We have reached a point of no return. Mobile devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives, transforming the way we communicate, shop, and work. Although a lot of these changes have been positive and have helped to increase productivity, there is also a downside. More than 50% of consumers in the UK admitted that their devices had a negative impact on face-to-face conversations with friends and family, while 15% admitted that 24-hour connectivity meant that they feel like they are always at work.

Marketers have a challenge on their hands, trying to break through the noise and reach customers that are inundated with messages, and completely overwhelmed by the choice of apps that are available.

The competition in gaming and mcommerce is fierce. The number of apps currently available on the App Store is over 2 million, while there are over 3.8 million available via Google Play. As a result, marketers need to get smart and consider a long-term strategy to build consumer engagement. The need to constantly measure and optimize the performance of every touchpoint in marketing campaigns is essential for marketers to strike the right balance, timing and audience.

It’s more than just a good idea

With so much time being spent on mobile, it’s not surprising that mcommerce and gaming have a significant impact on this growth. It’s tempting to make the jump into this area, with the expectation that it’s an easy way to profit from changing consumer behaviour. But in recent weeks a number of gaming businesses have struggled to continue growth in this area.

But, investment in mobile has continued to increase year-on-year, despite some challenges to continue adding value to an already saturated market.

Having a good idea is just the beginning, the sheer number of apps that consumers are exposed to means that marketers need to understand how to make their app stand out. Firstly, the temptation to try to integrate the newest technology is not always the best way to engage an audience. In fact, the go-to-market strategy needs to be at the centre of everything, and factors like integrating AI or VR should come second. It’s counter-productive to produce an app that no one will ever see, and this is just the first hurdle that app businesses face.

Being a responsible marketer

Taking into consideration the number of people that have felt that mobile has had a negative impact on their life is essential, as this trend may continue to grow. There has been an increase in the number of consumers that are taking ‘tech detox holidays,’ trying to get away from the perceived burden of being connected to work 24-7.

If marketers push too far, they run the risk of increasing the number of consumers that feel that their apps are becoming intrusive, ultimately leading to disengagement. Some platforms such as Facebook have already started to protect consumers from overusing the app with a new feature that provides an activity dashboard to allow you to monitor and set alerts that appear when you have been using the app for a fixed period of time during the day. This type of feature allows consumers to feel more in control of their device use, and should ultimately increase engagement by building consumer trust.

Mobile is just the first touchpoint

Rather than relying purely on engagement via mobile, marketers need to look further to combine their online/offline strategy. Mobile can be used to send consumers relevant messaging that then results in either an offline engagement or communication through another channel. For retail businesses, this might be through the use of beacon data or through customer loyalty schemes.

Marketers need to ask themselves how their mobile strategies can be maximized and constantly adding value for consumers, without necessarily overdoing it and essentially resorting to spray and pray with their messages.

What’s next?

Although the Ofcom comms report showed that consumers are using their mobile devices more than ever, it’s important that marketers are responsible with their communications and are always measuring what matters to consistently gauge the effectiveness of their activities. With the news this week that Whatsapp is allowing businesses to message consumers through the platform, in a WeChat-esque style, we would expect that the amount of time that consumers spend and the reliance on their devices is likely to continue to increase.

While this is positive for marketers, it means that it’s never been more important for brands to become more sophisticated in the ways they utilize their data, analytics, ingenuity and creativity to cut through the noise and deliver value to consumers on mobile.

Paul Wright, managing director (UK / FR / MEA), AppsFlyer