45% of respondents say they prefer to do business with companies that facilitate interaction with them through mobile devices.

Almost half of them urge brands to create websites that are easy to access from mobile devices.

According to the study carried out by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research entitled “Smart Marketing: Mobilizing your brand” brands are falling short of their investments and are not paying enough attention to the use of mobile technologies as a communication channel with your public

The survey highlights that brands and companies face significant challenges related to how they interact with the consumer through smartphones.

The survey, carried out by Weber Shandwick among more than 2,000 smartphone users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, revealed that mobile devices are becoming their priority channel of interaction with brands. Nearly half of the respondents, 45%, said they preferred to do business with companies that facilitate interaction with them through a mobile device. Despite this, today brands are not offering good experiences in this regard to consumers or taking advantage of all the potential that this support offers them to connect with them in a closer way.

According to Colin Byrne, CEO of Weber Shandwick in the United Kingdom and Europe, “smartphones have become a central part of consumer life and the starting point for interaction with brands and businesses that interest people. . Despite this, the inescapable conclusion that can be drawn from our study is that the level of attention and budget allocated to mobile marketing is not in line with its importance as a catalyst of socializing content and generator of advocacy.”

Worldwide sales of smartphones have skyrocketed, reaching 85% growth during the first quarter of 2011 (Gartner), so it is increasingly important for communication experts to consider what communication means to their target audience with them through this platform.

Consumers use mobile devices intensively to connect with businesses and brands

• 41% of peoples surveyed affirm “feeling naked” without their smartphone. One in four users (23%) prefer to use a smartphone to a PC to access e-mail and other information even when they are at home.
• Consumers are becoming brand advocates through smartphones. News related to different companies are usually the most shared type of content on mobile devices; 30% of consumers shared news about a company or its services during the past year.
• One in three consumers says that their purchases are influenced by the mobile channel.The quality of mobile interaction plays a fundamental role in the preference of a brand
• 42% of peoples consumers surveyed and 36% of Europeans agree that mobile phones are changing their way of thinking and interacting with some products or companies. 71% of European smartphone users say they feel better about companies that facilitate access to their website through mobile.

Consumers feel disinterested due to bad mobile experiences

• Two thirds of the participants identify as very annoying web pages that are slow to load or that are not navigable through a mobile device. About half of respondents are upset that they can not find information about businesses locally. At the top of the European consumer wish list for a better mobile experience are the pages that are easy to use via mobile.

Consumer preferences vary considerably depending on the market

• 51% of smartphone users in the UK and 54% in France are much more interested in the link with their smartphones; 24% of German consumers are more reluctant to the idea that the mobile is changing the way of thinking about products and companies.

Byrne adds that “our study highlights the clear opportunity that brands have to reach their target audience through mobile devices. Brands need to begin to understand the way in which their target audience interacts through the use of mobile devices in addition to critically assessing what is happening now when they try to connect with them through their mobile. That’s when they have to start thinking about how to take advantage of the immediacy, location and personalization inherent in the mobile to improve communication. “