Time spent on mobile continues to explode, now at more than 23 per cent of all time spent with media. Yet, most companies are just in the experimentation phase of how to use the full capabilities of consumers‘ mobile devices to drive their business forward.

What many have found is that mobile devices extend and expand the customer journey in complicated ways that we are just now starting to understand. Does a mobile app install for a summer campaign drive ongoing preference? Do mobile banner ads drive higher conversion when they drive to an email offer or an app install?

Companies have been limited in their ability to see across devices – to understand how the customer journey between mobile and desktop builds toward a specific outcome. This is an especially important problem when 90% of consumers with multiple devices switch between those devices to complete tasks and transactions. That‘s why many marketers are now focusing on the unified customer profile, where they can map customer activities to analyse performance across channels and across ad networks.

Step 1: Use Mobile Ads to Drive App Installs…and Nothing Else

Mobile devices present such a challenge to advertising because they bring the power of your company directly into the hands of your customer. Historically, companies have struggled to stay in front of a customer, and to stay top of mind. TV and print advertising are built on the idea of interrupting your customer from something they care about (the TV show or article), sticking your message in their face, and hoping something sticks in the back of their brain that might influence a decision down the road.

However, the more intimate the device, the more unwanted interruptions offend the user. That‘s why interruption doesn‘t work on mobile. Mobile is a task-driven experience. Your customers use their phone when they want to get something specific done, like checking a flight status, or snapping a picture; the small screen size supports a focused, purposeful experience.

That‘s why most mobile ads are a waste of money. The majority of mobile ad spend is on banner ads, and banners are basically distracting the user with content that is unrelated to their intended task. And, the proof is in the pudding: banners get the worst click through rate of any mobile ad format, a paltry 0.27 per cent.

However, ad formats that promote app installs do extremely well—in fact, they do 30-50 times better than banner ads. App install ads work because they are not interruptions, but instead are woven into the fabric of many experiences.

Facebook app install ads are a good example – they embed directly in the timeline. iOs and Android both feature the ability for your site to be tagged to an app, to drive an app install when the user visits your site from a browser. Most mobile ad networks now support interstitials that promote app installs. In all of these scenarios, the app install ad is a part of the primary experience—not separate from it. Which is why mobile ads should be used to drive app installs….and nothing else.

Step 2: Require App Registration Immediately After Install

With a solid strategy to drive app installs, companies are on the way to a deep relationship with the customer. But, in order to close the loop on understanding who your customer is, you need them to register. And the best time to have them do that is the first time they launch the app.

Of course, driving registrations requires a compelling reason for the user to log in. The value of the registration event is significant; it creates a connection point to understand how a customer moves through the buying cycle. So, you have to offer an experience that is valuable enough to make the customer want to opt in to sharing their data with you.

The registration process is the way to turn those anonymous installers