Our last blog revealed some eye-opening statistics around the pace of mobile. However the two I would like to focus on this week are the following: 

• More than 40% of customers have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience
• More than 40% of ecommerce sales are now mobile (this figure is growing exponentially)

We know that not reaching your customers through mobile and not providing an acceptable user experience can translate to loss of customers and sales. But perhaps these figures don’t strike you as much as they should.
Perhaps you still rely more heavily on other lead generation methods, such as cold calling. Or perhaps you think a bad mobile UX won’t necessarily mean customers won’t visit your desktop site/app instead. Well, let me tell you, no matter what the case, 46% of customers will not return to a site that performs poorly, no matter what platform!
It’s easy to have statistics thrown at you, but when you think of the psychological reasons of why this is so, you gain a much better understanding of the importance of UX. The one I would like to draw your attention to is negativity bias.
Negativity bias is the human tendency to be much more likely to be influenced by and to recall negative experiences, instead of neutral or positive experiences.
Let’s take a real life example. You are out for dinner, and the waiting service is slow, orders are incorrect and staff are rude. Afterwards you go for a drink, but in this venue the customer service is satisfactory, great, even. You return home and your spouse/kids/housemates ask how your evening was:

• What do you think would be the main thing you would talk about?
• Would this influence their chances on going to the same place?
• Would you be inclined to return?

It’s sad but true that we are generally cognitively programmed this way. Nonetheless this is no different when it comes to mobile UX. If customers are unhappy with your mobile UX it is highly likely that:

• They will share their opinions with others (and the “information age” means an opinion can go a long way, viral, even)
• Depending on the relationship, chances are this opinion will influence other customers
• Consequently you have lost not only that one customer, but others too

Now, this just highlights the detrimental effects of a bad mobile UX. Companies with a particularly good UX are the ones ahead of the competition. Is it any wonder that the largest companies in the world are not only optimised for mobile, but stress the importance of UX?

• Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, talks about enabling customer to thrive in a “mobile-first” world
• “If there’s one reason we have done better than of our peers in the Internet space over the last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on user experience.” – Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO

Furthermore, did you know Google ranks your page lower on search results if your desktop site is not optimized for a mobile experience?
UX, especially mobile, should be a primary concern for your company. Here at Channel Tools, our Channel Mobile team focus on delivering for our clients – and as a team that lives and breathes mobile every day, we ensure you get the most up to date and innovative thinking available. Don’t miss out on customers due to a bad mobile UX, get in contact with us today.
 
Image courtesy of www.adquadrant.com