4 Things Mobile Users Need

With the speed at which mobile technology and innovation is occurring these days, it's almost impossible to keep up. With more and more consumers adopting smartphones or tablets and relying on them in everyday shopping decisions, it's put them in the driver's seat. As a business owner, it's your job to keep up. The best way to keep up with mobile consumers is to understand their needs. I've been thinking a lot lately about an interview I had with Brad Frost, a thought leader in the responsive design community. He broke down what is essentially the mobile hierarchy of needs. He used the pictured pyramid to discuss a mobile user's needs as it relates to a mobile website; however, I believe these needs apply to more than just mobile Web … In fact, I think these four needs are key to business success when integrating mobile into the business. 1. Access At the foundation of the pyramid, you have Access. As Frost will tell you, this means giving the users what they want. When we're talking about mobile Web, this essentially means giving them the info they are looking for. If they came to your site for tips on cooking the perfect steak … they should be able to find that. As for overall mobile strategy, you need to consider what your mobile customer needs. Can you give them access to tools that will help them in their lives? Can you give access to specials or coupons while they are on the go? Access is the first and most important component of success with mobile. 2. Interaction As Frost mentioned in our conversation, interaction usually results in navigation as it pertains to your mobile website. Simply, can the user get around your site to accomplish the desired result? When considering your overall strategy, creating campaigns that allow consumers to interact with you and your business will often lead to deeper engagement and increased conversion opportunities. 3. Performance Performance is often overlooked—mainly because marketers make too many assumptions about our user. Your users won't always have the fastest Internet connection and, despite that, expect your site to load faster than the desktop, although that rarely happens when looking at most mobile sites vs. their desktop counterparts. Your mobile strategy should be focused on performance, as well. When I think of performance from a strategic standpoint, I think of giving the users what they want as fast and efficiently as possible at my lowest cost. 4. Enhancement At the top of the pyramid, we have enhancement. As Frost explained, mobile is inherently different from desktop. Mobile browsers can do things that desktop browsers cannot. If your customer needs to complete a mobile Web form, you can offer your user different keyboards to help provide important info, such as a phone number. When it comes to strategy, it's important to remember mobile is different. Thus, you must consider how you can leverage that in reaching your goals. Can you use location or the accelerometer to give extra value to your customers as you begin to better understand their context? Whether you're developing a mobile website or looking for guides as you develop a winning mobile strategy, moving forward with the hierarchy of mobile needs in mind puts you in the best position to succeed. As a small business owner, this can be your advantage. Because, quite frankly … many big brands fail to do this today. Now it's your turn … What are you doing to satisfy your customer's mobile needs?

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4 Things Mobile Users Need

Greg Hickman

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Greg Hickman