AutoMotionTV Releases Data on Dealer App Usage

AutoMotionTV analyzed over 70,000 application usage sessions from dealer mobile apps across the country. These dealer apps allow customers to interact and communicate with their dealer using their mobile phone. (Click images to enlarge).

Data highlights include mobile app engagement statistics, showing 35% of users spending between 1-3 minutes in the app, while 21% spent 3-10 minutes in app.


Retention data showed that 63% of users launched their dealer app multiple times the first or next day after download.


Data also showed a breakdown of device types, citing 61% using Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPods while Samsung-branded Android devices were the second largest.

“We’re excited to release this data and plan to continue providing a look at mobile apps in the dealership market”, stated AutoMotionTV President Ben Anderson.

With the number of Smartphone owners on the rise, many dealerships have considered new ways to connect with customers. Increasingly dealers are implementing mobile apps to capture mobile visitors, increase customer retention, and enhance engagement.

Mobile Visitors on the Rise

Dealership mobile visits are on the rise...

We know that the number of mobile devices accessing the web are increasing on a daily basis. What you might not know, however, is the approaching mobile tidal wave reports are predicting.

Cisco’s spring 2011 study cites 2010 mobile data traffic nearly tripled (2.6x) for the third year in a row. A Tech Crunch article states mobile traffic is expected to rise 40x in the next 5 years. Fortune’s August 2010 article sums it up: “The numbers don’t lie: Mobile devices overtaking PCs.”

The approaching tidal wave of mobile devices is creating a tsunami. In response, we need to evaluate how mobile users are connecting with our digital storefront.

Your Dealership Mobile Visitors

Do you know how much mobile traffic your site receives? Here is how to look this up with a Google Analytics account:

Log in to your Analytics account.
Once logged in, you need to look on the left hand column for “Visitors.”
Under “Visitors,” click on “Mobile.”
You will then see statistics of people who viewed your site with mobile phones.

Most likely you will be surprised at the amount of mobile traffic to your site. What you will find even more interesting – look at how that number of mobile hits has increased over the last few months. DealerRefresh showcased this topic in May of 2010. A lot of great information on mobile can be found by reading the comments section from participating dealers.

Hosting the video series “Mobile and the Dealer” allows me to discuss with dealerships around the nation. Dealers are consistently reporting 15-20%+ of total web traffic coming from mobile devices. This has increased ten fold for some over the last 12 months!

Bouncing or sticking?

Pay attention to how mobile visitors are engaging on your site. Specifically look at bounce rates of mobile visitors and compare them to traditional visitors. If you’re like many, you’ll see sky-high bounce rates on your mobile visitors. In this podcast: Eric Hanson talks about mobile visitor bounce rates of vegas.com and how optimization strategies effectively lowered those stats.

Understanding Mobile Visitor Behavior

Several reports are showing different behavior patterns for mobile visitors vs. desktop. This only makes sense, but we are now seeing data to back it up. What’s clear: giving a mobile user a desktop experience results in bounces and decreased conversion, if any.

Time on site metrics for traditional desktop users continues to be higher than metrics for mobile devices. Mobile visitors are on the go. They consume information many times in sections rather than a single sitting. The essence of being on the go doesn’t allow for prolonged spans of attention. An interesting study by ClickTale, puts some numbers to the speculation that mobile users don’t like to scroll. Long loading times, scrolling, zooming,: – all of these functions are turns off and contribute to bounces for a desktop formatted website.

Capturing Mobile Visitors

Top dealerships are providing a mobile-friendly experience for their customers. These dealerships are using mobile sites and dealership mobile apps designed to capture the customer, providing first the information they are seeking, then spurring them to action. If you buy a mobile site or mobile app from a quality vendor serving the dealer market, you’ll see a lot of attention has been placed on channeling the customer through a specific set of processes.

Now that dealer apps can be downloaded right from the dealership website, dealers are using apps to create long-term relationship channels with the customer from pre-sale to post-sale service and incentives.

As mobile device traffic increases, make sure your marketing strategy doesn’t forget your mobile customer.

Dealers: The Time to Start Investing in Mobile Apps is NOW

In the article “Top 5 Reasons your Business Should Have a Mobile App,” Manish Sehgal hits the nail on the head when regarding the importance of mobile apps:

…Mobile apps give you a direct channel of communication to your clients and fans, which can be used to push out exclusive and new content instantly to app holders. The key is not to treat your mobile app like a website. Your website is your billboard or the yellow pages. Once people find you, encourage them to grab your app. Use your app to offer special discounts, share exclusive content, or at least give app holders first dibs on whatever is new and special…

At AutoMotionTV, we can't emphasize enough how the time to start implementing dealership apps is now. A lot of times dealers are unsure about forming a mobile strategy. They want to wait until the market’s right, the product’s right, or the timing is right. And that approach just will not work with mobile.

Mobile is very similar to social media platforms such as Facebook. Facebook’s true value is when we as a dealership can get enough “fans” or enough “likes” to our dealership page which then allows us one on one access to communicate – it’s a communication channel with the customer. Dealership apps are very similar.

Mobile apps for dealerships are effective and allow us to have a large user base to communicate with. And so therefore, it is paramount today that you get a dealership mobile app out into the market. Start promoting, start marketing, and start bringing that mobile experience to your customers.

Results:

At AutoMotionTV, we’ve launched apps for dealers across the nation with results – thousands of results. Three weeks after launching the University VW app, over 1500 downloads were achieved. Weber Chevrolet brought on 1200 users in the first two months with their AutoMotionTV Dealer App. Start building your future customer communication channels now through mobile!

IDC: 8 Stats Why the Post-PC, Mobile Era Is Upon Us

Eric Lai | Mar 16, 2011

Big market researchers are rarely at the forefront of tech trends, as they must balance the viewpoints of startups, established vendors and enterprise IT buyers.

What firms like Gartner and IDC excel at is being a belwether for emerging trends, and providing empirical validation for them.

At its Directions 2011 conference in San Jose today, IDC Corp. analysts argued that we are entering the post-PC era of computing overflowing with data, devices and apps.

Ironically, this is a drum that SAP has been banging loudly for the past year. And gratifyingly, it is nearly identical to the Unwired Enterprise vision that Sybase has promoted since the middle of the last decade (see this whitepaper, which I had a hand in, summarizing this vision).

Here are some of the stats IDC shared, along with the implications.

1. Stat: It is 25 years (1986) since the industry began moving en masse towards client/server away from mainframes.

Implication: We are at similar transition from PC-server towards mobile devices. Already, there are “trillions of smart ‘things’ (sensors, devices, etc.), billions of users, millions of apps,” says Frank Gens, chief analyst for IDC.

2. Stat: 3 of the biggest companies that failed to transition to client-server were Cullinet (database maker that avoided new retailing model), Wang (word processor maker that chose CPU ignored by software developers) and Digital (overvalued by Wall Street).

Implication: Companies that made right moves made the leap: Dell (sold PCs by phone), EMC (took regular hard disks into the enterprise) and SAP (brought ERP from mainframe to client-server).

3. Stat: 80% of new enterprise apps to be distributed via the cloud. By 2014, 30% of enterprise application spending will be on the cloud.

Implication: Even enterprise apps will follow Apple’s App Store model, argues Gens.

4. Stat: There are 1.3 million mobile apps today, versus 50,000 to 75,000 PC applications, says Gens.

Implication: Most new apps will be vertical or industry-specific solutions.

5. Stat: 1.8 Zettabytes (1.8 billion TERABYTES) of data will be stored in 2011, up 47% year-over-year. That will grow to 7 Zettabytes in 2014.

Implication: “This is about BIG data,” says Gens, not relational databases. “This BREAKS traditional databases.”

6. Stat: 500 million smartphones and tablets to sell in 2011, versus 380 million PCs.

Implication: This is the transition year in which devices will pass PCs permanently.

7. Stat: Only 50% of smartphones and 20% of tablets in enterprise bought by IT, according to fall 2010 IDC survey.

Implication: Bring Your Own Device is huge, says IDC analyst Bob O’Donnell, and managers will need to account for that.

8. Stat: Worldwide, the average affluent consumer owns 4.8 devices, according to a recent IDC survey. In the US, that is up to 6.6 devices.

Implication: The market is hugely fragmented.

View Original Article: B2C

More information on the AutoMotionTV Dealer App.

HTML5 experience is subpar when compared to apps: CTIA panelist

By Rimma Kats

March 22, 2011

Discovery iPad app

ORLANDO, FL – The mobile apps versus Web debate took center stage during a panel at International CTIA Wireless 2011's Mobile Marketing & Promotion pre-conference program.

During the “Mobile Applications – The Rumors of Death are Highly Exaggerated” session, speakers talked about the new ideas driving mobile interaction and providing additional consumer touch points for agencies and brands through specially developed applications. The panel was moderated by Steve Spencer, president of Cayuga Service, New York.

“I don’t think apps are dying,” said Michael Schneider, CEO of Mobile Roadie, Los Angeles. “I think they need a reason to exist and right now a user experience on native apps is high and on HTML5 it’s low.

“A lot of people are looking for a direct revenue from apps,” he said. “I don’t know if all the mechanisms are there.”

According to Sean Rosenberg, managing director Grapple Mobile USA, New York, some applications are dying quickly.

“Location is a defining factor,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “Why make something that is customizable for a mobile device?

“If you’re seeing high repeat usage of mobile, segment that,” he said. “For publishers, there’s eyeballs to be had – there’s media to be created through these apps and sold.

“To increase the number of transactions and increase customer base – that’s where we see a lot of power.”

Android vs. iPhone
According to the panelists, companies that want to break into the mobile space should look at starting on Apple and Google operating systems.

“We started on Apple,” Mr. Schneider said. “I still think it’s the best platform to start.

“Android is catching up quickly,” he said. “In the next year, there are going to be three leaders – there’s going to be iPhone, Android and really, I don’t know what else.

“In general the iPhone and Android provide ease of use for companies looking to develop an application.”

Between iPhone and Android devices, Google has not figure out the payment mechanism of that, per Ted Shelton, CEO of Open-First, Milwaukee, WI.

“Apple has,” Mr. Shelton said. “Apple gets people to pay for apps.

“There are going to be millions of apps and people are only going to use a few,” he said.

Consumer experiences
According to Mr. Shelton, consumers want apps because they want a different experience than the mobile Web.

However, not every brand is using applications to their advantage.

Mr. Shelton said that companies should incorporate location-based services into their mobile marketing initiatives.

“If you look at mobile as an opportunity to rethink the work flow, use those location-based services,” Mr. Shelton said. “There’s an accelerometer on your device, you can use that.

“You can ask consumers if they are satisfied or not with the application by shaking their device,” he said. “You can get real-time feedback.”

Additionally, Mr. Shelton said that with mobile applications, comes mobile advertising.

However, advertising is in a long decline, per the executive.

“Advertising is fundamentally one way,” Mr. Shelton said. “Consumers would rather interact and once they interact they want to have an interesting dialogue.

“Ever since Apple introduced in-app purchases, it has creating a more compelling experience,” he said. “You will see Angry Birds get a seven-figure deal with in-app purchases.

“It won’t be an ad - it’ll be product placements and lead to a click rate.”

Ari Tiktin, director of Discovery Communications, Silver Spring, MD, said that the company mainly uses free and ad-supported applications.

Discovery sells mobile as a larger digital package.

“What’s different for us is where do you spend your money,” Mr. Tiktin said. “How do you get your app discovered?

“We try to put all of the stops,” he said. “We have great social media reach across all our shows.

“We do just whatever we can to promote our apps.”

Across platforms
According to the speakers, companies should make sure that their applications are available across key smartphone platforms.

For example, a consumers who is thinking of buying a Windows Phone 7 device, but finds out that Angry Birds is only available on iPhone and Android devices, will lose interest in Windows Phone 7.

Companies should make sure that they are on all devices to keep the user engagement and reach high.

“I think apps create the best experiences today,” said Mark Hyland, vice president of QuickPlay Media, Toronto, ON. “To a certain extent, an app can take better advantage of that hardware.

“Apps can normalize an experience across multiple devices,” he said. “Ads will work for apps with large scale usage.

“If people are going to use it everyday, then an app is definitely the way to go.”

View Original Article: Mobile Marketer

Why clicks don’t work in a mobile world

March 3, 2011

Zephrin Lasker is CEO of Pontiflex

By Zephrin Lasker

In an August 2010 article in Wired Magazine, Chris Anderson proclaimed that the Internet as we know it is dead.

“Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semi-closed platforms (apps) that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing.”

The Internet, Mr. Anderson concludes, is “less about the searching and more about the getting.”

Jobs throws book
Smartphone adoption rates have greatly increased the use of mobile applications.

According to Morgan Stanley, Internet mobile adoption rates are ramping up faster than the desktop Internet did, and the number of smartphone users is increasing exponentially.

The shift in consumer habits has led to mobile quickly becoming a must-buy for advertisers.

But capitalizing on the proliferation of mobile apps via advertising is easier said than done.

A large number of mobile advertising solutions today rely on click-based online display banners.

Yet click-based units do not create user-friendly experiences on mobile devices.

Steve Jobs recognized this problem when launching Apple’s mobile platform, iAd.

“Today when you click on a banner ad, it yanks you out of your app and throws you onto the advertiser’s Web page,” Mr. Jobs said at the 2010 iOS conference. “So people don’t click on the ads.”

Mobile ads that force people out of an app and take them to a clunky Web browser offer a sub-optimal user experience.

For this reason, the last year or so has seen the rise of in-app advertising solutions that aim to address this problem and engage users directly within apps.

According to Borrell Associates, the in-app mobile advertising market will rocket to $8 billion by 2015.

Two do
Today, there are primarily two types of in-app advertising solutions.

The first focuses on delivering a TV commercial-like experience.

Apple’s iAds platform, which delivers a branded experience in mobile app environments, is an example of this kind of ad.

IAd offers a deep branding experience at the moment of engagement and brands such as AT&T, BMW, Campbell, Dove and Nissan have used this model to engage consumers within mobile apps on the Apple iTunes store.

The second half of 2010 saw the launch of a new kind of in-app advertising on both the Android and iPhone platforms – mobile signup ads.

Mobile signup ads work by presenting users with a simple sign-up form where they can opt in to receive email communications from brands.

The advertiser then engages the user with branding messages after the initial touch point – via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Major brands such as the ASPCA, Tommy Hilfiger and Tiger Direct use signup advertising to deliver relevant deals and information to their prospect bases.

In-app mobile advertising may very well be what marketers need to finally kick the click.

Both iAds and mobile signup ads will allow marketers to measure mobile ad campaigns using more meaningful metrics than the abstract click-through.

With iAds, marketers can measure brand engagement metrics.

With signup ads, they can measure the number of people who have signed up and the quality of these signups, in addition to measuring how consumers respond over a lifetime via email or Facebook.

In both cases, the marketer gets a more meaningful view of the campaign and how consumers perceive their brand.

The jury is still out on whether click-based advertising works in the online world, but one thing is certain: the click-reliant model definitely will not work in the mobile world.

Zephrin Lasker is CEO of Pontiflex, New York. Reach him atzlasker@pontiflex.com.

View Original Article: Mobile Marketer

Embracing Automotive Mobile Marketing in Car Dealerships

by Missy Jensen on Mar 3, 2011

According to a recent cell phone study by Pew Internet, “85% of Americans ages 18 and older own a cell phone, making it by far the most popular device among adults” and a great opportunity for car dealerships to utilize for automotive mobile marketing purposes. Not too surprisingly, the study also found that a great deal of time spent on a mobile phone has nothing to do with talking! A large majority of people use their mobile phones to text, as well as visit social networks, surf the Internet and take/share photos. This type of behavior qualifies for a great opportunity to engage your target market in automotive sms marketing services for your dealership.

Since it is clearly evident that Americans have rapidly embraced mobile phones – and their various functionalities – dealerships should consider how to utilize mobile technology to improve automotive mobile marketing efforts. Here are a few recommended automotive text messaging solutions your dealership should strongly consider implementing:

1. Automotive Text Messaging Solutions: By nature, text messaging is meant to be short (160 characters) and to the point. It is well suited for sending relevant, timely and brief messages that are speaking directly to a customer’s need and/or interest. Of course, like other modes of communication, unwanted, irrelevant and unnecessary text messages will damage your relationship with customers. Therefore, some good ways to use text messaging in your automotive mobile marketing efforts – without becoming an annoyance – is to send texts related to:

• Service: service reminders, appointment reminders, missed appointment notifications, additional service recommendations, arrival of a special parts order, and thank you.
• Sales: notification of approaching lease termination, birthday, anniversary, and thank you.

It’s a good idea to get started with text messaging as a form of communication for your dealership because your current young target audience members are texting fanatics. Young adults (ages 18-24) exchange on average 1,630 messages monthly, according to Nielsen. Note: You definitely want to get your customers to opt-in to receive text messages. This can be done at the dealership or by implementing an opt-in submission form on your website. Either way, your dealership must gain consent before sending texts to customers and have an opt-out option available should they no longer wish to receive texts from your dealership.

2. QR Codes: If you don’t know what QR codes are, they are the 2-dimensional barcodes that store information that can be read by a mobile phone or device. You’ve likely seen everywhere lately: magazine advertisements, promotional pieces and emails, for example. They are easily scannable barcodes that, when you point your smartphone camera at them, they provide a message, open a website or produce other branded content. The use of QR Codes is a step toward fully taking advantage of mobile marketing for the automotive industry.

While many OEMs are implementing QR codes in their automotive mobile marketing efforts, car dealerships at the local level can also use them to engage customers in various ways. One way is to interact with those who peruse their lots during off hours. A QR code for each used vehicle can be created through a free QR-generator site (such as Kaywa), printed (whether on paper or in sticker form) and posted on the vehicle. When customers scan the code, they are brought to a page on your dealership’s website regarding that specific vehicle to obtain any additional information and even specials on pricing/financing. QR codes can also be included in your print advertising, whether it be your newspaper ads or direct mail pieces…again, leading traffic to your website. Lastly, your dealership can place a QR code on service department receipts to lead customers to an online customer service survey.

Though QR codes are fairly new, they are definitely growing in popularity and serve as a great tool to bridge the real and digital world.

3. Automotive Mobile Apps – Smart phone applications are all the rage. How many times have you heard “There’s an app for that!”? Well, even car dealerships are intrigued by the possibility of developing a customized app.

AutoNation has developed a customized app that allows you to explore their new and used car inventory from the comfort of your Smart Phone. Additionally, it allows you to estimate the Kelley Blue Book value of your current car.

Similar to QR codes above, Mobile Apps allow your dealership to maintain an additional touch point with your customers, providing critical information about vehicles and your dealership (such as directions and contact information) in a very user friendly way. If your current website isn’t mobile optimized, then a mobile app is the best way to share your critical web content to people surfing on a smartphone.

We’ve listed a few ways above for dealerships to include mobile as part of their overall automotive mobile marketing efforts. Has your dealership implemented any mobile efforts? What has your experience been thus far?

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager at DMEautomotive

Bio:
Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com and check her out on LinkedIn.

See Original Article:

SBA Names Minnesota Young Entrepreneur of the Year

MINNEAPOLIS – Ben Anderson, President of Cinemotion, LLC based in Minneapolis, Minn., has been named the Minnesota Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Young Entrepreneur of the Year is selected annually based on success as measured by sales and profits, increased employment opportunities created by the business, development and/or utilization of innovative or creative business methods, and demonstrated entrepreneurial potential necessary for long-term business success and economic growth. Michael Ryan, Director of the Twin Cities Small Business Development Center at the University of St. Thomas, nominated Anderson for this award.

Anderson started Cinemotion with meager savings and little equipment out of his student apartment in 2001 while studying entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas. Cinemotion started as a video production company, producing high-quality advertisements and videos for corporate clients.

In 2006, Anderson introduced the AutoMotionTV Video Library. The company created a library of vehicle videos and currently licenses those videos to thousands of auto dealerships for use in online marketing efforts.

In 2010, Cinemotion introduced the AutoMotionTV Dealer App Creation Platform. It’s a mobile-focused tool that helps manufacturers and dealers create long-term customer relationship channels using mobile apps.

Now based in downtown Minneapolis, Cinemotion has grown from a one-man operation to over twenty full and part time employees. The company reached its first profitable quarter in 2008, doubled in size in 2009, and expects to double again in 2011.

Anderson’s initial success led to a 2005 Pentair Prize “Student Entrepreneur of the Year: and a $5,000 scholarship for the University of St. Thomas College of Business. Anderson also received the 2006 Minnesota Collegiate Entrepreneur Award and was named Great Lakes Regional Collegiate entrepreneur by the Anderson Entrepreneurial Center. (And no, he’s not related to the family for whom the center is named.)

Dr. Alec Johnson, associate professor entrepreneurship in the St. Thomas Opus college of Business, lauded Anderson’ entrepreneurial qualities: “He is a problem solver and doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He shows a willingness to reinvent himself, and that’s an impressive quality to have at this stage in his career.”

For more information:

Ben Anderson

President

Cinemotion, LLC

123 3^rd Street North

Suite 604

Minneapolis, MN 55401

612-353-4125

Data-Driven Marketing: Mobile by the Numbers

Jeff Adelson-Yan | Mar 01, 2011

Thanks to a recent webinar we watched presented by Google, we have these number to present to you…

Over Half of all Americans will have smart phones by the end of 2011

17% of all auto industry searches are from mobile devices

79% of large advertisers do not have a mobile optimized site.

Mobile web use increases greatly on weekends as desktop web use decreases.

What does all of this tell us? It’s time to get serious about creating mobile strategies and thanks to a recent webinar from Google, we have some great tips on how to do just that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the time to hesitate has passed. Check out some of these statistics…

According to eMarketer, mobile transactions will total nearly $1 trillion by 2014. WOW.

Mobile is Local and 33% of mobile searches are local.

Mobile is a Shopping Companion as 79% of smart phone users will use their phones when at a store while considering a purchase decision.

So now that you’ve seen the raw statistics. Here’s what you need to do:

Optimize Website for Mobile Use- ease of use, navigation and simplification of site is important. See our post Data-Driven Marketing Tips for Optimizing for Mobile.

Think Local – and assess how your company can use mobile to provide value. This could come in a variety of ways, from Store locator options, to using QR codes on products to allow for greater information distribution. Put yourself in the shoppers shoes, they’re racing around during their daily life and bam they need X product. How can you delivery great customer service to them in a mobile fashion? After looking up a local business on their smart phone, 61% of users called the business and 59% visited.

Leverage Mobile Features – There are so many great ways to optimize for mobile now. Features like Click to call, location extensions, site links for navigation on site, and use of display advertising can all be implemented to better engage the consumer. Consider that mobile is immediate and a shopping companion.

Create Separate Campaigns for Mobile- Organization in any ad campaign is critical, and this is certainly the case with mobile. By segmenting your adwords into a mobile only campaign you can bid more aggressively for higher rank.

Test and Iterate – Finally continue to test and optimize your strategy.

View Original Article: B2C

Using Web site best practice to increase mobile site conversion

February 28, 2011

Mark Simpson is founder and president of Maxymiser

By Mark Simpson

At the beginning of every year for the past decade, we have heard industry experts proclaim that it will be the “year of the mobile Web.”

Now we are saying it again, but this time it looks like the real deal. This year will be the true test of brand marketers’ mobile madness and aptitude as consumers continue to turn to their Web-enabled mobile devices as a daily means of quick, on-the-go brand interaction, buying research and, now, shopping.

A recent comScore survey found that the United States is home to 60.7 million smartphone users, up 14 percent from the previous quarter.

With smartphone use on the rise, mobile marketers who are not using conversion optimization and Web site personalization techniques on their mobile sites will fall behind as mobile-savvy competitors take the lead in market share growth in 2011.

Optimizing mobile sites
Mobile site development and usability have been challenging, uncharted territories for most online marketers. To be effective, I have found that mobile sites need to be:

• Tested (multivariate and A/B testing) and optimized so that consumers are continuously served relevant (and only relevant) content

• Designed specifically so that content and design fit the limited size of mobile screens

• Personalized so that consumers receive the information they need, when they need it

It is critical to remember that not everything is relevant in a mobile environment.

The trick is to figure out what your customers need most from you in their on-the-go lives.

For example, retail consumers typically use their handheld devices to locate stores quickly or compare prices, but not to browse through dense pages of product information and promotional offers.

Similarly, banking consumers might feel comfortable using their handheld devices to check their account balances, but not to apply for a mortgage.

Make sure you know what your customers need and want from their mobile environment, before you determine the content, design and layout.

Making mobile marketing work
The world of mobile marketing is becoming increasingly competitive as more brands dip their toes in the mobile waters.

We experienced a very similar trend a few years ago when conversion optimization for standard Web sites emerged.

Multivariate testing, A/B testing, segment targeting and Web site personalization on traditional Web sites have proven to be very effective tools for increasing conversion rates and online revenue.

But now, marketers must put the same tools and best practices to work for handhelds.

Amazon’s continued dominance in the ecommerce industry is a result of its ability to rigorously test, personalize and optimize its sites.

Online marketers who follow Amazon’s lead for their mobile site content from the onset will gain a foothold in the mobile commerce industry. Those who do not will lose the opportunity to lead the market.

Get ahead of the game
Fortunately, we now possess the technology to continuously perform mobile A/B and multivariate testing, which pinpoints the most relevant combination of content and design for your audience.

In my experience, testing is the fastest and most effective way to pull out the strongest features of your mobile site and optimize accordingly.

However, testing solutions are only truly valuable if you make the content and design modifications in real-time.

Often, such technologies also have the ability to recognize differences between the wide range of mobile devices and platforms, and serve the most relevant content in an effective design, based on screen size, resolution and alignment.

Mobile site optimization ensures that your customers can receive the content they need, how they need it and when they need it most.

Personalize the mobile experience
Once your mobile site is optimized for your general audience, it is important to personalize the experience for each individual.

Web site personalization for the mobile experience further ensures that customers’ needs are met, but also allows them to feel a closer connection to your brand.

Handheld digital devices serve personal data storage purposes for emails, appointments and presentations, often painting a near-complete picture of a person’s lifestyle and preferences.

Many consumers consider these devices to be an extension of them, which is why it is crucial for them to be able to access a mobile site that meets their individual needs and desires.

The key to Web site personalization is a strong conversion optimization platform that allows you to reach consumers with ideal content for the mobile environment.

Due to the lack of real estate for multiple messages, it is more important for mobile sites to be personalized to the individual than traditional Web sites.

However, while using data about individuals and how they interact with a brand through traditional online means, the mobile Web and other channels provide an opportunity for marketers to nail their brand messaging.

Marketers must combine and analyze information about a consumer’s device, including the time of the day, day of the week, the points from which they access specific pages and their movement throughout the mobile site.

By serving the right information to the right individual in the right format, marketers can make every visitor count.

Allow for communication between channels
Time and time again, I see companies optimizing in silos, failing to properly connect their mobile efforts with the rest of their marketing strategy.

Yet, customers are, and will continue to, engage with brands across multiple channels.

Whether a customer uses a Web site, mobile site or bricks-and-mortar store, her brand experience should be consistent and personalized to her preferences and needs – regardless of the channel.

Few marketers currently take advantage of multichannel marketing tools that can create a 360-degree detailed view of each customer, and empower effective, automated Web site personalization during their mobile experience and beyond.

Marketers should be engaging with multichannel marketing now to outperform competitors.

AS THE MOBILE expands over the next year and more companies understand the benefits of these tools, conversion optimization and Web site personalization services for mobile are likely to gain significant popularity.

Marketers that take the leap today with these services will certainly find themselves ahead of the curve tomorrow.

Mark Simpson is founder and president of Maxymiser Inc., New York. Reach him at mark@maxymiser.com.

Using QR Codes In Your Dealership

QR Codes

No doubt you’ve heard of QR codes or have at least seen these two dimensional pieces of art in a variety of places. QR stands for “quick response”, developed by the Denso division of Toyota to quickly identify parts. Widely used in many other parts of the world, QR codes have taken a while to catch on with US consumers. With the rush of mobile devices, QR codes are now quick finding their way into a variety of marketing venues.

In a basic sense, a QR code simply replaces a step for the mobile user. Instead of manually inputting a URL or dialing a phone number, a scan of a QR code can accomplish the same task. Simply scan the code using your mobile device and be taken to the virtual destination. Before dismissing QR codes as a simple novelty, note that in today’s fast paced environment, typing in a URL or dialing a number may be too distracting, time consuming, resulting no user action. QR codes offer yet another time-saver for users.

How They Work

Some mobile devices now come standard with a QR reader, others require a download from an app store. Most readers are free, while some with advanced features are offered at a minimal price. Either can be obtained by simply searching “QR reader” in your app store. The QR reader uses the camera in your mobile device to scan QR codes. Try it here, it’s simple and fast.

Why QR Codes for Car

Shoppers?

QR codes have been shown

to be particularly effective with research-intensive products. Cellar Key uses QR codes on bottles of wine to inform, entertain, and motivate buyers. Jennifer Van Grove’s article at Mashable notes that “Scanners can watch videos about the wine in question, get video tours of wineries, discover food pairings, read up on harvest and tasting notes and check out reviews.”

Could the same strategy be used on the dealer lot?

Create your QR code

There are a variety of free options to create QR codes for your marketing efforts:

Kaywa is a QR code generator for URLs, text, phone numbers, or SMS.

iCandy aids in tracking around generator codes and provides some analytics.

Google’s take on QR codes mixes in URL shorteners and includes tracking services.

Market your Code

Window Stickers: We’ve been seeing some innovative dealers use QR codes on the lot (Window stickers with printed QR Codes help consumers). Lot shoppers, especially those browsing afterhours, are able to scan, download a dealer app, and check inventory right on their mobile phone.

Marketing Materials: While an obvious use, this should not be overlooked. Include business cards, fliers, brochures, and mass mail campaigns in the list of potentials. Use QR codes on envelopes to increase your direct mail response rates.

Specials: Consider incentivizing your customer with a coupon or discount through a QR code. Hide the QR code inside your Facebook page or website. Hide it in your store or on the lot – create a treasure hunt.

On business cards: A fast and simple way to use QR codes for your own professional purposes is to place them on business cards. Generate a barcode that directs scanners to your online resume, small business Facebook Page or your website to help new contacts find you or your business faster.

On marketing materials: You’ve got fliers, brochures, programs, handouts, whitepapers and a myriad of other materials in your media kit. Add QR codes to direct viewers to a particular how-to video, send them to a Flickr photo set, get them to follow you on Twitter, or point them to a mobile-friendly landing page that promotes a new campaign. For inspiration, check out what the Detroid Red Wings did with QR codes in their arena programs.

Educate the user

If you use QR codes in marketing, be aware that not all consumers know what it is or how to use a QR code. Include a brief description below your code on how to scan and how to obtain a QR reader.

If you’re going to use QR codes for small business marketing, you’ll want to keep in mind that QR codes — and the apps that scan them — are still foreign to most people.

Yes, more and more people are starting to associate the codes with action, but never assume your customers will know what to do. Make it a point to spell out how to scan the QR code, and help instruct customers on where they can grab scanner apps.

Tracking QR Codes

While some QR generators contain analytics, simple use of traceable URL shorteners like bit.ly can give you a basic analysis of your campaign. Use a unique traceable shortened URL as the destination of your QR code to get a singular view of your QR campaign’s effectiveness.

All In All

Don’t just assume that you might gain some traction with a campaign based solely on the novelty or the “buzz” surrounding QR Code right now. I encourage you to think down the road and execute creatively in your use of QR Codes. There is virtually no limit to the ways in which you might make excellent use of this technology to enhance your advertising and marketing efforts in order to achieve your goals.