3. 1
Executive Summary
The world has entered what Forrester calls “the age of the
customer,” in which consumers hold all the decision-making
power and can access nearly unlimited information and
resources at will. Consumers are better informed and better
connected than ever before, and as a result, they expect
more from the businesses that serve them. Businesses that
fail to meet the evolving needs of customers will find
themselves losing out to competitors that are actively
adapting their strategy and portfolio to better serve
customer needs.
The advancement of mobile technology, specifically
smartphones and tablets, has been a major catalyst for this
change, as customers are continuously connected to the
Internet — and therefore are in reach of your business (and
your competitors) anytime and anyplace. By offering robust,
value-adding features and conveniences to customers via
mobile applications, businesses can gain a large share of
consumer attention and loyalty, leading to new customers
and increased brand favorability.
Companies of all sizes are answering the call for a
customer-centric mobile strategy. For small, agile
companies, this is often a natural fit, as they develop from
the get-go with a mobile-first mindset or are agile enough to
shift resources and strategy to emphasize it. Large
enterprises, on the other hand, typically have more
resources on hand to devote to developing mobile
capabilities. But where does that leave midsize companies
that don’t have the flexibility to quickly shift strategy or a
vast pool of available resources to dedicate to mobile?
In October 2014, Phunware commissioned Forrester
Consulting to evaluate the hypothesis that midmarket
companies often miss the opportunity to deliver unique and
differentiated mobile experiences to their customers
because they struggle to establish the cost-benefit and ROI
in developing mobile applications.
Through an online survey of 108 US-based IT and business
decision-makers at midtier companies (primarily between
$100 million and $999 million in revenue) with customer-
facing mobile initiatives, Forrester found that the majority do
indeed lack a clear road map for their mobile applications
and, as a result, face challenges in building a business case
to support continued investment in and development of
mobile applications. These companies know what they need
to build a stronger business case, but they are often
hindered in what they can measure due to the limited
capabilities of their mobile applications and measurement
metrics.
KEY FINDINGS
Forrester’s study yielded four key findings:
› Providing basic mobile features, such as connecting
to a website, is not enough for apps. Your customers
will define the requirements for the next generation of
your company’s mobile applications. It’s no longer
acceptable to simply condense your website experience
to a smaller screen; businesses must deliver new, value-
adding touchpoints along the entire customer life cycle via
mobile.
› Many midsize businesses lack the technology and
tools needed to customize the mobile experience for
their customers’ specific needs. Businesses recognize
that their apps must focus on customers’ needs in order to
drive higher satisfaction, increase brand favorability, and
ultimately drive revenue. This means apps must offer the
new features customers want, but unfortunately, few
midsize companies have the technology and tools, such
as location-based services and content management
capabilities, to support these capabilities.
› The majority of midsize businesses face challenges
with building a business case for improving their
mobile applications. Despite the clear need for
technology investments to meet consumer demands, 67%
of surveyed companies face challenges with showing ROI
of mobile apps, and more than half lack a clear road map.
These strategic barriers are rooted in an inability to
accurately measure mobile usage metrics and indecision
around which features and functionalities to develop.
› Outsourcing the development of mobile apps is a
low-risk, cost-effective alternative to building in-
house for midmarket companies. Even if your company
already has an app, developing new features to stay
relevant to your customers can prove risky and costly.
Midsize companies may find outsourcing the build of their
mobile apps to be a preferable alternative to developing
in-house.
4. 2
Rising Customer Expectations Are
Driving Business’ Mobile Strategies
Mobile is changing the game for how companies interact
with their customers. Customers use mobile technologies
for a wealth of business and personal activities. As mobile
adoption rates skyrocket, expectations for a quality mobile
experience are also on the rise. Customers want a mobile
experience that not only sells them a final product but that
creates value all along their decision-making process.
Success with mobile requires taking advantage of the brief
but crucial instants in which your customer needs service,
information, or just about anything else. Forrester defines
these opportunities as “mobile moments”: points in time and
space when someone pulls out a mobile device to get what
he or she wants immediately, in context.
1
Businesses must
deliver on these mobile moments through immediate,
contextually relevant information, offers, and feedback in
order to succeed with mobile.
Accordingly, customers must remain at the heart of most
businesses’ mobile strategies. Forrester conducted a survey
of midsize organizations (between $100 million and $999
million in revenue) with customer-facing mobile initiatives
and found that the top motivating factor for developing
customer-facing mobile applications was improving
customer satisfaction, with 52% of the respondent base
agreeing. Likewise, increasing engagement with customers
and satisfying customer demand for a mobile experience
rank as the next two motivating factors, each chosen by
41% of the respondents (see Figure 1).
THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY, NOT YOUR WEBSITE, IS
THE DESIGN POINT OF FUTURE MOBILITY
Mobile can be an exceptionally powerful tool to engage your
consumers and enrich your brand, but only if your mobile
experience can solve a customer’s problem, eliminate
friction or annoyance for them, or deliver a new business
service.
2
It’s no longer a competitive differentiator to simply
take a subset of the PC/web experience and put it onto a
smaller screen, as most companies with an app start by
mimicking common website capabilities. For example, 74%
of midtier companies’ mobile applications already allow
customers to search product information and availability,
while 72% allow for account management. Even purchasing
via cart and checkout and receiving promotions are features
in over half of midsize companies’ mobile applications.
Companies that content themselves with these table stakes
may be satisfied to say they have a mobile app, but it won’t
position them competitively in the market.
To create mobile experiences that matter and are a
competitive differentiator, companies are studying their
customers’ specific challenges, goals, and realities and are
developing capabilities accordingly. This has led companies
in different industries on branching paths in terms of what
mobile functionality is most needed to serve customers.
A “mobile moment” is a point in time and
space when someone pulls out a mobile device
to get what they want in their immediate
context.
FIGURE 1
The Top Three Motivating Factors For Developing Mobile Applications Are Customer-Centric
Base: 108 US-based IT and business decision-makers at organizations with customer-facing mobile initiatives
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Phunware, October 2014
“Thinking about your company’s mobile application, whether complete or under development, what were/
are your primary motivating factors for developing a customer-facing mobile application?”
(Select up to three)
Remain competitive in the market against our competitors 36%
Increase revenue 39%
Satisfy customer demand for a mobile experience 41%
Increase engagement with customer base/increase loyalty 41%
Improve customer satisfaction 52%
5. 3
The Role Of Customer-Facing Mobile
Applications In Healthcare
Like companies in other verticals, healthcare companies are
prioritizing mobile capabilities that help meet the ever-
growing demands of their customers. Healthcare survey
respondents cited meeting customer needs and improving
user experience as the top two mobile application
development priorities, with 67% and 63% of the base
respectively (see Figure 2).
Healthcare companies hoping to meet these priorities will
have to understand the unique needs and motivations of
patients on the go, as most healthcare services require a
visit to a clinic or hospital. Healthcare professionals
specifically identified two areas where improved mobile
moments could remedy patients’ experience:
› Hospital visits. Historically, the patient information intake
process has been time-consuming for patients and
healthcare staff alike, but mobile technology looks to
remedy that. Eighty-seven percent of healthcare
respondents surveyed want to improve customer service
by achieving faster check-ins and less waiting through
mobile technology, and 73% hope to improve the patient
information intake process, including collection of medical
history, allergies, and emergency contacts. Additionally,
in-hospital mapping and navigation was a priority for 80%
of respondents.
› Medical information and appointment scheduling.
Sixty-seven percent of healthcare survey respondents are
looking to improve the exchange of medical information
and records, while 53% want to use mobile technology to
improve appointment scheduling and reminders (see
Figure 3).
MIDSIZE HEALTHCARE COMPANIES LACK THE
TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT NEW MOBILE USE
CASES
In order to enable next-generation use cases, mobile
applications must first be supported by the necessary tools
and technology. Unfortunately, many applications for
midsize healthcare companies lack important technological
features, such as connection to wearables, facility mapping,
and social networking. Furthermore, new back-end
technological capabilities are necessary to ensure continued
innovations in mobile applications, including:
› Improved mobile analytics. Fifty percent of respondents
claimed improved mobile-application measurement
metrics as a necessary capability for the future (see
FIGURE 2
Future Development Priorities Are Customer-Centric
Base: 30 US-based IT and business decision-makers at healthcare
organizations with customer-facing mobile initiatives
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf
of Phunware, October 2014
“Going forward, what are your top mobile
application development priorities?”
(Select up to three)
Meeting development timelines 20%
Creating differentiation from
competitors
37%
Accomplishing business objectives 40%
Meeting ROI expectations 47%
Improving the user experience 63%
Meeting customer needs 67%
FIGURE 3
Key Mobile Use Cases For Healthcare Customers
Base: 30 US-based IT and business decision-makers at healthcare
organizations with customer-facing mobile initiatives
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
behalf of Phunware, October 2014
“In the healthcare industry, what are the key use cases
you are trying to enable with your customer-facing
mobile application(s)?”
(Select all that apply)
Appointment scheduling and
reminders
53%
Provide patient access to medical
records and personal information
67%
Improve patient information intake
process (e.g., medical history,
allergies, emergency contacts)
73%
Enable in-hospital/clinic mapping
and navigation for patients,
caregivers, and family members
80%
Improve customer service (e.g.,
faster check-ins, less waiting)
87%
6. 4
Figure 4). Metrics are a fundamental building block for
measuring usage, identifying areas for development, and
proving ROI to secure continued investments from
budget-holders.
› Improved content management. As healthcare
companies move to digitize health records, patient intake
information, and other general account information, the
need to manage all that content in a secure, compliant
way becomes paramount. Moving content to mobile adds
additional complications, thus making content
management a critical capability to adopt for 47% of
survey respondents.
AN INABILITY TO PROVE ROI AND DEVELOP A CLEAR
ROAD MAP STYMIES MOBILE TECH INVESTMENTS
With the future potential to deliver a superior level of service
and a clear idea of the technology that will support it, one
might expect most healthcare companies to have a fully
developed mobile strategy in place, but many are faltering
at this crucial stage. In fact, 43% of healthcare companies
have no future road map in place for their mobile
application. This is likely due to the fact that 60% of
respondents report having challenges with building a
business case to support the continued investment in and
development of mobile applications.
Survey respondents cite the following obstacles to proving
the future value of mobile:
› Problems prioritizing features. Thirty-seven percent of
respondents cited this as the primary barrier to
development or improvement of their customer-facing
applications. Likewise, 33% reported conflicting opinions
over objectives between stakeholders. Without a clear
understanding of the business objectives they hope to
achieve with mobile, choosing features devolves into
unjustifiable guesswork.
› Measuring customer usage. Businesses want to know
that their investment is paying off, but 37% of respondents
claim they are unable to accurately measure application
usage. It’s hard to justify investing more money in a
mobile application if your company is not even sure it’s
getting good usage or engagement from customers.
Midsize healthcare companies are caught in a tough place:
they need further investments to develop the mobile
applications customers demand, but to build the business
case for mobile, they need the insights from analytics their
technology cannot deliver.
OUTSOURCING MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT AVOIDS
MANY IN-HOUSE DEVELOPMENT HEADACHES
Midsize companies face several challenges that their
startup and enterprise competitors do not, but there is no
excuse for inaction. It’s incumbent upon healthcare
companies to continue to develop the functionality of their
mobile applications, and the best path forward is often
partnering with a development firm that specializes in
mobile application development, rather than push for all in-
house. According to our survey, 63% of healthcare
respondents are either licensing a mobile platform or
outsourcing mobile development completely, as building in-
house is not a viable option.
Building an in-house mobile development team can be a
costly, risky endeavor. By outsourcing mobile development,
midsize healthcare companies ensure their app is in the
hands of expert developers with experience in the mobile
space. Along with expertise in development, outsource firms
will know which technologies are needed to support specific
capabilities and measure app usage, which helps determine
future road maps for development priorities. Having these
clear, long-term strategic plans will help healthcare
companies better execute on mobile objectives.
FIGURE 4
Desired Technological Capabilities
Base: 30 US-based IT and business decision-makers at healthcare
organizations with customer-facing mobile initiatives
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
behalf of Phunware, October 2014
“What are the mobile application capabilities and
technologies your company would need to adopt in order
to deliver on those additional mobile experiences?”
(Select all that apply)
Cart and checkout
functionality
Digital wallet technology
services
Inventory availability
Content management
capabilities
Improved mobile-application
measurement metrics
Location-based services
New technology platform in
addition to the one you have 50%
47%
43%
43%
43%
33%
33%
7. 5
Key Recommendations
The job of winning, serving, and retaining customers is dependent on being able to provide customers with what they
need, when and where they need it. In order to effectively do that, businesses are looking toward mobile applications,
but just having a mobile application is not sufficient in today’s competitive landscape. Businesses need to have a clear
objective for their mobile applications and a solid understanding of how those applications will meet customers’ needs
and, in turn, create a positive ROI for the business. In order to make the most out of their mobile capabilities,
companies must understand and deliver on their customers’ on-the-go needs, as well as adequately measure the
success of their mobile applications with business-relevant metrics. To maximize the effectiveness of their mobile
strategy, businesses should do the following:
› Focus on application features and capabilities that meet specific customer needs rather than just
mirroring the PC/web experience for mobile devices. While it’s valuable to make your PC/web experiences
mobile-compatible, the true benefits of a mobile application begin to unfold as you deliver on the unique needs
and motivations of consumers on the go. Every industry has a unique set of customer needs that a mobile
application could satisfy, and many of those needs exist at customer touchpoints that can only be reached via
mobile. Examples include location mapping and navigation for people who are at a venue, store, or office;
account management capabilities for personal accounts and records; and location-based promotions or content
to enhance the user experience.
› Design a strategic road map for your mobile applications that supports clear business objectives. Many
of the companies surveyed began their mobile journey with the basic objectives to satisfy customer demand for a
mobile experience, increase customer engagement, and/or stay competitive in the market. However, less than
half of them actually have a strategic road map for how they want to utilize their application longer term.
Organizations need to have a solid understanding of where they want to go with their mobile capabilities or they
will likely fall behind in the market as they fail to meet changing customer expectations.
› Improve measurement metrics and identify the KPIs that are most critical to building a business case for
continued investment in mobile. Once a business has been able to build a road map for its mobile applications,
the next hurdle it must face is accurately measuring the use and success of those applications. This is one of the
biggest challenges that companies face with their mobile strategies — 44% of companies said they would need
improved mobile-application measurement metrics in order to deliver on the new mobile experiences that
customers want. If objectives for mobile applications are not measurable or not being met, it will be very hard to
justify continued investments for improving the apps.
› Consider third-party vendors to provide capabilities for mobile applications that will enable you to deliver
the experiences your customers want. While many mobile applications are developed and built in-house,
many companies find advantages with using third parties through licensing mobile platforms (SaaS) or
outsourcing the full development of the applications. These alternatives can provide the technology and, in many
cases, the technical expertise, needed to deliver on new customer requirements for mobile applications.
Additionally, many third-party vendors provide full-service mobile management capabilities, which include
everything from application development and road map planning to ongoing application management and
updates. Managed services for mobile applications can alleviate the burden of innovation for many companies in
planning application road maps, which can enable faster implementation of a mobile application, thus allowing
businesses to reach their objectives more quickly.
8. 6
Appendix A: Demographics
Appendix B: Endnotes
1
Mobile Moments Transform Commerce And Service Experiences, by Julie A. Ask, Josh Bernoff, Ted Schadler, and Ron
Rogowski, Forrester Research, Inc., 2015
2
The Mobile Mind Shift, by Ted Schadler, Josh Bernoff, and Julie Ask, Forrester Research, Inc., 2014
FIGURE 5
Title And Role
Base: 108 US-based IT and business decision-makers at organizations with customer-facing mobile initiatives
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Phunware, October 2014
“Which of the following most closely
describes your job title?”
Manager, 33%
Director, 21%
Vice president, 10%
C-level executive,
35%
“Which category best describes
your role?”
Both digital
marketing and
eBusiness, 17%
eBusiness /
eCommerce, 16%
Marketing, 25%
IT, 43%
FIGURE 6
Company Revenue And Industry
Base: 108 US-based IT and business decision-makers at organizations with customer-facing mobile initiatives
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Phunware, October 2014
“What is your company's approximate
annual revenue?”
“Which of the following best describes the
industry to which your company belongs?”
$10M to $49M
$50M to $99M
$100M to $249M
$250M to $499M
$500M to $749M
$750M to $999M
$1B or more 8%
9%
11%
21%
19%
11%
19%
Entertainment/
media/sports
Travel and
hospitality
Retail
Healthcare 28%
28%
28%
17%
![Table Of Contents
Executive Summary ...........................................................................................1
Rising Customer Expectations Are Driving Business’ Mobile Strategies .2
The Role Of Customer-Facing Mobile Applications In Healthcare..............3
Key Recommendations .....................................................................................5
Appendix A: Demographics..............................................................................6
Appendix B: Endnotes.......................................................................................6
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