NEW YORK ? A Lancôme executive at the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2013 conference said that marketers who have limited resources should focus on tablets because the devices are highly immersive, intimate and transformative.

During the ?Lancôme: What the Cosmetics Giant?s Customers Expect of the Mobile Experience? keynote, the executive discussed how the cosmetics house is continually looking at ways to engage its demographic of young, tech-savvy, social media-conscious consumers. The executive also discussed why mobile is a natural fit for Lancôme.

?Tablets are immersive, intimate, engaging, accessible, intuitive, experiential and transformative,? said Alessio Rossi, vice president of interactive and ebusiness marketing at Lancôme USA, New York.

?Mobile is always with you, it?s completely customized and stores your personalized information ? and it?s extremely interactive,? he said.

The Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2013 conference was organized by Mobile Commerce Daily.

Embrace it
According to Mr. Rossi, it is important for marketers to embrace mobile.

Interaction and connection are key. Mobile is becoming a specific part of the consumer journey.

Many times, marketers face challenges with choosing which channel would complement their overall strategy.

However, marketers should move away from the traditional channel-by-channel approach and not think of these channels as disconnected.

Take print, for example. Print can be connect to mobile via QR codes, SMS or similar calls-to-action.

According to Mr. Rossi, there are many opportunities with mobile. The medium lets marketers extend their existing marketing campaigns, integrate their existing CRM strategy and drive to retail using geo-targeting.

When it comes to mobile, it is important that marketers implement their own mobile-first strategy.

?Most of you are doing search,? Mr. Rossi said. ?But how many of you are doing mobile search?

?You will see your keyword is going to be entirely different and the click-through rate is going to be entirely different.?

Mobile influence
Mobile is the most important influencer on store sales, per Mr. Rossi.

Marketers need to have a strong mobile presence and that involves a lot of experimentation.

Currently, there is a proliferation of technology out there. Companies need to keep their eye on that and test it out.

Marketers experiment a lot with mobile and they do not always see success. However, through these experiments and pilots, companies are able to see what works and what does not.

Seeing results
Lancôme has been ramping up its mobile efforts over the past year.

To promote its new mascara, the company ran a mobile unit where consumers were able to try the mascara on their phone by using an image they already had in their photo library or by using the company?s stock photo.

Through the campaign, there was also a referral component, as well as commerce elements that let consumers buy the mascara via their smartphones.

With the mobile unit, Lancôme saw a 40 percent interaction rate.

Last year, the company also rolled out a holiday gift guide for smartphones, tablets and desktops and saw a 25 percent conversion rate than the previous year.

Furthermore, in October Lancôme revamped its mobile site with a more prominent store locator feature.

Since the revamp, the store locator feature saw a 20 percent click-through rate.

The company?s reviews feature also saw an 18 percent interaction rate.

?Mobile is a multifaceted animal,? Mr. Rossi said. ?A one mobile site fits all strategy doesn?t work.

?We want to be more segmented and targeted in terms of what we deliver,? he said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York