Eighty-three percent of marketing leaders expect to maintain or increase their investment in mobile marketing analytics, according to Gartner’s 2015 Data-Driven Marketing Survey. However, mobile marketing analytics are still shrouded in hype and not well understood by marketers. Why? Many marketers remain accustomed to click-through and cookie-based analytics and will be challenged to show a return on an increased investment in mobile marketing tactics.
It’s crucial to clearly understand mobile marketing analytic basics in an environment where mobile devices are increasingly the consumption vehicle for traditional digital marketing experiences such as email, search, social media, video consumption and commerce, noted Mike McGuire, research vice president, Gartner for Marketing Leaders. “Analytics help us identify the best mobile marketing techniques and approaches and how to get the most out of them,” he said.
Mr. McGuire suggested that marketers embrace three analytics practices to get the most out of their mobile marketing efforts.
1. Link mobile KPIs to business goals
A complete mobile measurement framework needs to address the impact on the business and the customer as well as provide insight into operational and efficiency metrics for optimization. One way to do this is to use KPIs that answer key mobile marketing questions:
- What is mobile marketing’s impact on the business and on the customer experience?
- Is the mobile marketing execution working and how could it be improved?
- Is mobile marketing a cost-effective way to acquire/engage/convert customers?
Example metrics run the range from web-based (mobile traffic by source) to mobile app-based (purchases from within the app). Resist the urge to measure everything. Instead, focus your metrics on the questions and categories that are most relevant and actionable for your business.
2. Prioritize data access when selecting tools
Mobile measurement can’t exist in a vacuum. Data from internal and external sources — sales data, customer support data, social media data, media targeting data and intent data — will be required to prove and improve the business and customer value of your mobile efforts. The good news is that when it comes to tools, mobile marketers are spoiled for choice. The shadow side of such choice is a mobile analytics vendor landscape that is fragmented and constantly evolving.
Marketers need to proactively piece together the solution that’s best for them by thinking beyond the app to how mobile data will complement other multichannel marketing efforts. Consider vendors that prioritize extensibility and facilitate data integrations through a robust partner ecosystem.
3. Focus on customer experience improvement
Address customer pain points and ensure users get the convenience they seek from mobile engagements by keeping an eye on operational mobile analytics. An in-store shopper who scans a bar code on a merchandise tag can click on an icon for more information and in-store availability or put the item in an online shopping basket for later. This feature accommodates shoppers who may want to purchase later or those ready to purchase and want to check online availability. Marketers benefit by learning what items are frequently scanned by shoppers but not purchased.
Mr. McGuire advised marketers to invest in user experience and attribution analytics capabilities to get a more complete view of customers across devices.
