Thanks to tiny screens, the right mobile site requires the right product selection

Kevin Ranford, vice president, online marketing, mobile and social media

The good news for mobile marketers is that mobile phones are rarely far from their owners, putting a new spin on the term “close to the customer.”

But mobile sites, though widely accessible to consumers, do present special challenges to marketers, says Kevin Ranford, vice president, online marketing, mobile and social media, at retailer 1-800-Flowers.com. He will speak at the Mobile Conference Forum 2010, Oct. 12-13 in Chicago, in a session entitled “Getting the right products and services in front of mobile consumers.”

Because consumers will give only so much time to viewing products on tiny screens, marketers must think carefully about how many products and how much content they present on their mobile sites, according to Ranford, who will be joined in the presentation by Todd Cabell, senior manager, web strategy, at Crutchfield.com.

"I'll discuss merchandising strategies specific to the unique mobile shopping experience, and how retailers can deliver the best product selection to their mobile shoppers. Further, I'll walk through examples of how to optimize mobile acquisition and retention marketing campaigns,” Ranford says. “I'll also provide recommendations on how retailers can provide value-adds to distinguish their mobile programs. In this session, attendees will learn mobile merchandising strategies, acquisition and retention marketing tactics specific to mobile, and value-add service options to consider providing to mobile users."