MOBILE DATA:

THE MISSING LINK IN YOUR

USER ACQUISITION AND
ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES
 The list goes on and on, and it’s
OUR DIGITAL growing exponentially in both volume
and velocity.
WORLD GENERATES
TREMENDOUS What we call “big data” refers to
the process of harnessing this ever-
AMOUNTS OF DATA growing avalanche of data types and
OF ALL DIFFERENT bytes to generate business value.

KINDS—social media,
According to Forrester Research’s “Top
transactional data, Five Questions About Big Data,” the
emails, web-page visits… most common use cases for big data
fall into three broad categories:1
1. Solutions that focus on efficiency
and risk
2. Solutions that focus on security and
application performance
3. Solutions that help brands
understand and serve customers

We’re focused on the last category—

and with good reason. With the rise
of the web, social media and mobile
devices, today’s consumers have more
power and choice than ever. Businesses
that use big data to understand and
serve their customers supremely well
are positioning themselves to thrive.

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“Well, in my humble opinion, big data is
the most transformative paradigm shift
to hit sales and marketing teams since
the advent of the telephone.”
– Mick Hollison, Inc.com2

Big Data Offers Multiple Opportunities throughout the

Customer Life Cycle

› Target best customers › Deeper understanding

of channel behavior
› Engage on preferred
channels in right context › Finer segmentation

› Smarter mix modeling

ENGAGE DISCOVER

› Smarter product › Highly personalized

improvements; new content
product design
› Easy navigation of
› Deeper under- ASK EXPLORE offerings
standing of the voice
of the customer › Improved outcomes as
buyers jump channels

USE BUY
› Fewer issues through › Better offer targeting
predictive maintenance
› More-knowledgable
› Faster resolution of sales personnel
customer cases
› Improved inventory and
capacity management

Source: Brian Hopkins, et al; Q&A: Forrester’s Top Five Questions About Big Data; Forrester Research, Inc.; August 10, 2015

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Mobile data: Highly valuable, often under-utilized
According to DATAVERSITY, “Mobile data has become the largest contributor to big data, primarily because
of the excessive penetration of the mobile interfaces in all walks of life.”3

Yet most marketers aren’t taking full advantage of the real-time data flowing from customer mobile devices
and from “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices like sensors and beacons. Some are just beginning to gather
data, while others are only looking at narrow slices of all available data. As a result, they’re missing many
important insights.

Mobile data is made up of all the ways an individual uses a mobile device—browsing the web, playing games,
watching video, engaging on social, tapping on ads, taking an Uber or Lyft somewhere, etc. And it comes
from every smartphone, tablet or laptop each individual uses.

What makes mobile data uniquely valuable is the fact that it includes context. People use the mobile web
and apps differently depending on where they are, what time it is and what else they’re doing. And because
mobile devices have embedded location technologies, we can gather data on both behavior and context.
Apps and background services even generate valuable data when the customer isn’t using the device.4

Understanding the daily mobile data trail

As people go about their daily lives with their mobile devices, they leave a digital trail that tells brands
who they are, where they have been, their preferences and even where they’re likely to go next. Everything
consumers do with their smartphone, tablet or laptop contributes to this digital trail. And it’s all valuable
information that users naturally share.

Connect to Starbucks Wi-Fi

while getting coffee
Wake up and read
10:30am
the news online
6:50am

Check email & news

Check scores of
favorite sports teams
10:30pm
Browse for a dinner
playlist while cooking
8:00pm
Watch favorite shows
on connected TV apps
9:10pm
on the train to work
8:15am Look up recipes for
dinner inspiration
Get directions to 4:30pm
nearest supermarket
6:15pm
On the train, look at
movie showtimes for
this weekend
Open a coupon and 5:15pm
use it at the register
6:30pm

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 The more sources of mobile data you draw from, the more complete your picture of each
individual can be. Here are some example of data types and sources:
› Ad impressions and conversions from mobile web and in-app advertising
› In-app behavior from an app you own
› In-app behavior from other apps on the same network
› Location information from Wi-Fi connections, check-ins, GPS and app location services
› Proximity information from sensor technologies (like beacons) in the physical environment

(For a more in-depth exploration of location technologies, download Location Technology 101.)

“All activities produce information, but they don’t produce digital data unless
they involve an application, device, or sensor. Companies that have been able to
see and pursue this foregone data—the information rising off activities, places,
and things like so much evaporating steam—have profited greatly from it.” 5
– MIT Technology Review

Where does the daily mobile data trail lead?

The data generated by each person’s daily mobile trail empowers marketers to envelop
consumers in a cloud of context. Suddenly, you can learn not just who the person is, but where
she goes, what she does, “even her likely emotional state.”6 Every day, that contextual cloud
grows richer with information. People aren’t static—they change all the time, and they behave
and think differently in different situations. Mobile data helps you keep up with consumers as
they move through their lives.

Within the cloud of context, we can begin to build a picture of each individual.
› How much time does she spend at work each week?
› When is she likely to leave the office?
› What neighborhood does she live in?
› Does she eat out a lot?
› How often and where does she shop?
› What events does she attend?
› Which device does she prefer to use for playing games? Streaming video? Shopping?
› Does she travel frequently? Is it likely to be business travel or pleasure?
› How much time does she spend in apps? What does she click on? What does she ignore?
› Has she started a new hobby? Or stopped doing something she used to do?

We can then use this picture to engage the user more deeply—and to target and acquire more
users with similar characteristics and patterns.

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 How do you turn mobile data into insights?
Analysis turns a big pile of information into useful insights. Here’s a brief look at all of
the different ways you can slice and dice mobile data:

BY INDIVIDUAL

Correlating mobile data with specific device IDs gives you a richer picture of individual users
and prospects—and all of the devices they own. We engage differently on different devices, so
having insight beyond the smartphone is important.

AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS

Looking across all mobile data gathered at specific geographic locations, you can gain valuable
insights about what people do in those places and when. (For example, where your users work
and live, or how they travel through an individual store.)

ACROSS GROUPS OF PEOPLE

Taking a 1000-foot view of user behaviors, you can gain useful perspective about their
preferences and identify large-scale patterns.

BETWEEN COHORTS OF PEOPLE

Identifying and comparing cohorts of similar users can help you fill in the gaps in your
understanding with logical assumptions and predictions, based on where these groups do (and
don’t) overlap.

For the best results, continuously gathering and analyzing mobile data
should become systematic in your organization.

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How do you make mobile insights actionable?
Once you’ve built a system of mobile insights, you can put them to work. The more you understand about
your users, the more effectively you can engage, target and acquire more of them.

Acquire more (and higher-value) app users.

By looking at demographic, behavioral and engagement data on your app users, you can
understand the types of audiences that are most likely to download and use your app. Then
you can look across the mobile advertising landscape to see where these audiences are
prevalent, and work with your partners to run acquisition campaigns targeted specifically to
their preferences and priorities. The more you run these campaigns, the more data you can
gather about what works and why, so you can optimize your efforts as you go.

Enable truly contextual mobile marketing.

Contextual marketing is the practice of using context and location information (i.e. the daily
mobile data trail) to help you understand the best context(s) for engaging your existing app
users. Send personalized push notification messages based on where users are, what they’re
likely doing and so on. Add context to the in-app experience by changing the greeting based
on whether the user is at home, at work or in your store. User responses (or non-responses)
to contextual engagement yield even more data, which you can use to further optimize your
efforts—for a continuous loop of insights and action.

CONTEXTUAL MOBILE DATA DELIVERS A CONTINUOUS LOOP OF INSIGHTS

Proprietary In-App Rich Campaign Always-On

Audience Data Engagement Data Location Data

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 Add contextual insight to your overall marketing strategies
The cloud of context you gain from mobile insights can enrich your marketing strategies in
multiple ways. For example:
› Individual and aggregated user insights can help you segment more effectively, predict
behaviors and propensities more accurately and even uncover hidden audiences.
› Geographic insights can be used to evaluate markets, explore user behaviors around brick-
and-mortar locations (even the competition) and much more.
› Analyzing user behaviors and traffic patterns can reveal unmet wants and needs, which
can inform store layouts and inventory and help shape product and service development.

Best practices: Using mobile data in user acquisition

Gaming companies were among the first to embrace mobile, and not surprisingly are some of the most
advanced when it comes to harnessing mobile data to acquire new users. Let’s look at a few best practices
we can learn from their experience.

Cast a wide net, then test and repeat.

To truly take advantage of data, the first step is to acquire a lot of it! Run your user acquisition
campaigns freely within various in-app ad networks for one to two weeks, gathering plenty of
data on how users do and don’t engage. This will make sure you have enough data to form an
accurate picture of how your ads perform within different apps and networks, so you can make
sound decisions moving forward.

Once you have all this data, you can identify the best-performing apps in terms of installs and
high-value users. Focus your campaign spending there. Work with your platform partner—the
more you collaborate and share information, the more they can help you.

Keep monitoring the data to see how performance shifts across the traffic. Things can change
seasonally. For example, a sports app might see a lot more traffic and spending during the
playoffs. Keep your eye on the sources delivering your best users, as well as your overall ROI.
(In this case, ROI refers to how much you’re spending on acquisition vs. the user’s spend on
and within your app.)

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 Go deep to target more high-quality users.
“High-quality” app users are those who are most likely to use your app and spend money with
your brand. It’s relatively simple to identify certain apps or sites that are delivering high-quality
users and increase your spending there. That’s a great start, but mobile data can help you
understand the highest-quality users—those who use and spend the most—and then find more
of them.

Start by collecting demographic, behavioral and engagement data associated with the device
IDs for your highest-quality existing app users. Then work with your partners to look for
similar audiences elsewhere on mobile. For example, if a cohort of “Empty Nest Moms” are
highly likely to download and use Candy Crush, work with partners who will help deliver your
campaign to more of these users.

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Best practices: Using mobile data for contextual marketing
and engagement
Retailers are generally forward-thinking marketers, and many are already reaping the rewards of a data-first
strategy. Here are a few best practices that have emerged among the leaders in this space.

Harness location data to fine-tune your audience segmentation.

By correlating device IDs with data about specific geographic locations, you can learn more
about your audiences—or at least make educated inferences. One of the simplest insights is
recognizing that app users who show concentrated nightly activity in a specific ZIP code likely
live in that neighborhood.

Getting even more creative with geo-fences or Wi-Fi connection data can reveal interesting
details. For example, app users who routinely visit the airport on Monday mornings and Friday
afternoons are probably business travelers. Those who frequent a local running trail may be more
likely to purchase athletic gear or download a training log app. Look for interesting opportunities
to gather geographic data that can add depth and specificity to your profiles and segmentation.

Look for overlaps to find more likely promotional targets.

Compare cohorts within your app user population to uncover new promotional opportunities. For
example, you might find that app users who say they enjoy running and watch a lot of cartoons
have started to buy fishing gear. That cohort has similar characteristics (i.e., areas where the two
groups overlap) to another cohort of app users, who says they enjoy classical music and shop
your competition. Try targeting the Classical-Competitive Shoppers with an offer for fishing
gear—you might find they are similarly inclined and will snap up your offer!

Remember that location can be a trigger as well as a source

of insight.
On a basic level, use geo-fencing to send app users a promotional message when they’re
near your store, a competitor’s store or another relevant location. Make those messages
more compelling by overlaying location data with other sources. For example, monitor your
competitors’ online prices for certain products, then target app users who visit their brick-
and-mortar stores with a lower-price offer. Or factor in regional information like upcoming
community festivals or significant local weather events, sending timely special offers or
messages to app users who are in those areas.

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 Take full advantage of the context you know best.
Your store or offices are locations that should be extremely familiar to you, and they’re full of
micro-locations that you can leverage for engagement. It should be relatively easy to map out
micro-locations (i.e. “contexts”) that offer logical and relevant engagement opportunities.

For example, when an app user enters your store or place of business, you can use that
event to trigger a personalized welcome greeting and serve up relevant content (such as a
personal shopping guide that’s keyed to past shopping behaviors). Or trigger price reductions
and special offers when a high volume of likely buyers are in the store. When one of them
approaches the registers, you can send a reminder to use loyalty points.

You can also use location triggers to alert your staff of customer presence and inform them
of the individual’s past purchases, online browsing history, loyalty program status and other
unique information. Take the time to map out and maximize these contextual opportunities in
every brick-and-mortar location you control. (Bonus: doing so will also help you understand
traffic patterns, uncover bottlenecks and optimize staffing.)

How do you start addressing the missing link in your user

engagement and acquisition strategy?
Most importantly, recognize that you can’t do it alone. Success will require both internal and external alignment.

Partner closely with your CIO to make sure mobile is incorporated into your overall big data approach.
Although the explosion of marketing technologies has led many CMOs to take on highly technical roles, your
organization’s big data strategy is bigger than any one department. According to Forrester Research, “In the
most effective organizations, the CIO and CMO work together to lead efforts to deliver the technologies that
the BT (business technology) agenda demands.”7

Trying to tie mobile data to your customer profiles or tackle a contextual marketing strategy without your
CIO’s partnership is asking for trouble. Similarly, your CIO needs to understand the value and scope of
available mobile data in order to build a strategy that incorporates a complete view of the customer. What’s
more, working together will help ensure adequate funding and support.

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70 percent of marketers and 66 percent of tech management executives
agreed that marketing technology plans will gain more support and funding if
they’re developed jointly by the CMO and CIO.8
– Forrester Research

You also need a mobile partner with the expertise, technology and experience to fully support your efforts
and put mobile data to work for your user acquisition and engagement objectives.

Look for a partner who can help you:

› Gain access to any and all mobile data that may be useful—including audience data from your mobile
app(s) and mobile advertising networks, plus other user data that may be accessible across your
partner’s constellation of existing mobile apps
› Capture, analyze and report on massive amounts of data at scale (this is critical)
› Strategize and implement additional sources of mobile data, such as geo-fencing, Wi-Fi, and in-store sensors
› Help your CIO connect all sources of mobile data to your back-end systems
› Build and activate user acquisition and contextual marketing campaigns, continually test and optimize,
and sync the resulting data with other sources
› Identify the apps that bring you the most installs and high-value users so you can focus your campaign
spending there.

To learn more about harnessing mobile data for user acquisition and
engagement, contact a Phunware big data expert today.
› For user engagement: info@phunware.com
› For user acquisition: performance@phunware.com or 855-521-8485

1
Brian Hopkins, et al; Q&A: Forrester’s Top Five Questions About Big Data; Forrester Research, Inc.; August 10, 2015
2
Mick Hollison, 5 Ways Big Data Will Change Sales and Marketing in 2015, Inc.com, Jan.9, 2015
3
Juned Ghanchi, How is Big Data Shaping the Way We Conceive and Practice Mobile Marketing?, DATAVERSITY, March 30, 2016
4
Ibid.
5
How Data Capital Creates Competitive Advantage, MIT Technology Review, May 3, 2016
6
Brian Hopkins, Ted Shadler, et al; Digital Insights Are The New Currency Of Business; Forrester Research, Inc.; April 27, 2015
7
Michael E. Gazala, et al; Winning In The Age Of The Customer; Forrester.com; April 6, 2015
8
Sheryl Pattek, et al; CMOs And CIOs Must Turn Collaboration Into Action; Forrester.com, November 20, 2014

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