Welcome to a world of mobile-based marketing where marketers try to make ends meet in a challenging digital environment. Why challenging? Because the thing that is good for the business is sometimes something that causes online customers a lot of doubt.
Source: Marketing land
According to a survey by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by EMC’s RSA security division, 77% of online shoppers do not trust the security of mobile apps.
It is important thus for businesses that have incorporated mobile-based marketing strategies to focus on protecting user data and make sure there are no breaches. Privacy and security should be at the top of the list. Data breaches make companies look bad and reflect poorly on the entire industry. People start distrusting mobile apps, they use them less or maybe give them up completely and the mobile-based marketing techniques end up having unwanted, and negative effects.
Online customers have many concerns.
Newsflash? Not so much. Of course they do. Online customers are concerned with having their personal information stolen when making an online purchase. They are concerned with stores locating them when using their smartphones. They are unsure if loading credit onto mobile phones as product payment is a good idea. The only thing is that all of these are relevant and important features in e-commerce.
In a PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) interview, related to mobile shopping and digital innovation, John Kalinich* stated and reinforced the idea of how important it is for Deckers Brands (which he represents) to know a customer’s location. “When it comes to mobile,” Kalinich revealed, “we need to develop an awareness of the customer’s location to optimize the best connection with the customer.“ He also explained that this is important because
…based on that, the purpose can change. For example if a customer searches UGG®while out and about in New York, it would show the nearest store. But if they’re in an airport, the search should direct them to the mobile optimized website.
Very true and very relevant to the brand. But what do you do about customers who disapprove of havingtheir location tracked by stores? According to data from PwC, there are more customers who disapprove of this practice (25%) than there are customers who are happy to have stores locate them through their mobile phones (13% to 17%)*.
There isn’t a complete answer to this. But to avoid customers accidentally finding that they’ve been secretly tracked, it’s always safe to add this to policy issues and customer information. Businesses need to draw a line between using tracking techniques to help customers have a better and more accessible shopping experience and using these techniques to pervade a shopper’s experience. This is particularly relevant for tracking clients in-store. Tracking technologies are now adopted by many retailers but are still in testing mode as far as mobile-based marketing is concerned.
Addressing consumer security concerns in a landscape that is more and more mobile dominated is relevant for establishing a more trustworthy relationship with customers.
*John Kalinich is the Senior Vice President Omni Channel Operations & E-commerce at Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
*Based on a survey of 1,011 US online shoppers.
