The rapid adoption of smartphones is only going to increase moving into 2012.
This blogs aims to highlight some key considerations for Australian business.
Smartphones are continuing to replace desktop’s as a preferred way to access content.
More than 20% of us now prefer mobile browsing over desktop.
A user’s insistence for accurate and relevant responses to questions, curiosities, and needs should be a defining reason why…..AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES SHOULD SIT-UP AND TAKE NOTICE.
Failing to capitalise on this shift toward mobile will directly affect your ability to capture and engage with an audience now adopting mobile device browsing as their preferred way for absorbing content. As familiarity with mobile increases, so will a user’s willingness to covert via mobile devices so the opportunity cost for doing nothing will be significant.
Australians have a willingness to buy online, but also a willingness to make online purchases from offshore sites when their needs can’t be met locally. A conversion doesn’t necessarily need to be a sale, it may also come in the form of a download or enquiry or of your business.
DON’T GIVE CUSTOMERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK ELSEWHERE…
According to new research by PwC and Frost & Sullivan:
“Australians will spend more than $13.6 billion online in 2011, an increase of over 13% on last year’s $12 billion.
This is expected to reach $21.7 billion by 2015.”
In a recent study of 30,000 people across 30 countries it was Australia that led the world in the adoption of smartphones.
1. 50% of all mobiles are now smartphones an increase from 36% in 2010
2. 61% of smartphone owners access the mobile internet daily
3. 39% of smartphone users sit in a demographic of 39 years+.
Yet 80% OF BUSINESSES AREN’T OPTIMISED FOR MOBILE?
Is this because we don’t believe in the power of the mobile or is it because we don’t understand how to capitalise on it?
SO HOW DO I GET MY COMPANY MOBILE:
Companies that select to enter the mobile medium have two main options for development of their presence.
1. Development of a mobile optimised website.
2. Development of a mobile app.
Both options will add value so regardless of which you select, you’ll become an advocate to a quantifiable improvement in user engagement.
Benefits of Mobile:
1. If developed properly, Apps and mobile sites have the ability to enhance engagement by conveying highly targeted core business offerings of a brand.
2. Like the transition from blogs to micro-blogging sites such as Twitter, people want content in a digestible format quickly. A well designed mobile site app will provide this.
3. Apps are normally highly targeted forms of communication.
4. Good Apps offers clear navigation and a feature rich UI (User Interface).
5. Apps offer immediate access and can be organised in mobile devices by folder type or tiles, providing convenient access.
6. Native Apps position brands locally on a device creating a permanent brand presence
A FEW DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Here are some tips and advice points for managing the mobile medium.
1. Initially, gauge internal interest and understanding of mobile. Then, seek to educate and allocate appropriate budget to it.
2. Apps or mobile sites provide mobility for your product or service.
3. Initially consider an optimised website followed by a native application if your budget is restricted.
4. Review analytics to determine how many users are consuming content via mobile devices and what they are viewing.
5. If you select to develop a mobile optimised site verses a native app, the optimised version shouldn’t mirror your corporate site, it should provide a synopsis of its key attributes and information.
5. Design should complement usability and enhance the UI (user interface), not dictate its direction.
6. Smartphone navigation should clearly present your primary business objectives
7. There are multiple languages and operating systems in the smartphone ecosystem. Apple uses the iOS operating system and objective C, Google offer Android, which uses a Java or C++ language and Windows offer Windows Phone 7, which operates via several languages including .NET Framework, C# or the game development framework XNA.
8. Developing an App or mobile optimised site doesn’t automatically mean it will be compatible across all mobile device types.
9. Apps are native to mobile devices, whereas optimised websites require connectivity to the web.
10. Depending on your budget consider a hybrid model for development.
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09.12.2011
