Mobile no longer optional for customer experience

Enterprise mobility solutions are being leveraged to achieve customer-related goals, improve operational efficiencies, and increase revenue, according to a global survey of Fortune 1,000 companies by Syniverse, a mobile solutions provider, conducted in July.

The study, completed for Syniverse by market strategy consulting firm iGR, identified each brand's top mobile needs and expectations, yielding significant findings in the areas of mobile strategy, mobile marketing, and messaging. The survey was fielded in ten countries across the world's major economic markets.

“Advancements in mobile technologies over the past few years have unleashed unprecedented opportunities for consumers to interact with brands,” says Jeff Gordon, president and CEO of Syniverse. “This mobile paradigm shift positions the consumer squarely at the center of the mobile ecosystem. As a result, businesses are seeking opportunities to engage with consumers in more contextual and real-time ways, as well as to provide a uniform global experience.”

The results of the survey reveal the power of a brand’s immersion in mobile, improving efforts in service and marketing, while boosting the company’s bottom line. Key outcomes include the following:

• An overwhelming majority—92 percent—of respondents said that mobile solutions are “very important” or “important” in their industries. Mobile enables them to achieve improvements in customer experience, service, and communications, as well as realize reductions in operating expenses and capital costs. An additional bonus, mobile has helped companies retain and grow their customer bases, increasing loyalty and revenue along the way.

• Large companies have fully embraced a mobile strategy as a critical component of their businesses. When asked what their mobile plans were, 72% of respondents said they have implemented or are in the process of implementing a mobile strategy, and another 16% have defined a strategy but haven't begun implementing it yet.

• Mobile is no longer an optional marketing tool, with 84% of respondents saying that mobile is “very likely” or “likely” to be used in customer and marketing campaigns.

• Location-based services strategies have been or are in the process of being implemented by 56% of the respondents.

• HTML5, apps, and messaging are the three mobile technologies in which respondents invested the most, with messaging being used for customer, partner, or employee communications by 87% of the respondents in order to improve customer service and reduce costs. Almost one-third of respondents declared their use of SMS for customer or business partner communications.

"It's clear from the survey results that companies are moving quickly with their integration of mobile, and they are increasingly seeking customized mobile solutions to meet consumers’ unique needs," Gordon says. "To help these companies manage the multiple interconnections and touch points necessary to enable these solutions, and to help them provide the security and real-time experience that mobile consumers have come to expect, it is critical for mobile service providers to prepare for these emerging needs. Businesses’ migration to mobile presents a great opportunity for service providers to grow their businesses by becoming a critical part of the value chain."

Gordon adds that the need for a full-scale mobile strategy for enterprises also makes it imperative that mobile service providers adapt their strategies to serve new consumer demands.