How to create value in the mobile channel

You know the story… You are certain that mobile will be awesome for your business. It is a great personal channel that everybody already has in their pocket, correct?

Well, it’s easier said than done.

There are almost always endless possibilities that your product/project can evolve into, and there is an all too human tendency to lose focus and dive into too many theoretical subjective discussions on ‘what we should do first’ without any objective or external conditions to apply. Most of the time, these discussions will revolve around which KPI’s are measurable, what will be easier to develop, and which will be the most impressive or innovative feature to put out in the market. These discussions distract everyone from the most important thing: bringing more value to your product. The value of a product can be defined in many different ways, but we want to focus on one perspective here.

Value to your end user.

Without fulfilling this value, users won’t be there to benefit from any additional values that the app can deliver. Users tend to keep and use apps that brings them value no matter what it is. ‘Value’ could be represented by an easier way to achieve a task (pay or subscribe for something), a way to save money or time (payments, online shopping), or anything else that benefits the users’ lives outside of that application universe.

So, how can we focus on value and objectively decide which feature will bring the most to your application? Business cases are not a bad place to start, but tend to be quite abstract when you begin (and not always connect to the users’ values). User journeys and analysis are of great help, but users also interact with brands in many other channels, and isolating mobile can be difficult if not impossible from the cross-channel communications and marketing that each brand presents to their clients and prospects.

Bringing value to a mobile message

For the purpose of the discussion, let’s analyse each channel using these 3 parameters:

1. Content — Most messages in the mobile channel will be accompanied by some type of content. Whether a promotion page, news article, a new video or anything similar, users tend to use applications that provide content which brings value to them as users.

2. Context — Context is any setting or scenario where and when we would like users or a specific user to consume the said content. With the mobile channel, users expect that the content they need will be there when they need it. With the amount of content growing all the time, if you can serve the right content at the right time, users will opt to use your services.

3. Active Communications — Even when we nail the content and context, communications are necessary to draw users’ attention to it. Today’s users are busy, and a reminder or alert can save frustration and increase engagement with the platform and channel.

Apply the 3 parameters to identify value in mobile over other channels

Mobile is the channel that easily provides the unique combination of all the three parameters and allow users to directly interact with it, with your brand. It is contextually aware, communications can be personal, and the content can be easily manipulated and modified by the above. The strength of the channel is in the ability to combine these parameters into a smooth customer journey that notifies and alerts the users about only what they need or have requested, leaving out all the noise.

To take an example of a real life case:

Content
A new amazing item is up for sale now
— Content is the promotion page within an application. This approach, which is very common, assumes that a user will open an application of a specific brand just to see if there are any interesting promotions.

Context
An amazing new item, that is related to an item you “liked” on FB, is available on sale for the next 60 minutes!! Would you like to reserve yours now?
— Giving some context to the promotion, making sure that items that are promoted are part of the user’s specific interests. This can be based on social media, past purchases, surveys or other means.

Communications
Hi Jane. We found a new product that we think you will love, and we want to give you a discount on it since you’re awesome! Why not swipe or go to the store on the 3rd floor to check it out?
— Making sure with a targeted “personal”, well-timed message that all users who fit the context are aware of the new promotion, and that they have been targeted because it will suit their taste/needs/wishes.

How can we use this for a roadmap?

When starting a discovery or a scoping session, everything from the high-level business vision (I want an app that will make shopping awesome), to the low-level functional requirements needs to reflect this uniqueness of the channel.
Combining the effort and budget that is required to achieve each feature, the team can build a more objective scale helping you to provide a more in-depth assessment of where and how the mobile product should be promoted and evolved.
Using this approach, it is easy to create a scale in which all of the above comes into play, and a score is given to every possible feature. From there, by ranking and accounting for time, technical or other constraints, you can usually create a clear roadmap with a very specific path. And more importantly, a roadmap that helps your brand leverage the unique value in mobile.

Interested in how to create and increase the value in the mobile channel with a mobile roadmap for your brand? Don’t hesitate to contact us!