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The Future of Mobile Tech

Where Marketing, Business and Strategy Are Headed Next

Insights gathered at MobCon U.S. 2015

Table of Contents

What mobile means now

Follow the data

The evolution of mobile user experience design

App monetization in 2016

What’s next for mobile?

What does it take to engage users today?

Hacking mobile — capabilities and uses reimagined

Using data to drive decisions

Worldwide mobile usage and UX trends

Monetizing mobile

Mobile futurists forecast

App Darwinism in the mobile marketplace

Standing out in the Age of the Consumer

MobCon — a meeting of technologists

Using data to drive design and development

Barriers to tech adoption

Capitalizing on mobile moments

Most sought after demographic by companies who attended MobCon

Pairing data-based design with lean UX to save budget and sanity

Mobile opportunities with the most promise

Importance of a multi-touch marketing strategy

The power of multimedia

Organizational challenges around tech advancement

Personalize the user experience

Purchasing behavior of mobile consumers

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1

What mobile means nowAnd what innovators are doing about it

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Hacking mobile — capabilities and uses reimagined

Even for digital natives who have grown up with a phone, computer, tablet or wearable in their hands, there are insights to be learned and deconstructed as the technology and its capabilities continue to evolve at breakneck speeds.

Every day, developers and innovators are hacking existing technology and transforming its original use into something previously unimagined.

Mobile doesn’t mean the same thing it once did. It’s no longer just a way to connect people. Mobile is how people explore. How they track biometrics. How they tell stories. Mobile is a way for businesses to glean enormous swaths of information about their target audiences. It’s a portal into behavior, tastes and needs. Mobile is for people in motion. It has expanded to include tablets, wearables, metabolic tracking and the collection, aggregation and analysis of financial habits. Mobile offers an ever-evolving way to understand our world and how we live in it.

MobCon — A meeting of technologists

In 2012, MentorMate recognized the seismic potential for mobile and its yet-to-be-conceived tech successors. Thus, MobCon was born. The mobile technology and strategy conference brings strategists, architects, developers, innovators, technologists and business professionals together to deconstruct what mobile means today and where it’s going.

Synthesizing attendee learning

MobCon represented one of the most interesting cross sections of the tech space — designers, content strategists, project managers, CIOs, CTOs, developers and more. At MobCon they were in the same rooms, talking about the same challenges. The insights captured in this paper are the result of surveying and learning from this highly influential audience.

Additionally, speaker presentations and notes were reviewed and analyzed to complete post-conference industry trend and attendee perspective analysis.1

1 Following MobCon, we surveyed the 393 onsite attendees excluding additional registrants and received 94 responses. With a confidence interval of 95% the margin of error for the survey is 9%. The survey was sent via email and included 18 questions related to the attendee experience at MobCon, industry, trends and challenges. The survey period lasted approximately a week and a half.

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Most sought after demographic by companies who attended MobCon

From account directors to project managers to content strategists and Xamarin developers, the attendee pool for MobCon 2015 was diverse. And so were the target audiences they most keenly wanted to reach.

Top audiences

The 25-45-year-old market was by far the most popular target audience attendees were interested in understanding. Nearly 80% of respondents were interested in engaging the group. Attendee interest in 25-45-year-olds was followed by a desire to reach the over 45 audience and women 25-45. It is also worth mentioning 9% of speaker presentations at MobCon mentioned Millennials, a highly-sought after and influential market in its own right.

Least desired audiences

Attendees were as interested in reaching the male audience aged 18-24 as the female audience aged 18-24. Though, these segments were less desired than other groups. Attendees were also less likely to indicate an interest in garnering the under 18 audience.

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MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

What target audience does your business seek to reach?

Today’s leaders must keep one hand on the wheel managing the business functions of today and at the same time steer a strategic course anticipating new opportunities the future may bring.

Organizational challenges around tech advancement

Aligning stakeholders, incorporating new technology with legacy platforms and refining sales channels bring a host of challenges for businesses.

Children under 18 10%

Women 18-24 23.3%

Men 18-24 24.44%

18-24-year-olds 47.78%

Women 25-45 48.89%

Men 25-45 42.22%

25-45-year-olds 78.89%

Women 45+ 42.22%

Men 45+ 40%

45+ 65.56%

5

We asked MobCon 2015 attendees their most pressing organizational challenge related to tech advancement. Lack of strategy outranked the five other options by a slight margin followed by a lack of personnel to execute the strategy. Beyond a limited understanding of tech potential, resources, support, strategy or personnel to execute the strategy, attendees shared the following challenges implementing the latest technology into day-to-day operations or user engagement.

Additional challenges

MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

What describes your most pressing organizational challenge related to tech development?

Limited understanding of tech potential 12.22%

15.56%

Limited organizational support 15.56%

Lack of strategy

Lack of personnel to execute strategy

Other 10%

25.56%

21.11%

14.29% Time Scalability

Little understanding of UX and research Talent acquisition

Lack of users Keeping up with tech trends

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What does it take to engage users today?Best practices explained

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Standing out in the Age of the Consumer

The democratization of media has made it easier for consumers to find exactly what they seek and harder for brands to stand out in the fray.

It doesn’t matter who you are or who you serve. Entrepreneurs and established businesses are asking the same thing. Users have more commerce, finance and personal wellness options than ever before. And the tide of long tail offerings that may or may not bloom into major industry players shows no signs of quelling. So, what does this mean?

Forrester has called it the “Age of the Consumer.” 2 Consumers don’t just seek tangible goods. They seek knowledge. Entertainment. And social inclusion.

Capitalizing on mobile moments

According to Forrester, consumers pick up their mobile devices between 150-200 times per day. That amounts to a total of 30 BILLION mobile moments every 24 hours. Yet only 14% of companies today are leveraging mobile (yes, 14%) to improve their customer experience. 3

2 Ask, Julie. 2016 Predictions: Key Trends will transform mobile engagement. November 15, 2015. http://blogs.forrester.com/julie_ask/15-11-10-2016_predictions_key_trends_will_transform_mobile_engagement

3 See Ask.

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• 10 — the number of seconds it takes a user to decide if they will stay on your webpage

• 40% — of visitors will abandon a web page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load

• 8 sec. — the average attention span of an internet user

Importance of a multi-touch marketing strategy

Over half of MobCon attendees classify engaging with consumers multiple times during their movement through the sales cycle as “very important.”6

Why? Consumer attention spans are limited. Repetition is key to make an impact in a crowded landscape.7

Consolidation of owners winning “mobile moments”

The time that users spend in apps has increased over 63% in the past two years.4 Despite the frequency with which users access mobile technology, 84% spend the majority of their time in five or fewer apps. Thus, connecting with active users is increasingly difficult for companies competing to gain mindshare in an increasingly selective consumer market.5

Challenges to reach today’s consumers:

4 Nielsen. So many apps, so much more time for entertainment. June 11, 2015. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/so-many-apps-so-much-more-time-for-entertainment.html

5 See Ask.

• Fragmentation

• Bridging the old and new

• Evolving marketing to match consumer use habits

6 MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

7 Conner, Miguel. The Vanishing Attention Span Of Consumers (Infographic). May 12, 2015. http://www.business2community.com/infographics/vanishing-attention-span-consumers-infographic-01222971#OzIpyKvek73zQsy4.99.

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With more brands and businesses competing for business than consumers can mentally metabolize, consumers can afford to be picky. To secure their attention today, brands must demonstrate they truly “know” their audience.8

The reward? A slice of the elusive consumer attention span.

Data-enabled insights. Show users you understand their desires and challenges by creating campaigns and functionality derived from user insights.

Predictive analytics. One accessible example of the power of predictive analytics is personalized retail experiences. With the proper tracking in place, brands can recommend related products when consumers search for or buy a specific item.

Beacons. By sending users proximity-based offers based on past viewing or purchasing behavior, brands can engage users at the point of sale.

Personalize the user experience

Use these tactics to personalize the consumer experience

8 Panico, Susan. MobCon 2015 conference keynote. November 17, 2015.

What are the biggest opportunities for businesses looking to improve the user experience?

64.84%Personalizing their experience 64.84%

Simplifying existing functionality 46.15%

Improving the cohesion of the consumer journey 43.96%

Multiple-touch engagement on a variety of channels

Building out a new solution to enhance the user experience

32.97%

16.48%

MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

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Sound. It’s being incorporated into the sales process in increasingly innovative ways through voice activation and recognition. It’s emotive and powerful. Pandora surveyed users and found 60% say music makes them feel closer to their culture than religion, language or tradition.9 Beyond its power as a storytelling agent, sound is screen agnostic and can be consumed as listeners multi-task.

Sight. Video on the small screen offers brands new ways to engage consumers. Its usage on Facebook, Bing or YouTube cannibalizes the former “top-dog” of traditional media bringing its potential to the mobile sphere.10

The power of multimedia

Purchasing behavior of mobile consumers

Users today are living in the middle of a media renaissance

Last year it was reported 35% of consumers make purchases on their mobile devices.11 What does this mean for brands?

Make an enterprise-wide commitment to mobile. Ownership for the mobile function of a business varies greatly between Marketing, IT or even Sales. Regardless of where the responsibility “lives,” it’s critical department stakeholders bring budget to the table since the impact of (or lack thereof) mobile engagement will be felt organizationally.12

9 Panico, Susan. MobCon 2015 conference keynote. November 17, 2015.

10 DeMeys, Jayson. The Top 7 Online Marketing Trends That Will Dominate. September 29, 2015. 2016http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/09/29/the-top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2016/

11 The Integer Group. 35 percent of shoppers make purchases on their mobile devices. October 3, 2014. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/35-percent-of-shoppers-make-purchases-on-their-mobile-devices-278049791.html

12 Panico, Susan. MobCon 2015 conference keynote. November 17, 2015.

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The evolution of mobile user experience designAnd its impact on search

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Worldwide mobile usage and UX trends

If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, your search ranking will be affected — even on desktop.

By 2020, 90% of the global population will be within a mobile network.13

This year Google announced that in 10 countries mobile traffic overtook the numbers they saw for desktop. Even more importantly, the search giant has spoken with its Mobilegeddon algorithm.

As we approach 2016, the mobile and desktop browsing experiences are growing ever closer. And users have high expectations for each. They expect simple, easily navigable experiences no matter how they are accessing content. Tablet. Phone. Smartwatch. Virtual reality. Connected home. The value gained from each must be the same. UI isn’t just the concern of designers anymore. All stakeholders should keep interface and experience top of mind. In fact, experience leaders running the Awwwards competition called out the proliferation of UI patterns as a key trend for 2015 and 2016.14

14 Cao, Jerry. 6 Web Design Trends You Must Know for 2015 & 2016. September 16, 2015. http://www.awwwards.com/6-web-design-trends-you-must-know-for-2015-2016.html

13 Ericsson Mobility Report: 70 percent of the world’s population using smartphones by 2020

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App monetization in 2016Discoverability and the dream of the lone wolf developer

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Monetizing mobile

Back when “mobile first” was still a new strategy, releasing an app was a revolutionary approach to increasing mindshare and creating another monetization channel.

Back in the early 2000’s releasing an app was a surefire way to stand out. Everyone did it. After the initial flurry to develop for the two primary app stores, Apple and Google, continued user acquisition became the focus. Followed by an analysis of what was or wasn’t working.

Then PANIC.

The market was flooded. How could existing apps grow? According to Asay, in the current era of mobile maturity, existing apps should revise and refine their user experience to make the most of and convert traffic.

1. There’s an app for that — High development of mobile apps and reasonable discoverability

2. User app acquisition — Moderately successful apps continue to gain users

3. Analysis — User acquisition slows ushering in a period of intense behavioral study

4. Panic — It has become exceedingly difficult for app makers to attract and convert user traffic

5. Iterate on user experience — User experience for existing apps and other web technologies becomes more important than solving the problem with a new solution

Simply developing an app isn’t enough anymore. There must be a calculated strategy and intended target audience behind every idea.

Mobile analyst Matt Asay, MobCon 2015 keynote classified the phases of mobile adoption as:

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Hey — over here. Where discoverability and app marketplaces collide.

The sheer number of apps in each marketplace makes discoverability for small to mid-size brands without an enormous advertising budget behind them a serious challenge.

Beyond that the cost to acquire downloads is rising. Some might say that the dream of the lone developer whose entire monetization plan includes creating an app, releasing it and striking it rich is now highly unlikely. Fifteen out of 20 apps in the app store don’t generate any revenue.15

Looking beyond the limited number of apps actually generating revenue in the app store, 81.3% comes from games.16 Breaking it down further, over half of the games generating revenue are:

15 ComScore, Activate Analysis. Andrew Eklund. MobCon 2015 presentation. November 17, 2015

16 Kay, Jonathan. MobCon 2015 presentation. November 18, 2015.

While some apps rely on in-app purchases or primary purchase of the app to monetize, in-app advertising offers another option to continue competing for revenue in a cramped marketplace.

• Strategy • Puzzle• Card• Action • Casio • Role playing

App Darwinism in the mobile marketplace

It’s an app eat app world out there. Only the strongest survive as the owners of these mobile moments are becoming increasingly consolidated.

There are 1.5 million apps in the Apple App Store and 1.6 million apps in the Google Play Store — with more added daily. Yet, only a few monopolize the majority of users’ time.

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What’s next for mobile?Goodbye to apps, hello to context

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In this future, the Internet of Things will extend beyond just the connected home to connected life devices — like wearables that adjust your temperature based on presets. Always run cold? Set the temperature of your connected shirt a little higher. Is it the future yet?

As consumer form factor options continue to expand, APIs will bridge the gap between experiences allowing them to flow seamlessly as they interact between devices.

The Internet of Things becomes contextual and anticipatory.

APIs become more important than ever before.

Fast forward to a future where the price of smartphones has fallen so even the lowest denominator can afford them. Or they are given away. They are no longer a privilege but essentials for survival. In this world racing closer, phone memory is occupied by pictures, videos, messages, essential resources for summoning transit or communicating. People don’t have space for 1,000s of apps. The model doesn’t scale. Plus, users don’t have the time or dexterity to scroll through screens upon screens to find their fitness app.

Technologists predict instead the functionality will be served up through the device’s operating system itself at the exact moment users need it, enabled by predictive analytics, geolocation or beacons.

Mobile futurists forecast

Apps will become obsolete. Functionality will be served by the

device’s operating system instead.

At MobCon this year, a panel of futurists including Stephen Fluin joined by Phil Wilson, Wolf Loescher, Matt Khoury and Brad Armstrong discussed what’s next for mobile.

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Organizations don’t adopt new technology for a variety of reasons. Not because corporate thinking is outmoded or stuck in the past. There are often very real, rational reasons businesses opt to use historical technology (browsers, phones, etc.) Budgetary constraints, security concerns and even regulation can get in the way of implementing new platforms or means of communication.

Barriers to tech adoption

67% of MobCon attendees said their organizations were willing or highly willing to embrace new technology.17

Despite the predicted enthusiasm, barriers to adoption exist. Here are the biggest barriers to mobile adoption identified by MobCon attendees.

17 MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

Barriers to mobile adoption as identified by MobCon attendees

Expertise/collaboration 18.18%

Evolving platforms, fragmentation 15.58%

Security 12.99%

12.99%Cost

Perceived importance/adoption 11.69%

User experience 7.79%

Time to market

Legacy systems

Effective architecture 2.60%

Regulation

5.19%

5.19%

1.3%

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From coupons served up to shoppers when they pass a certain retail department or applying population health trends to treat at-risk groups and diminish insurance cost for all, the field for companies to leverage predictive analytics before their competition is wide open. Attendees ranked the potential wearables offer second most promising.

Mobile opportunities with the most promise

In a landslide poll, MobCon audiences identified predictive analytics as the most promising new tech trend.

Attendees also called out the potential for improving the cross-platform content consumption, the ease of developing for multiple platforms and the cross-device retail experience.

49.45%

What area of tech development excites you most?

MobCon Attendee Survey, Q4, 2015

Machine learning 14.29%

Augmented reality 6.59%

Wearables 19.78%

Smart wallet

Predictive analytics

3.3%

Other 6.59%

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Follow the dataDeveloping and designing where the data leads

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Using data to drive decisions

More and more businesses are looking to data to understand user behaviors and drive increased user acquisition and retention. A certain subset of consumers sees the value in data too. Dubbed context comfortables, or high comfort consumers, by brand identity leader Dave Norton, this group doesn’t just allow data sharing. They encourage it — and understand any data they provide will lead to more meaningful experiences in healthcare, retail or otherwise. According to research shared at MobCon, 39% of consumers today are comfortable and welcome the widespread sharing of data to enhance their experiences.18

18 Brandicourt, Harry; Norton, David, 2015 Digital Consumer Collaborative. MobCon 2015 presentation. November 18, 2015.

While a significant portion of consumers encourages data sharing to further more meaningful brand or user experiences, 58.89% of MobCon attendees were highly concerned about information and privacy in this new hyper-connected age.

Using data to drive design and development

A key theme that rose above the collection of topics discussed at MobCon was the need to learn from the software solution, app, website or campaign and let results direct future action.

The only place today for intuition in business is at the office party poker table.

How does this change current business practices?

Expect to see less “big splash” product launches. Target has admittedly almost done away with them all together. When the retailer launched its Cartwheel app, they executed alpha and beta releases with continued iteration resulting in development releases every two weeks, according to Sarah Peterson-Post, one of the app’s core inventors. Why? Brands want to test the success of a product first and iterate as they learn.

Launch quickly and make improvements. What’s wrong with this scenario: A group of stakeholders predicts insights about the business’ target audience and works on a website for one and a half to two years in order to perfectly execute on every assumption. The answer? Everything. In today’s competitive consumer climate, user actions and the corresponding functionality on a brand’s website, platform or app must be informed by key learnings as development progresses.

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User behavior dictates the action. The concept of growth-driven design is built on Agile process and treats each project like a living breathing thing — quickly created then shaped by insights fed as user behavior is collected, distilled and applied. The key to successfully applying a strategy like growth driven design is proactively making improvements month-over-month resulting in a more valuable product matching the true (not assumed) needs of the target audience. Investing in visitor tracking tools like heatmapping will let your digital strategists see how users are interacting with your site. Then adjustments to drive the intended actions can be made. The result? Smarter, data-guided decisions produce higher performing websites. And that’s a fact.

Pairing data-based design with lean UX to save budget and sanity

The old, bloated way of designing where notes and revisions from every group review are captured in wireframes and site mocks has been replaced with a newer, slimmer model. Enter Lean UX. Much like growth driven design, the Lean UX model is predicated on speed. Use these strategies to slim down your design process and achieve a greater net value, along with saving time and money. Work with existing design patterns. Android and Apple users expect to find certain functionality native to their respective platforms. Use this as a starting point and iterate to improve the experience, not replace it with a wholly different and unfamiliar model.

Limit the scope of design work needed with an MVP. An MVP is the minimum viable product needed to accomplish core functionality. Don’t design and build out every feature before launch. Instead, identify the most important features, and spend the design time there. Create a backlog to save additional features for a second or third release.

To define your MVP, determine the purpose of the solution, feature requirements and timetable. Then, prioritize your features based on their ability to achieve the purpose and address existing pain points.

Launch. Then learn fast. Sprint towards your MVP. But don’t stop there. Continuously improve and use data to understand how users are interacting with the solution and what behavior may be a result of functionality that doesn’t yet exist. Launch additional design and development in subsequent releases.

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MobCon developed by MentorMate

MentorMate has designed, delivered and staffed digital experiences since 2001. Along the way we’ve learned a lot. Now it’s time to share. That’s why we founded MobCon in 2012 and MobCon Digital Health in 2015. Each year we host conferences for the top minds in mobile and digital strategy to do just that. Be part of what’s next and dive deep into the trends and technologies revolutionizing engagement in today’s business landscape. Register for our next event at mobcon.com