To maximize their returns, marketers need to consider mobile from the perspective of value creation first. It is imperative that we change the conversation from mobile tactics to mobile strategy. Mobile phones just happen to be the preferred tool — today. Wearables are gaining in popularity every day.

Our CEO and founder, Paula Tompkins, stresses the importance of focusing on a mobile strategy before rushing to deploy tactics in her MarTech Advisor article. Below is an excerpt of her article, Let’s Talk Mobile Strategy Not Apps and Websites.

Let’s Talk Mobile Strategy Not Apps and Websites

Last year, Google revised its mobile search policy. In the rush to comply with Google’s changes, most marketers focused on deploying responsive technology. Yes, any digital marketing asset should be mobile consumable. That is not the problem. Today, most company conversations still focus on mobile tactics and skip the development of a mobile strategy. The result is that many consumers are disappointed in their customer experience and are abandoning mobile solutions — apps and websites. That’s a big problem.

The 2016 Econsultancy/Adobe Digital Intelligence Briefing on mobile survey respondents reports that 48 percent of companies do not have a mobile strategy in place. Of those, 75 percent do not have a well-defined strategy. One of the top reasons? Respondents cited a lack of knowledge or understanding about the mobile channel.

Mobile tactics span a wide variety of options — email, websites, apps, text (SMS/MMS), Bluetooth messaging, ads, geo-location, bots, augmented reality, beacons and more. For destination-type businesses, Pokémon Go has been a gold mine.

Selecting the right mobile tactic starts with a mobile strategy based on business objectives and the customer’s buying journey. Business drivers range from increasing awareness to increasing growth, retention, customer satisfaction, cost-efficiency and lead generation. The right tactics for increasing awareness may be very different from the tactics you would use for increasing your retention rate.

If you need help understanding your customer’s mobile buying journey, there are numerous, high-quality studies that provide excellent insights. Consider this: On average, people check their phones 46 times a day, and some studies say it’s 110 times per day. Whether it is 46 or 110, it is a significant opportunity. If your customers are like most people, they are frequently reading emails or texts or interacting on social media channels.

Data from a study conducted by eDigital Research reveals that SMS is the best medium (95+ percent open rates) for time-sensitive information. Email and push alerts are the next best tactics for engaging consumers. Customers prefer text, email and push because they want relevant, timely marketing messages.

In fact, we typically experience a 98 percent open rate with SMS messages, and most people read the text within three minutes of receiving it.

Check out the rest of the story to learn how targeting a bank’s mobile customers increased their overall engagement.