Findings from the recently published Aberdeen Group
research report “Opposites Attract: The Mobile Channel Unites Marketing
and IT,” reveal how the rise of the mobile channel has made bedfellows out
of two unlikely groups: marketing and IT.
In the report, Aberdeen analysts Andrew Borg and Omer
Minkara conclude that leading organizations have marketing and IT departments
working in close collaboration to create a customer-driven business with
mobility acting as the glue that unites these two distinct and important
groups.
In fact, the report reveals that an overwhelming 76
percent of companies utilizing mobile apps indicated that marketing and IT have
a strategic alliance to manage marketing initiatives within the mobile channel.
Organizations today are under increasing pressure to grow
revenue and market share in the face of heightened global competition and a
challenging economic climate.
According to Aberdeen Group and its survey of more than
220 end-user organizations for its Metric-Driven Mobile Marketing Study high
customer adoption rates of mobile devices, combined with the constant need to
increase customer loyalty by improving customer satisfaction are driving
organizations to invest in implementing marketing campaigns and programs
through the mobile channel.
The “Opposites Attract” Research Brief examines
the key factors driving marketing and IT roles within organizations to invest
in mobile application and website development, the collaborative relationship
between marketing and IT in developing these applications, as well as the
business processes required to drive success.
Highlights include a case study on a large retail bank
that offers greater convenience and superior levels of customer service through
its mobile banking service.
As the “Opposites Attract” Research Brief
indicates, two primary goals have emerged as the driving investment in the
mobile channel: increasing top-line revenue and improving customer retention.
Aberdeen research shows that while both goals are
top-of-mind for marketers and IT roles, increasing top-line revenue is a
greater focus point for marketers. IT respondents on the other hand focus
comparably more on improving customer retention.
50 percent of marketers selected increasing top-line
revenue as a key driver for investment in the mobile channel compared to 41
percent of IT respondents.
45 percent of IT respondents selected customer retention
as a key driver for investment in the mobile channel compared to 39 percent of
marketers.
“Mobile apps are a brand manager’s dream come
true,” said Andrew Borg, analyst at the Aberdeen Group.
“The findings of this Research Brief shed light on
how marketing and IT can work together more effectively to embrace the mobile
channel to enhance customer satisfaction and drive real business growth, and
most importantly, how to define mutual objectives and metrics for program
success,” Borg added.
Best-in-class businesses are turning to vendors like
Antenna that offer an end-to-end mobile infrastructure to support both native
apps and the mobile Internet – mobile apps to drive engagement and customer
loyalty and mobile web capabilities to facilitate commerce and convenience.
Antenna
built the Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP) from the ground up to uniquely
address both B2E and B2C requirements while providing full support for the
widest range of mobile devices, platforms and networks.
With AMP, organizations can easily address the complex,
IT requirements of mobility including security, device fragmentation,
development and deployment, manageability and performance – with the needs of
all users.
“We are pleased that AMP provides the end-to-end
mobile infrastructure that meets the best-in-class criteria for mobile
solutions as indicated in the Aberdeen report,” said Jim Somers, chief
marketing and strategy officer, Antenna.
“In embracing mobile as a way to leapfrog
competition, our customers can rely on AMP to help them stay ahead of the
fast-changing digital space so both marketing and IT can focus on innovation
without losing ground,” Somers added.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
