CorpComms Magazine

Brands are failing to live up to consumers' expectations and sufficiently focus on mobile as an audience communications channel, a new study of 2,000 smartphone users across Europe reveals today.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of those surveyed said that they prefer to do business with companies that make it easy to interact with them via a mobile, while 71 per cent say they feel more positive about companies that make it easier to access their site on a mobile.

But two thirds of those surveyed cite websites that are slow to load or difficult to navigate on mobile as their top annoyances, while 49 per cent are irritated by their inability to find information on companies in local areas.

The survey, 'Smart Marketing: Mobilising your Brand', conducted by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, found that nearly half of smartphone owners feel naked without their devices, while 23 per cent prefer to use a smartphone to access email and information.

Just over one third of all those surveyed (36 per cent) agree that mobile is changing the way that they think about and interact with products and companies.

Colin Byrne, chief executive of Weber Shandwick EMEA, said: 'Smartphones are a central part of mainstream consumer life and are becoming the first and only port of call for interaction with the brands and businesses that matter to people.

'Our research highlights a clear opportunity for brands to get closer to their audiences through mobile devices. They need to start by understanding how their audiences interact using mobile devices and also critically assess what it's like when those people try to engage with them via mobile today.'

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