The Mobile Customer: Adapting CX Strategies for a Mobile-First World
The ubiquity of mobile devices has brought about a profound shift in the way we live, work, and interact with businesses. As the world becomes increasingly mobile-centric, it is vital for people-powered businesses to adapt their employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX) strategies to cater to the needs and expectations of mobile users (a.k.a everyone). Here’s how to ensure both your employee and customer experience are 21st century-proofed.
The Frontline Perspective:
Let’s start with the frontline, which happens to be exactly where you should start in your CX journey. As Laurie Reuttimann so greatly put it, “Just because your frontline workers are out there and don’t sit in front of a computer, doesn’t mean you shouldn't invest in technology, tools, and platforms that help them with their learning”. In order for your frontline teams to deliver awesome experiences, they need to have access to the tools and technology to help them thrive. But not just any tools and technology. Mobile tools and technology. As Laurie points out, frontline workers are often not sitting behind a desk in the office, but are out there on the field delivering experiences face to face. Whether that’s in customers homes’ delivering pest control services, on the medical table providing dental care or underneath a car providing mechanical services, they often don’t have access to a desktop computer throughout their entire work day.
This means that in order for frontline tools and tech such as customer feedback platforms, workflow planners, communication tools and CRM software to be effective, they need to be easy to access and use on mobile. Unfortunately, service businesses on the whole are behind on this. Many frontline workers don’t even have access to tools and technology to improve their experience, let alone access on mobile.
However, if you’re a service business looking to optimize your customer experience, and you haven’t yet invested in mobile-first frontline tools and technology, a huge opportunity awaits you. When you connect your frontline heroes to real-time communication, customer feedback, manager support and customer information that they can access in their pockets – their experience dramatically improves, which ripples out to the experience they deliver. It’s a simple equation of EX → CX → Loyalty → Growth.
The Customer Perspective:
Now that we’ve touched on how to optimize your employee experience with mobile, let’s explore strategies to ensure your mobile customer experience is 10/10.
1. Mobile-Optimized Websites and Apps
What do you do when you’re looking for a service? 9 times out of 10, you Google it. And according to Statista, 53% of those Google searches come from mobile. Therefore, it’s essential that your web experience on mobile is accessible, easy and even fun to use. Your content should be easily adaptable to different screen sizes, ensuring users can access information, make bookings or purchases and get support without friction. Whacky page structures and mobile glitches are a sure-fire way to lose your customers to a competitor.
If you want to take your mobile experience to the next level, developing a dedicated mobile app can provide a personalized and convenient experience. Starbucks, for example, has a mobile app that allows users to place orders, earn rewards, and pay in-store, making their customer experience easy, fun and rewarding!
2. Mobile Feedback
Ensure your customers can provide feedback about their experience on their mobile devices. Sending long surveys that can only be accessed by desktop reduces completion rates, and is often a hindrance to an awesome experience, rather than a cherry on top to a wonderful one.
Instead, send short surveys made up of 1-3 questions to your customer’s mobile devices as soon as they wrap up an experience with your brand. With a few taps, customers can provide you with a treasure trove of insights that will help you deliver on what matters most to your customers. To make the most impact, make sure your frontline teams can see this real-time feedback on their own mobile devices so feedback can be acted upon, not just collected.
3. Prioritize Speed and Performance
Mobile users expect instant gratification, and any delay can be detrimental to their experience. In fact, 53% of mobile site visitors will leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load, as reported by Google. Therefore, optimizing the speed and performance of your mobile platforms is non-negotiable.
Compress images, reduce scripts, and prioritize content that loads quickly to ensure a snappy, responsive experience. Be sure to test speed and performance on a variety of mobile devices and browsers.
4. Streamlined User Journeys
Simplicity is key in the mobile-first world. Consider the success of ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, where users can book a ride with a few taps. Ensure your user journeys are straightforward and devoid of unnecessary steps or input fields. The less taps, the better! For example, a customer booking form should only contain essential fields. Focus on the ‘must-haves’ rather than the ‘nice to haves’.
Mobile users are often looking for quick solutions or information, and a complicated navigation process or lengthy booking form or feedback survey can be a major turn-off.
5. Mobile Analytics and Data Insights
Harness the power of mobile analytics to gain insights into your customers’ behavior. Tools like Google Analytics and App Analytics can provide valuable data to help you understand how users engage with your mobile platforms. You can use this data to identify pain points and areas for improvement in your mobile experience. For instance, you may find that customers drop off after getting to your ‘get a quote’ page, which may indicate your quote form is asking too much of the customer, or the information on the page is unclear.
Analytics can reveal which features of your app or website are most used and which ones are causing frustration, allowing you to make informed adjustments to optimize the experience. This is especially interesting when comparing desktop vs mobile stats.
6. Mobile Customer Support
Mobile users often seek instant support. Implement user-friendly, responsive customer support channels like live chat, accessible phone lines, social media support, and mobile-optimized FAQs. Easy access to support can make a world of difference in the mobile customer experience.
In the blog post “The AskNicely Team Share Their Most Memorable Customer Experiences”, one thing that stuck out to both Yesi and Kirsten was the instant mobile support they receive when seeking their services. "Speed & communication matter just as much as the quality of workmanship” says Kirsten.
The better you can adapt your employee experience and customer touchpoints to mobile, the happier your employees and customers will be. Businesses that adapt their CX strategies accordingly will be better positioned to meet the evolving demands and expectations of an ever-connected, on-the-go workforce and customer-base. By focusing on mobile optimization, performance, streamlined user journeys, mobile feedback, data-driven insights, and quick, easy mobile support, companies can deliver exceptional customer experiences in a mobile-first world, ultimately driving growth and customer loyalty.
