ekmPowershop wanted to market to growing numbers of smartphone and tablet users by providing a seamless experience. It used responsive web design to overhaul its site, then deployed mobile-specific search ads to drive new business. The investment paid off; of searches on top terms, 8% are now from smartphone and 8% are from tablet. And while 7% of conversions now come from smartphone and 12% come from tablet, today 9% of ekmPowershop's incremental cross-device conversions are attributable to smartphones.
Approach
Launched responsive web design (RWD) site
Used mobile-specific search ads to drive new customer acquisition
Goals
Offer customers a seamless experience across all devices
Market to growing numbers of smartphone and tablet users
Results
Of searches on top terms, 8% are now from smartphone, 8% from tablet
7% of conversions now from smartphone, 12% from tablet
9% of incremental cross-device conversions attributable to smartphones
Compared to desktop, smartphone acquisition currently 20% cheaper, tablet acquisition 32% cheaper
ekmPowershop is a leading build-it-yourself e-commerce solution with over 12,000 customers in the UK and Europe. It allows businesses to build their own online shop and includes appealing templates, full hosting, free support and m-commerce functionality.
Over the past three years, ekmPowershop noticed a shift in the devices being used to access its site. In queries, clicks, impressions and ad CTR, there's been a year on year decline in desktop of 4%, while smartphones and tablets are on the up with a year on year increase of 26.5% and 25.2% respectively.
ekmPowershop's customers are on mobile, so the company is too
ekmPowershop immediately understood that if its customers were on mobile, it needed to be on mobile too. With an eye on these trends, ekmPowershop decided to use responsive web design (RWD) to create a seamless experience so that customers could enjoy the same usability on desktop, tablet or smartphone.
Mobile has changed the way we view a customer's journey, because the journey itself has changed. Whether researching or purchasing, decision makers use multiple touch points and devices like smartphones and tablets to find our services. That makes mobile a huge channel for us which offers increased exposure and lower acquisition costs.
For example, on smartphones, ekmPowershop's RWD site offers multiple ways to convert users into customers, including a click-to-call link as well as opportunities to request a call back, initiate a live chat with an agent or sign up there and then. Beyond the homepage, the design ensures that B2B prospects on the go are able to find easily digestible information in the form of strong graphics illustrating ekmPowershop's USPs and at-a-glance text explanations.
Mobile proves its worth in visits, sales and cross-device conversions
With mobile functionality now an integral part of ekmPowershop's offering, it made perfect sense to make full use of mobile marketing. ekmPowershop recognised the channel's potential in new customer acquisition and lead generation, and decided to put mobile solutions from Google to work.
Within AdWords, ekmPowershop created mobile-specific ads including a call extension, then paid close attention to metrics such as CTR, CPC and CPA to optimise for all devices. This savvy approach has more than paid off; of searches on ekmPowershop's top terms, today 8% are from smartphone and 8% are from tablet. But that's not all — now 7% of conversions are occurring on smartphones and 12% on tablets. Meanwhile, results show that compared to desktop, smartphone acquisition is currently 20% cheaper and tablet acquisition is 32% cheaper.
Through its intelligent use of AdWords reporting, ekmPowershop is forming a fuller picture of the path from researcher into purchaser, too. It's clear that many users research and click an ad on mobile, but then complete a conversion on desktop or tablet. Thanks to its focused analysis, the company is able to attribute 9% of incremental cross-device conversions to smartphones. Metrics like these prove not only that mobile is delivering in the B2B sector both through on-device and cross-device conversions, but that smart investment into the channel makes a powerful contribution to business success.
