The supremacy of big-form-factor devices like desktops and laptops in controlling consumers’ mindshare when they engage digitally with brands is fast melting away. This shift is happening because mobile is the interaction media du jour. As such, for enterprises, measuring the footprint of their customers on the mobile web and applications is crucial. And, mobile analytics is there to take care of the measurement part. If fired off diligently, it can amass actionable business intelligence to optimize customer experience and turn the mobile channel into a revenue-generating powerhouse. Here’s a statistical evidence from Aberdeen Group: the enterprises that have deployed mobile analytics have annually seen 11.6% increase in brand awareness, 11.2% jump in return on marketing investments, 7.1% improvement in time-to-market of product or services, and 3.4% rise in average order value.
Now, you may ask how come mobile analytics packs such a hefty punch as compared to traditional web analytics? Well, to get a handle on this, you have to look at the top structural differences between these two schools of analytics. First of all, the fundamental metrics in web analytics is page views. But, though page views can inform about the IP address, referrer, browser type, and many more things, they are unable to relate the information to a particular user. Mobile analytics, on the other hand, focuses on sessionization. Whenever a user lands on a mobile application, a unique session ID is created and that remains alive until the user becomes inactive. With this approach, a user’s behavioral patterns can be tracked with greater precision. Further, with geolocation, cohort analysis, gesture recognition, or path analysis mobile analytics can drill down much deeper in comparison to its web counterpart.
A good workman should have the knowledge about the tools of the trade; otherwise, he can’t accomplish the job he is supposed to. This is equally true for someone who has mobile marketing on their radar. And luckily, the market is crowded with tools that are either all-in-one solutions or geared toward a specific area. Moreover, you don’t have to break the bank to use them as some are available completely free of cost, while some have a free version alongside the premium one. Among the wholesome solutions, you can try out Flurry, Upsight, or Localytics. If you want to fix your gaze on something, in particular, say A/B testing, you may consider Apptimize, LeanPlum, Kissmetrics, or Optimizely. Be advised that whatever tool you pick; its features must be in harmony with your mobile marketing goals.
You have got the tools. So, what would you track? In other words, what are your key performance indicators (KPIs) that tell you whether your website or application has hit the skids or gaining favor with your target audience? Though the KPIs are not situation-agnostic, still the most important ones are user acquisition, session length, average revenue per user, retention, and customer lifetime value.
By incorporating mobile analytics tightly into your marketing framework, you are flagging-off a potentially rewarding journey whose ultimate fruitfulness lies in boosting your growth and giving joy to your customers. In light of this, we present the 6 ways mobile analytics can help in optimizing your mobile channel engagement:
1. Gauge the engagement and conversion behavior of mobile channel visitors
Since you are spending a good amount of money to acquire app users or mobile website visitors; it’s in the interest of your business to gauge the level of engagement. Mobile analytics can provide a mist-free picture regarding how long the sessions last and if users are really getting the value they seek. The equation is simple—the more a user gets value, the more they are satisfied. Then, there are conversion funnels (the path followed till an actual purchase, registration for a regular service, or anything else). Analytics will show you through which funnel users are being converted or in the case of a non-conversion event, exactly where someone has drifted away.
2. Conduct channel-based targeting and personalization to drive better ROI from the mobile channel
Receiving messages tailored to their tastes is of topical relevance to consumers. Instead, if you try to push generic marketing messages that are completely out-of-sync with what an individual would love to have, you will make your users’ hackles rise. You will soon face a high churn rate. Use mobile analytics to deliver personalized information and promotions based on location. This way, you can stop users from going to a competitor, drive more in-app conversions, and ultimately lay your hands on a handsome return for the marketing shekels you have invested.
3. Analyze the performance of paid mobile campaigns
Marketers have to understand that paid mobile campaigns are not the same as web campaigns because, in the case of the former, they need to track a set of critical metrics that are markedly different from the latter. Also, they have to wrap their heads around a few tough questions. For instance, before you decide on the ad networks to carry your ads, you have to be careful about cost per install (CPI). If CPI moves past lifetime value, your campaigns are sure to go off the rails. Bring mobile analytics into the scene; it will accurately find out the identity of users. Hence, everything from engagement to fate of targeted messages to repeat visits comes out in the open. You get to see what kind of reception your advertising efforts have managed to pull off.
4. Connect mobile data with desktop data/other channels to get a complete picture
Earlier in the piece, we have said that mobile analytics has certain advantages over web analytics. However, that in no way means mobile analytics has to work in isolation. In today’s omnichannel world, consumers hop from one channel to another seamlessly. So, it’s very difficult to make sense of their path to conversion unless you analyze data generating across all the touch-points. Think of this common scenario; a person visits the desktop version of your e-commerce site on his work computer and decides to buy a product. But, he doesn’t complete the transaction. On his way home, he goes to the site again, this time on his iPhone, and buys the product. Now, if you concentrate only on what he has done on his iPhone, you get a fragmented picture. Flesh out the story by including his desktop outing also.
5. Conduct A/B testing to find out what works better with your target audience—test various creative options
Lately, you have noticed that users are not liking a feature in your app. You want to do a redesign. That’s good, but what is the guarantee that users will not give the thumbs down to this one also? To ensure that the redesign brings a positive response from users, run an A/B test or split test by using a robust A/B testing tool. The tool will pit the new design against the previous version and statistically examine how the two are performing when it comes to achieving predefined objectives. As a result, you are saved from the clutches of wild speculations.
6. Optimize the app/m-site based on customer engagement analytics insights
It’s important to find out how engaged your audience is for only then you could know how valuable your app or mobile website is to them. There are a number of metrics that shed light on engagement—session length, time in the app, or popular features. Insights gathered from these metrics can be used to plug the existing loopholes and transform your app or m-site into value-driven digital assets. Remember that your offering is worth anything only if it could solve an issue that users grapple with in an uncomplicated manner.
To conclude
The ubiquity of mobile devices is practically forcing every business to start playing in the mobile space. They are churning out apps in rapid succession and launching m-sites to draw mobile-obsessed consumers. But, as mobile brings up a massive and distinctive fire hose of data; mobile analytics is required to derive sustainable success out of this channel.