Mobilization
The Bern-based startup Muvacon specializes in making websites mobile-friendly. Co-founder Alessandro Graf shares his experiences on the mobile optimization front.
Deependra Pandey (left) and Alessandro Graf (right) co-founded the start-up Muvacon, which specializes in mobile websites and was awarded the Basecamp4Hightech prize, the canton of Bern's support programme for young companies, on 20 February.
Let's start with your offer. What is special about your approach?
Our solution is CMS-independent, optimized for practically all mobile devices, quick to implement, cost-effective and includes all important functions. Thanks to a software development team in India, we have affordable access to the latest and most innovative technologies. In addition, our design is very customer-oriented and easy to use.
What approach do you take when designing mobile websites?
It is very important for users on the move that the content is not the same as the content of the standard website, otherwise they will be overwhelmed with too much information. This is a disadvantage of the often-mentioned so-called responsive design solutions, which are also more cost-intensive. In the next step, we customize the content for our customers and their end customers, give the customer feedback on text and images and install the mobile website on the customer's server within two to three weeks.
You have already completed 17 customer projects and are in the process of acquiring more. What are the main reasons that are prompting companies today to make their own websites mobile-compatible?
This is the spirit of the times - most companies' customers are becoming more mobile and are on the move a lot. As a result, pretty much all marketing activities are aimed at mobile: whether newspaper ads, radio spots, word-of-mouth propaganda - everything happens on the move. Some want to be innovative and keep up with the times, others want to strengthen their customer loyalty or even attract new customers. However, there is a certain reluctance among companies. Most do not want to be among the first to take the next step. In addition, most solutions on the market require a change or even a redesign of the website, which in turn can be very costly. The mobile issue also means that some internal processes need to be rethought so that a company can focus holistically on mobile customers.
How do you perceive the awareness of the mobile issue among communication and advertising professionals, who often have a hinge function between companies and website producers?
We have already created mobile websites for an advertising agency from Switzerland and one from France, and we have established contacts with others. So far, I have identified two points of view: Some see the area as more of a pipe dream and observe this phenomenon with the same detachment as social media. Other agencies tend to use mobile measures for particularly innovative clients, but not yet for everyone. Almost all advertising agencies feel that they have practically only planned analog advertising measures for the last ten years. Now they have to realize that they need to integrate this new segment into their existing advertising measures in order to be able to meet customer requirements even more fully. That's why we work very closely with advertising agencies and advise them on all aspects of mobile, such as providing information on the latest technologies and trends and on the targeted use of mobile advertising tools. We are also very quick to implement our products and flexible in order to respond to any individual customer requirements.
How do you expect the mobile market in Switzerland to develop over the next few years?
There are around 312,000 SMEs in Switzerland. Of these, 94 percent in the high-tech industry sector and 86 percent in the modern service sector have their own website. A high number of small (80%) and medium-sized (93%) companies also have their own website. On the other hand, we have a very high smartphone penetration in Switzerland (3.6 million according to the latest findings). Almost 60 percent use their smartphone to surf the Internet every day. This fact will force Swiss SMEs to enter the mobile market in the near future. It is precisely this situation that calls for a solution that is customized, cost-efficient, attractively designed and functional - these were the considerations when developing our product.
What do you think needs to happen for the mobile market to continue to grow?
Companies should analyze how many visitors already visit or would like to visit the company website via a mobile device. They should then critically review their processes with a special focus on mobile. This is because many processes become more efficient and effective with mobile. And sources of error are reduced, for example when mobile payment is used. This holds great savings potential for companies. The smartphone can also increase customer loyalty. In order to fully exploit these advantages, a company-specific consultation is required that shows which mobile measures will help the company to progress and specifically equip it for the future mobile market.
Let's start with your offer. What is special about your approach?
Our solution is CMS-independent, optimized for practically all mobile devices, quick to implement, cost-effective and includes all important functions. Thanks to a software development team in India, we have affordable access to the latest and most innovative technologies. In addition, our design is very customer-oriented and easy to use.
What approach do you take when designing mobile websites?
It is very important for users on the move that the content is not the same as the content of the standard website, otherwise they will be overwhelmed with too much information. This is a disadvantage of the often-mentioned so-called responsive design solutions, which are also more cost-intensive. In the next step, we customize the content for our customers and their end customers, give the customer feedback on text and images and install the mobile website on the customer's server within two to three weeks.
You have already completed 17 customer projects and are in the process of acquiring more. What are the main reasons that are prompting companies today to make their own websites mobile-compatible?
This is the spirit of the times - most companies' customers are becoming more mobile and are on the move a lot. As a result, pretty much all marketing activities are aimed at mobile: whether newspaper ads, radio spots, word-of-mouth propaganda - everything happens on the move. Some want to be innovative and keep up with the times, others want to strengthen their customer loyalty or even attract new customers. However, there is a certain reluctance among companies. Most do not want to be among the first to take the next step. In addition, most solutions on the market require a change or even a redesign of the website, which in turn can be very costly. The mobile issue also means that some internal processes need to be rethought so that a company can focus holistically on mobile customers.
How do you perceive the awareness of the mobile issue among communication and advertising professionals, who often have a hinge function between companies and website producers?
We have already created mobile websites for an advertising agency from Switzerland and one from France, and we have established contacts with others. So far, I have identified two points of view: Some see the area as more of a pipe dream and observe this phenomenon with the same detachment as social media. Other agencies tend to use mobile measures for particularly innovative clients, but not yet for everyone. Almost all advertising agencies feel that they have practically only planned analog advertising measures for the last ten years. Now they have to realize that they need to integrate this new segment into their existing advertising measures in order to be able to meet customer requirements even more fully. That's why we work very closely with advertising agencies and advise them on all aspects of mobile, such as providing information on the latest technologies and trends and on the targeted use of mobile advertising tools. We are also very quick to implement our products and flexible in order to respond to any individual customer requirements.
How do you expect the mobile market in Switzerland to develop over the next few years?
There are around 312,000 SMEs in Switzerland. Of these, 94 percent in the high-tech industry sector and 86 percent in the modern service sector have their own website. A high number of small (80%) and medium-sized (93%) companies also have their own website. On the other hand, we have a very high smartphone penetration in Switzerland (3.6 million according to the latest findings). Almost 60 percent use their smartphone to surf the Internet every day. This fact will force Swiss SMEs to enter the mobile market in the near future. It is precisely this situation that calls for a solution that is customized, cost-efficient, attractively designed and functional - these were the considerations when developing our product.
What do you think needs to happen for the mobile market to continue to grow?
Companies should analyze how many visitors already visit or would like to visit the company website via a mobile device. They should then critically review their processes with a special focus on mobile. This is because many processes become more efficient and effective with mobile. And sources of error are reduced, for example when mobile payment is used. This holds great savings potential for companies. The smartphone can also increase customer loyalty. In order to fully exploit these advantages, a company-specific consultation is required that shows which mobile measures will help the company to progress and specifically equip it for the future mobile market.
Interview: Christoph J. Walther
