Before 2015, businesses depended on special relationships to build their brand. Whether it was in-person, at industry events, or over the phone, the human element between business and client played a essential role in business growth. But the internet changed that dynamic.

Today customers do not assume they will speak with a salesperson until it’s time to buy. Customers explore the digital experience searching for products and services now over 50% of the time on mobile.

To understand the impact of mobile on customers and organizations. Research shows that mobile drives and impacts, on average more than 40% of revenue, in industries that traditionally depend more on sales than marketing to drive revenue.

The new consumer.  Today’s consumers aren’t comparing you to other businesses in your industry, they’re comparing you to the best digital experiences they’ve ever had. Mobile is increasingly playing a critical role in the customer journey. Over 50% of search queries today are made on smartphones. Google and others expect that figure to grow to 70% by 2020.

Consumers endorse technology, using mobile for work, and multitasking across multiple screens. They are also no longer tethered to a desk. The buyer is more likely to work from home or stay productive on mobile while commuting and traveling.  Mobile usage per user is expected to increase from two hours a day to three by 2020, driven by millennials, Gen Z, and the increasing use of smartphones by older workers.

Increased usage is not the only standard used to measure mobile. Research indicates that mobile reduces the time to purchase. Mobile can fast-track time a purchase by 20% by making it more efficient in decision-making and collaboration, particularly with more complex purchases.

Mobile websites are generating higher levels of engagement as measured by search queries, site traffic, lead generation, and actual transactions. They’re also seeing a greater share of revenue that is mobile driven or influenced.

Studies demonstrate that a positive mobile experience increases repurchase rate and builds customer loyalty. More than 90% of buyers reporting a superior mobile experience say they are likely to buy again from the same vendor compared with only about 50% of those reporting a poor mobile experience.

When we observed how mobile leaders prioritize mobile, we found that leaders take a fundamentally different, customer-centric approach to mobile. First, they embrace a mobile-first strategy. They understand the role mobile plays at key engagement points.   They develop simple mobile-first experiences, with minimal text with vertical creative formats and take advantage of unique smartphone capabilities, such as location data and click-to-call links.

Mobile websites demonstrate that combining their data with relevant third-party data creates better insight into customers, which helps improve experiences and drive loyalty. The purchase process can be long, so high-quality, personalized content, delivered throughout the buying journey is an important differentiator.

MVI encourages our customers to realize your clients are using mobile to better understand product choices and benefits. Using Google analytics to track this shift in behavior, by looking at trends in mobile queries and mobile site visits. Both metrics reinforced the growing importance of the mobile channel to business. The analytics will drive you to upgrade the user experience on mobile. These efforts, coupled with an increase in mobile marketing, can drive a spike in mobile sessions and increase in mobile revenue.