Hitting The Mark In A Multi-Device Path To Purchase

Customer journeys are neither linear nor dedicated to a single device. Can marketers deliver the right message across multiple devices without losing the link?

When it comes to screens, size does matter. Is your website optimized for mobile, desktop, mini PCs or tablets, smart devices like Chromecast and Apple TV? Customers are increasingly following a winding path to purchase that is interjected by changing devices which are linked to changing moods, mindsets and methods. For example, Joe is considering a new software investment for his company. There is a lot of pressure to make the right choice. He may begin his discovery at work on a desktop, it could continue during the commute home over mobile, and loop back to easy browsing via a tab at home.

People are not devices, yet the customer aperture changes with each switch between devices. Marketing borrows from photography by using the word aperture to describe the opening of a lens, compared here with the opening of the consumer’s mind. How does work-mode Joe’s mood and method of research change as he switches between devices? Mobile may include a more randomized search and discovery, while email leads are more meticulously scrutinised at the office. Both devices offer different experiences and users expect appropriately aligned content.

The main question is – are marketers getting the full picture? Microsoft Visio is software used for creating a variety of diagrams and flowcharts. With this visualisation tool, marketers can create simple or more complex customer data diagrams. It also offers a wide variety of built-in shapes, objects, and stencils to work with. The aim is to simplify the process of customer journey mapping. 

Multi-device marketing refers to identifying customers across various devices and serving ads and information designed to render seamlessly on any devices they are using to access the web. Sitecore’s Device Detection Service lets marketing teams personalize the user experience by offering functionality for web developers to create responsive sites. 

Marketers can personalize visitor experience for different devices. Use the device rules feature to set up the personalization on site pages. For example, you could have a campaign that only targets iPhone users, or another that is more suited for a tablet browsing experience. You can use the predefined conditions to simplify usage or custom code to suit your needs. 

Iterate to improve results. Device intelligence gathers hundreds of data points from the device, network, connection and location. DeviceAtlas is a solution that sources device data and adds device intelligence to solutions. Companies like Verizon Media, Xandr, IBM, Adobe, Nielsen and Netflix make use of such solutions to track which devices elicit different kinds of reactions from consumers and further reiterate the experience based on data. For companies in the financial sector, this data can also help manage fraud. 

In 2016, internet access via mobile exceeded desktop for the first time. It was a big moment for marketers to focus on mobile consumption patterns. According to a Deloitte report, smartphones are still not a preferred choice for making payments, with only one-third of them making payments using their mobile. The trend is similar for entertainment, wherein the small screen has not yet become the channel of choice for viewing content for most consumers, with the global average hovering around 15%. 

But these trends have shown sizable changes in the last five years. As consumers start to trust payment getaways available via mobile, conversion will climb. Moreover, can marketing campaigns be designed for both; the conservative digital spender and the early-adopter? In some ways, mobile has shortened the customer journey. Mobile searches with phrases like “near me” and “can I buy” or “to buy” increased by 500% in the last couple of years. That boost implied that individuals began turning to their mobiles to discover immediate solutions to their problems.

By entering these search terms, they’re able to quickly check out websites, read reviews, and even find opening hours and location on a map. A unified customer profile that considers a device as a critical differentiator is essential for a brand to create a moment with the consumer.