The jury might still be out on the mobile conversion rate power of QR codes, SMS, and NFC, but if your business is failing to see results then it’s probably worth rethinking your strategy.
In theory, QR (Quick Response) codes are an efficient way to drive traffic to a website or landing page; SMS (Short Message Service) allows you to communicate with your audience on a platform that’s personal and direct (i.e., texting); and NFC (Near Field Communication) uses location to deliver relevant messages or offers.
Such mobile conversion rates initially seemed like a dream-come-true for marketers. All of a sudden they offered a direct route to customers’ pockets coupled with an acceleration of the transaction process. It may even be greener, too.
However, QR codes, SMS, and NFC haven’t quite lived up to their promise. This deflation of potential has probably resulted from a failure to understand the mobile user. When it comes to optimizing your marketing efforts on mobile, here are five things to keep in mind:
1. Get Mobile Friendly
This should be obvious by now. If your site doesn’t work well on mobile devices then you’re already losing customers.
Touch screens have liberated our interfaces while making them, all of a sudden, much clumsier to use. Cursors have been swapped out for our fingertips, and anyone struggling through a poorly rendered page already wants the product at the end desperately. That’s preaching to the converted. If you’re offering coupons, then your existing customers shouldn’t be a priority target!
2. Cut to the Point
As soon as somebody lands on your page, you need to seize their attention. You may have mere seconds to convince them, less your mobile conversion rates suffer.
Remember that mobile users are exactly that — mobile! If they’re not already on the go, then they’re about to be. They’re not as focused as they are at their desks and are often window shopping. Hit them with the deal in the first fold. They want to be persuaded immediately, and if they have to keep looking, they’re as likely to find a competitor as they are your enticing offers.
3. Be Clear and Concise
It should be obvious what the customer gets and what, if anything, they’re giving to you in return (e.g., an email address). Again, you don’t have much time, so do this in as few words as possible and make your images paint the rest.
This will be much easier if you keep your offers simple, too. A “20% off” or “5th Burrito Free!” offer immediately gratify the customer’s bargain-seeking instincts. Avoid confusing combination deals (“Buy a Hamburger with any 2 Sides and Get a Free Soft Drink”) and lengthy menus of different offers.
4. Make Payment Pleasurable
OK, I admit it, this might actually be impossible, but at the very least you should keep payment frustration-free. Once a customer has settled on your offer, drawing the process to completion needs to be quick and painless. The time spent trying to work out what to do usually far exceeds the time spent changing their mind.
5. Stay Fresh and Engaged
The ideal customer is a returning one. Keep your web presence up-to-date, content rolling out frequently, and your offers fresh. Keep your customers excited and engaged. Not only might you secure their loyalty, but the loyalty of their peers and social networks, too!
Nick Rojas is a business consultant and writer who lives in Los Angeles and Chicago. He has consulted small and medium-sized enterprises for over twenty years. He has contributed articles to Visual.ly, Entrepreneur, and TechCrunch. You can follow him on Twitter @NickARojas, or you can reach him at NickAndrewRojas@gmail.com.
