In preparation for the new year, PerformanceIN continues its annual tradition of connecting with performance marketing experts to get their single biggest prediction for the industry in 2017.
In this piece, Paul Twite, UK MD at Toluna, explains how mobile device activity data will help marketers better understand consumer behaviour.
Marketers have no shortage of information. Yet, in many cases, defining the best course of action for a business needs means finding out not only what journey a customer is taking, but why they are taking it. Marketers are coupling data with consumer insights to ease the analysis of transactional or behavioural data, and to learn more about consumer’s motivations.
This becomes more critical now that users are even more tied to their mobiles, which have become the preferred browsing method. Digiday suggests that 70% of Internet use is now on mobile, and people spend on average 86 minutes a day using the Internet on their phones, compared to 36 minutes on a PC or laptop. The same applies to social media, with the average Facebook user checking the social platform almost 14 times per day and more than two thirds of those times being via a mobile device.
Digital mobility and connectivity grow more important every day, which makes the ability to track a consumer’s behavior on their mobile browser, in app and in terms of geo-location a priority. It’s assumed that consumers have their mobile devices close by and are constantly checking them. Their path to purchase, exposure to brand messages, and the effect their friends’ reviews and recommendations have also changed as a result. The impact of mobile can’t be ignored and we must strive to better understand it.
As we move into 2017, it is likely that capturing mobile device activity will emerge as an essential marketing tool and companies will focus on how to best look at it within apps. This will help brands better understand digital behaviours and paths to purchase. Through developing an understanding in this area, marketers will gain greater insights into consumer activities and spending, helping brands connect with the customer, not the device. This will be crucial to ensure that vital customers are not overlooked or forgotten.