Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! Many of us have seen the evolution of smart devices. Growing up the first cell phone I had was a flip phone. I thought that it was the coolest thing ever because I could finally talk on the phone without actually having to be at home or in the house, plus it even had internet. I was stoked! I never imagined that in such a short period of time we would have so many technology-driven advances that the cell phone I had then would not be beneficial for the lifestyle I have not. The cellphone I had then wouldn't be able to carry my favorite apps or handle all of the files that I have on my phone. To many of us, our cellphones are our lifelines and we couldn't live without them and we wouldn't want to. We use our cell phones in every aspect of our lives whether we realize it or not. The lifestyle we live now is driven by smart devices and our jobs and companies rely heavily on smart devices to operate.
Mobile-First Approach
This week in class we discussed the mobile-first approach. The mobile-first approach is when companies design and or develop their online presence for the mobile experience or users before desktop and other devices. Before companies and organizations develop a business strategy they must decide whether or not they want to have a mobile-first approach. According to Tiahn Wetzler, about 79% of people completed a purchase with their mobile device in the last six months which has led to more organizations and companies deciding on a mobile-first approach for their digitally-driven strategies. We can think about how much our world has shifted since the pandemic began. We were relying heavily on smart devices to continue operations. Whether it be for school or work we were using smart devices to communicate and operate with one another. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies and organizations to go mobile. Some of our peers and colleagues who weren't technologically equipped had a hard time adjusting to the changes, but this change was needed for us to continue to operate as normally as possible. Meetings and classes were no longer happening in person and we were trying to find the best apps and websites that were mobile-friendly for us to continue operations. Many businesses couldn't continue catering to their consumers and were forced to close because they couldn't adapt to the changes. Some restaurants opted for no-contact orders but if they didn't have a mobile-friendly app or website that consumers could use on the go. Wetzler discussed some advantages of a mobile-first approach.
Advantages
- Increases customer reach
- Allows companies to build strong relationships with their consumers
- This approach allows companies to build strong relationships with their consumers because they're easier to access. According to Wetzler, about 51% of mobile users check their devices between 1 to 10 times a day while 25% check them 11- 20 times a day.
- Create new revenue channels for your business
- Developing a mobile-first approach allows companies to discover new ways to generate revenue for their business. For example, Spotify, and Pandora both have a freemium and premium model design. With Spotify's freemium model you can't control what you hear and with Pandora, you only have a certain number of skips and advertisements. The premium subscriptions give you the control. You can play what you want without ads, unlimited skips, etc. So many businesses could develop models like this with exclusive content to generate revenue.
- Gain critical data insights
- Data analytics are on the rise and they allow companies and organizations to see what interests their consumers and dedicate advertisements and in-app experience for that customer. A lot of my mobile-first apps are geared to my interests and I love it.
- Provide superior customer service
- Companies are able to tailor to their customer preferences that help build their brand reputation.
After reading this article on mobile-first, I realized that this is our new reality. Companies must have a mobile-first strategy in mind because our world is mobile-driven and it's going to continue this way for many years to come. We love being able to have different experiences at our fingertips and I believe that companies tailored to what we want will be successful. A mobile-first experience isn't just for extremely big corporations, any size company can use this approach because they can make it a different experience. There are many apps that are similar that people prefer one over the other. As consumers, we look for mobile-first approaches that cater to our interests and are easy to navigate. What do you all think? Is mobile-first our new reality?
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