Modern consumers are used to doing everything on their cell phones. We pay for lunch, buy concert tickets, order rides home, make hotel reservations, and do everything else all from our mobile devices. And since our smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, the best way for you to keep your business top-of-mind for your customers is to design convenient and intuitive mobile experiences.
Think of the best in-app experience you’ve had lately. For example, say you recently noticed you were running low on laundry detergent, and the next day your favorite online marketplace sent you a push notification reminding you to reorder your detergent, along with your other favorite household items that you order often. You click on the notification, go into the app, and complete your order in just a few taps. Easy, right?
Think of how much less convenient your shopping experience would have been if you would have had to navigate to the store’s website on your computer, find the item you needed, re-enter your credit card information and shipping address, and choose your shipping speed.
By designing a convenient and fast mobile purchasing experience, your favorite online marketplace fostered customer loyalty by giving you ways to shop that fit into your daily routine and required very little effort on your part.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can use engaging mobile experiences to increase customer engagement and build brand loyalty.
What is mobile customer engagement?
“Mobile customer engagement” is how brands use in-app experiences, push notifications, and mobile messaging channels to interact with their customers and entice them to shop, order from, or do business with the company more frequently.
Your mobile customer experience goes beyond just making it easy for your customers to shop in your app. You should also consider offering mobile customer support options like live chat and SMS so your customers can get help directly from their smartphones without having to switch devices, visit your store, or call your support line.
Why Your Mobile Customer Experience Matters
There are 7.5 billion mobile users around the world, and that number is only increasing. Rapidly evolving technology combined with the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the popularity of online shopping to skyrocket. In fact, according to an App Annie survey, 60% of buyers prefer to shop on their smartphones rather than go to a brick and mortar store.
Today’s consumers expect brands to earn their loyalty, and almost 40% of American adults say that a good customer experience includes being able to engage with a brand on the device of their choice. Your customers expect to be able to do business with you from their smartphone, and if they can’t, they may choose to do business with your competitors instead.
5 Ways to Improve Your Mobile Experience
Now that you’re convinced you need to design effortless mobile experiences, where do you start? Here are 5 ways you can start engaging your customers on mobile:
Create an SMS Marketing Strategy
SMS is short for Short Message Service Marketing. Or in simpler terms, advertising via text message. Savvy brands use SMS marketing to send offers and promotions directly to their customers’ cell phones, and it’s incredibly effective. In fact, SMS has a stunning 99% open rate, and 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes.
Offer customer support via SMS and Live Chat
The Attentive Mobile 2021 SMS Marketing Consumer Trends Report found that 70% of consumers want to receive customer support on their mobile device. Customers want to interact with brands the same way they do their family and friends, so make it easy for them to access help on their preferred device.
Optimize your site and app experience for mobile
Intentionally design intuitive mobile experiences. Ensure that all of your images are correctly sized and load quickly, make copy paragraphs short and easy to scan, and design navigation menus that are easy to use on mobile devices.
Make it personal
Let your customers know that your brand wants their business by always using their name in support interactions, emails, push notifications, and marketing text messages. It’s also a good idea to integrate your CRM with your customer service platform so your agents have a record of each customer’s past interactions with your brand.
Give customers incentives to use your app
Make sure it’s easy for customers to place an order, manage their account, add a new credit card, and access support through your app. Consider offering exclusive discounts and promotions for customers who order through your mobile app so you can maintain a cohesive brand experience.
By embedding your entire customer journey into your user’s mobile device and designing intentional mobile experiences, you can keep your brand top-of-mind, drive sales, and increase customer loyalty.
Author Bio
Meg Monk is a writer and digital marketer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She earned a B.A. in journalism from Brigham Young University, has over 10 years of professional writing and marketing experience, and currently leads content marketing at ujet.cx. Connect with her at megmonk.com or on LinkedIn.
