Digital trends: Is your business ready for 2015?

Mobile dominates. OK, I’ve said it out loud. Yes, plenty in the world of business are thinking it. But how many are actually doing something about embracing mobile?

The fact is, as we head in to 2015, global web traffic stats tell us that mobile is now the first class citizen when building a new website or digital strategy. And that doesn’t just mean smartphones, but tablets too and, next year, wearable technology when the iWatch delivers‘a more immediate and intimate way to connect’.

There’s no road block on the horizon for mobile traffic – it’s only going to keep on increasing. The challenge for businesses is to understand what mobility really means in the context of delivering results – and to develop a digital presence with all devices in mind.

Expert help is important in ensuring your mobile presence works for you – and your customers. So what should businesses be considering?

• First, there’s the range of devices mentioned above – smartphones, tablets, Google Glass, iWatch and who knows what within the next five years.

• Responsive design. A good digital partner will advise you to build responsively, but make sure your web designeris considering all the main devices in the market.

• Think about apps. Apps are becoming more financially achievable and as the range of devices increases, apps will become increasingly common and less expensive.

• Form and functionality. How your digital presence looks is important; but how it functions to deliver a superior customer service is what adds to your bottom line.

• Mobile Payments. When building any digital touch-point, consider that very soon there will be an easy way for your business to get paid from a mobile device.

 

The cost of producing a mobile app is coming down. Of course you get what you pay for, but the fact is,the price of building a native app designed for a specific type of device is coming down and will become a financial reality for many businesses. 

A well designed app increases engagement with your customers more effectively than any other on-line tool. And, it can be a great way for your business to streamline internal processes and reduce admin.

 

Innovative technology can absolutely transform your business in terms of profit and operational efficiency.  Increasingly businesses are approaching us to develop bespoke apps to deliver improved visibility, company performance and reduce costs – for example, print costs, international communications and even crisis management.

Most importantly, this can be done with a focus on an enhanced user experience while maintaining brand consistency and helping you deliver the right message to your target audience.

 

Big data has been a catch phrase in digital marketing circles for a few years now, but in 2015 it will become a reality for businesses of all sizes. Businesses with good digital marketing strategy and tools will be able to access more detailed data than ever before. 

Richer data enables you to better track behaviour – tracking each different initial engagement right through the sales process to purchase and delivery. From there you can easily automate follow up and customer satisfaction measurement.

 

More and more we live in a visual world and design-wise the digital arena will see less text and more images, more video and higher resolution graphics. The increased capability of HTML design software and the quality of designers who use it will deliver graphics that display information in a way that’s easy to digest on all platforms. 

Moving images will be used more often and the ability for the user to interact with those images will grow. You will also see a massive rise in the use of video as data speed increases and video platforms evolve. What you can do with video will create new levels of engagement among customers and consumers. 

There may be little, if any, breaking news in the above but what you do see is a theme across all of these areas, more movement, increased interaction and ease of use. Everything will continue to become more about user experience, more interaction, easier to use and increasingly engaging.

Importantly however, make sure your digital partner is proactively keeping you informed of the trend changes.