3 Reasons Brands Need A Mobile-First Strategy In 2017

Mobile is now more than ever the first screen of our lives. From the morning alarm to the bedtime music, we live and breathe mobile. While traditional marketers are concerned about measuring ROI on mobile efforts, they should realize mobile provides a cohesive experience across the entire consumer journey. A mobile-first strategy could help brands better engage with customers in 2017, and here’s why:

1. Mobile is the fastest-growing media consumption channel

Recent research shows that the average mobile user in the U.S. spends five hours per day on the phone, which is nearly twice the time spent  consuming television. eMarketer predicts that 2017 would be the year that mobile ad spending eclipses desktop ad spending, and account for nearly a quarter of total media spending to boot. By 2019, the researcher predicts that mobile ad spending will rise to $65.49 billion. There’s no slowing down. Mobile is proven to grow strong and it will take over more consumption time from traditional media.

2. Mobile gives immediate responses and solutions

Mobile used to be a communication channel but now it’s more than just a phone. With Internet access, mobile comes in handy whenever we have a question. How is the weather going to be? How late is the restaurant open? Where is the closest Starbucks? When you are walking on the street, you expect immediate answers from your smartphone to decide your next destination. Mobile provides customers a more convenient physical touchpoint to access information. It also gives brands a perfect channel to communicate with customers and be there when needed.

3. Mobile is personal and customized

We bring our smartphones everywhere we go. With apps allowing us to customize how we want to communicate and read news, our devices now know what we like to read and where we like to go. Users customize their own digital experience with mobile, and that’s why they also find the information they get from mobile more relatable and trustworthy. Brands can also take advantage of the large amount of user data from customization to create personal touch with customers.

Personal, immediate, contextual, and frictionless are believed to be today’s rules of engagement. The first two elements are not hard to accomplish when brands work with a mobile strategy. The next step is to create a relatable and frictionless campaign that reaches customers at the moment of truth or along the consumer journey. For brands that wish to be there for customers, the time is now.