Hi there, it’s me, your customer. The one you spend millions of dollars – on mobile apps development and otherwise – trying to connect with during the waking hours? Ya, that one. Well, guess what? I am connected. But perhaps the term “connected” is misleading. I prefer to view myself as “empowered.” And if you want to connect with me, you first need to understand what this empowerment is, and I won’t lie, it borders on superpowers!
Don’t believe me?
What else would you call my ability to add items to my partner’s shopping list while sitting in a meeting? Or delighting my family by booking a long overdue family vacation while waiting for my train (which was late, as usual)? What about paying bills while waiting for my kids to perform at their school concert, only to capture photos and videos and then instantly sharing with friends and family all around the globe?
How about streaming music on long drives, and even changing the destination at the drop of a hat, all while never getting lost? I don’t ever really need to know where I am going. Instead, I can figure out both the journey and the destination along the way. My life is an adventure, one where I can simultaneously order toilet paper, crush candies, and reply to emails whether I am in the office or Switzerland.
Being able to accomplish anything from anywhere at any time is pretty incredible, isn’t it!? The digital experience I get through my mobile takes me far and beyond. From the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep, whether I am in the bathroom or the boardroom, I am connected.
But am I connected to you?
Please don’t mistake my empowerment for entitlement, and it doesn’t matter if you agree with my level of screen time or not. You only have two choices; you can either judge it or learn from it, and if engaging with me is important to you, I suggest the latter.
So what do you need to learn from these digital experiences?
Well, for starters you need to learn the tools I use, for, after all, it is my device that keeps me connected. But you need to go deeper than that if you want to truly connect with me. You need to know how I prefer to learn, discover, and how I make decisions. What I like and don’t like. What I want from my digital experience. You need to unearth what is important to me and what values drive my decision making. How do I like to be engaged? What keeps me loyal? And what a sucker I am for speed, comfort and convenience! That is my expectation from my digital experience.
Think I am asking a lot? Don’t.
I know you are collecting data on me as you work towards bettering the mobile apps development you’re tasked with, and I don’t mind it, as long as you use it to improve my life – my experiences. You should already know where I live, where I shop, what I buy, and maybe even what I do for a living. You probably know when my birthday is, how many kids I have, what new car I am interested in buying… so do something extraordinary with it!
I have given you the keys to the kingdom, a direct line to me. Stop viewing mobile experience as one of your marketing strategy channels and start viewing it as the KEY to your marketing strategy. Mobile has given me the convenience, the personalization, the value, the power, and the digital experience I prefer; and that won’t change because I am not willing to give it up.
But like Brad Jakeman, the marketing guru behind such illustrious brands as Macy’s, Citigroup, and currently Pepsi, says “The irony is that while there have never been more ways to reach consumers, it’s never been harder to connect with consumers.”
Thanks, Jake, you nailed it.
We consumers will continue to be connected, the only question is, will we connect to you?
