7 mobile myths in #pharma

The truth behind pharma’s popular mobile myths: Josh Clark, founder of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Global Moxie listed the 7 most popular myths currently believed by mobile marketers in pharma. He believes that their are a number of pitfalls that pharma keep falling into when creating apps & mobile marketing devices which stem from their beliefs in these myths. His list is as follows:

1. Users are always rushed and distracted. Mobile isn’t just on the go. It’s also on the couch.

2. Mobile should be “less." It’s a myth that mobile sites should be more bare-bones than their desktop counterparts so don’t limit functionality because of screen size.

3. Complexity is a dirty word. People don’t want dumbed-down applications. They want "uncomplicated" applications.

4. Extra tabs and clicks are evil. When an Internet page took 45 seconds to load this made sense but with 4G speeds all but eliminating that concern, it’s alright to broaden the experience. 

5. You’ve got to have a mobile website. Design something that will look good on any platform and don’t have separate mobile sites because there’s no such thing as a "mobile Web"

6. Mobile is about apps. It’s not. An app is not a strategy. … It’s just an app. " Users "expect the content to flow and be wherever we are

7. CMS and API are for database nerds. Content design – the way it appears on a doctor’s desktop computer, or on his or her smartphone – is affected nowadays by back-end folks, and the filters and parameters they devise, to a degree it wasn’t before. Content itself is what’s being repurposed, not just design, so it’s key for designers to know how it all works together.

What do you think? Do you agree or have you had any other experience that suggests otherwise?

I agree that mobile isn’t just on the go. I often use my mobile to look at content whilst I am watching T.V at home and I expect to be able to reach all the same content I could reach on my laptop/desktop.

If you are interested in finding out more about mobile have a look at the programme for Mobile Pharma World Europe 2012, a conference devised specifically for mobile marketing professionals.