40% of ecommerce executives believe it’s harder to deliver a positive customer experience on mobile than online.
And the number one issue they see? Navigation and findability for mobile users.
I find a lot of the discussion about mobile navigation eerily similar to the early discussions of navigation on the web. There still seems to be a belief by some leaders that we must offer everything on the web on mobile devices. Customers show over and over, however, that best practices for mobile should be about considering what users are doing there.
1. Consider the mobile context.
Is the customer trying to locate your business while on the go? The mobile experience should make that easy, not buried in the contact us section. Some banking mobile sites figured out that customers navigating to banking sites on their mobile devices were looking for information on their accounts. The sites’ options were limited to what made sense.
2. Who are you calling fat fingers?
How many of us have had to squint and aim for a barely legible link on a phone and missed? Amazon’s mobile sites are chock-full of BIG buttons for this particular reason. Hard to miss and easy to see, it’s a win.
3. Don’t force everyone to get an app.
Apps are not always the answer. Sometimes, they make perfect sense. I use apps constantly, especially those I use often, like Podio or Starbucks. But we sometimes just want information and access via our mobile device. Starbucks is lauded for their app, which is a leader for customer payment via mobile, but their mobile site addresses just what customers might need or want and doesn’t force users to download the app for the goodies like the blog or the store locator.
4. Know your customers.
If you know who your customers are (step one) and what they’re most likely trying to do (step two) then you can piece together the best mobile experience for them. If you don’t really know who they are, you’ll offer mobile experiences for customers who aren’t your own. Offering everything to everyone rarely works, so limit the choices for YOUR customers via mobile.
But back to the question, is mobile customer experience harder to deliver? Herein lies the rub. Any customer experience is difficult to deliver if you don’t know what you’re trying to do. If you don’t understand the mission of your customer experience, what your business goals are, and what makes the most sense for your customers, it’s always challenging.
Helping your customers find what they need on mobile is like any other channel.
Determining what the goals are and what your customers will need in that moment of the journey will drive a better experience. Don’t fall for the talk of mobile trends or different mobile customers. They are customers who need things in the moment they need them. Help them do that and everyone wins.
Jeannie Walters
Jeannie Walters is the Chief Customer Experience Investigator™ and founder of 360Connext, a global consulting firm specializing in the cornerstones of customer experience: customer engagement, employee engagement and connections like social media. 360Connext serves mid-market companies and larger by helping them evaluate their true customer experience. The evaluations always lead to improvements which then lead to results like increased online conversions or loyalty.
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