Financial services marketing in the US has to embrace mobile as a main channel starting now. There is a strong evidence, that mobile channel may not only increase loyalty and bring new consumers, but it is just obligatory to serve American consumers.
First of all, the penetration. According to Pew Internet Project’s research related to mobile technology, by May 2013, almost all (91%) of American adults had a cell phone and 56% of American adults had a smartphone. Smartphone ownership is the highest among Americans with College + education (70%) and those with Household income above $75,000 per year (78%).
Secondly, we are looking at the process that some call a post-PC. A survey of adult smartphone and tablet owners by Prosper Mobile Insights has found that 35% prefer to use the internet via a smartphone and 14% via a tablet, meaning that almost half of the population prefers to use mobile device over desktop PC or Mac. No wonder, that tablet shipments are expected to beat both desktop and laptop computers in 2013. According to the On Device Research data in the UK and US, a surprising 20% of Internet users are already Mobile Only, which means mobile device is the only way they access the Internet.
The third reason is the impact of the mobile presence on perceived brand image. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for SOASTA, about 9 in 10 Americans associate negative feelings with brands that have poorly performing mobile experiences. Most commonly, they feel annoyed (75%) and frustrated (69%), with some also expressing distrust (19%), anger (13%) and disrespect (12%) to the brand.
Fourth reason to not neglect mobile in financial marketing is the performance, or a conversion rate generated by this channel. Did you know, that 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to an action, and over 50% lead to a purchase? This is the outcome from the study performed by Google with Ipsos OTX.
Last but not least, your other interactive campaigns may land on the mobile, whether you want it or not. As this report of Knotice shows, by the end of 2014, astonishing 41% of e-mails were opened on mobile devices. You would better make sure that your newsletter is mobile-friendly before it is too late!
