In my book The Mobile Marketing Handbook (coming Fall 2008), I make a case for having two versions of websites – one for viewing from a full size computer and one for viewing from a mobile device. My friends over at Situational Marketing summed it up perfectly:
As a normal cellphone user – I don’t want the full internet. I want what I want, when I want it. Information from Rss feeds, the ability to browse a few mobile-friendly sites and blogs, and the ability to make transactions at my bank or other vendor safely and easily.
I’m not writing full documents out in public. I want quick viewing that loads quickly and gives me what I want. I want 20-30 minutes of easy reading time when I’m standing in line, or waiting for the wife to shop, or looking for sports scores. I don’t want ESPN.com – I want the mobile version of ESPN that gives me the football scores, some video, and columns I want to read.
So what do you want on the mobile web?
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Wouldn’t it be sweet if there were some mobile voice standard in place that could be integrated with mobile sites so that they’re capable of responding to voice commands such as…
- about
- contact
- add to basket
- checkout | purchase
- go to login
- logout
just to name a few.
…forgot to add, that’s one thing I’d love in the mobile web
I have to admit that I DO NOT want to perform purchase transactions using my mobile phone. (But that’s just me.) I need the time and screen real estate to read the product details, look at photos, read user submitted reviews, etc.
Plus the check out process still tends to be cumbersome at the top online retailer Websites. A lot more progress needs to be made to streamline that for mobile Web.
However, I DO want to make micro purchases with my device, such as at vending machines. I wouldn’t mind those purchases appearing on my carrier’s monthly bill.
Kim,
I am delivering a presentation to the Atlanta Electronic Commerce Forum on February 12th. This topic is covered and I wanted to share my thoughts:
The Mobile Web Is About:
Quick Finds not Searching
Quick Information not Browsing
Quick Views not Watching
Quick Payments not Shopping
Making Your Customer’s Life Easier by Solving a Problem!
Examples include:
Find a Store
Find a Map
Find the Weather
Find a Score
Get Coupons
Reload A Card
Place an Order
Everything is quick finds. Note that the Mobile Web is NOT the Internet. The more people confuse the two, the more folks will build out applications and sites that are not utilized.