and remains a major concern, specifically on mobile. Security is a crucial issue that you must deal with, period.
Tip #4: Performance is even more than important…
Mobile usage is different at the network level, to browsing on a desktop connected to the Internet. This is why mobile performance is a critical issue. Customers expect the same experience on their mobile devices as they have on their desktops and laptops (even though mobile devices are much less powerful). High bounce rate statistics show that customers are less patient on mobile devices than they are on desktop browsing.
The good news is that mobile devices have become more and more powerful, CDN solutions are now available for mobile apps and clever Front-End programming is changing mobile performance limitations. Don’t wait for your launch to address performance, plan and test during early development stages.
Tip #5: Don’t wait – It’s time for Mobile!
Today mobile is an important part of every company’s business strategy. Some say that companies shouldn’t have a separate “mobile” strategy or that it should be an integral part of the company’s general business strategy. Whether separated or integrated, mobile can no longer be ignored, and the longer you wait to fall in line, the more complicated your mobile process will become. Mobile has to be part of your business DNA, the mobile eco-system will change and evolve, trends will come and go, but if you adopt the right approach, you’ll succeed.
Don’t disappoint your clients and maximize your mobile goals and revenues. Don’t invent the wheel, learn from the experience of others – learn mostly from their mistakes à don’t think that if they are “big” they know best – make your research, build your strategy to fit your company’s needs and keep in mind all possible aspects.