We have all heard - continuously, almost, for the past few years - how mobile is going to change the travel industry in such a fundamental way.
Now that the process is properly under way, with smartphones outselling older handsets, we are starting to get a better idea as to how the "always-connected" consumer might behave.
Pew Research has some great studies on this, with one.widely reported piece of work on US citizens.
There has also been a similar study outside of the US, for example, by Ofcom (the media and telcoms regulator) in the UK.
In looking at this, I think we are starting to see some key lessons. Mobile usage is changing and evolving. This is not earth-shattering information but the interesting thing is how it permeates everything we do.
So, from the US, a randomly selected nugget of information:
Mobiles can help prevent unwanted personal interactions – 13% of cell owners pretend to be using their phone in order to avoid interacting with the people around them.
In the UK, citing the Ofcom annual study, over half (51%) of adults and two thirds (65%) of teenagers say they have used their smartphone while socialising with others, nearly a quarter (23%) of adults and a third (34%) of teenagers have used them during mealtimes and over a fifth (22%) of adult and nearly half (47%) of teenage smartphone users admitted using or answering their handset in the bathroom or toilet.
For travel, this will have a profound effect on the user community and the companies that service them. In fact, making customer service mobile-friendly is a challenge for all.
For example, many smartphones have soft dial pads, therefore asking a user to enter keypad data from a mobile phone is going to make it increasingly difficult to interact with the system.
You may well lose a certain percentage of people who will abandon the calls even if the system responds to the user. Mayve time to start checking the call abandonment rates in your call centre.
Meanwhile, customers demanding instant gratification will bypass mobile websites and customer service audio services which are too complicated and take too long, with too much interaction.
This means you may never know why your customer base is ignoring you.
Next, the rapid adoption of mobile and the slow decline of traditional media are having a profound effect on the relationship between brands (intermediary or direct) and the customer base.
The frustration level of the consumer with the overly complex processes of customer interaction (I cannot even use the word service in this context) is now hurting your business.
So here is some simple advice to hook on to.
1. Be basic
Answer simply: can I provide a URL or a simple phone number that can answer 80% of a customer’s questions in a single interaction?
2. Is your mobile site TRULY mobilized?
What ever happened to one-click shopping and three clicks to purchase? I have watched far too many mobile demos with 10+ screens, which eventually lost the customer somewhere at screen number three. Assume every screen loses 50% of your user base.
3. Cost to the customer
Remember that each call to you via a mobile is likely to cost the consumer hard money. There are so few plans that are all-you-can-eat voice and data.
4. Skillsets
Are your own people trained on using mobiles from the user end? Take a poll in your call centre: how many of your team have smart phones? Do you?
5. Apps vs Browsers
Get over it – it's both
6. Attention span
Bascially, assume all customers have ADD.
7. Testing
Experiment. Fail. Experiment. Fail. Repeat until fixed. Then start again
8. Cost to the company
Allocate as much of your budget as possible to mobile. Then be prepared to be shocked when the spending overruns. (Hint: take it out of the PR pot).