Mobile is developing at lightning speed—literally by the day. It represents a serious threat to organizations that don’t evolve their services—but is a significant opportunity for those who shape strategies that meet or redefine customer expectations.

The following are important aspects of strategy and planning when building out mobile services and support:

1. Provide communication channel options—give customers choices in how they interact.
2. Cultivate unified tools and processes—enabling a similar look and feel across channels contributes greatly to simplicity, effectiveness, and the overall experience.
3. Establish direct links and easy transitions between the channels—some channels are more suitable for evolving issues than others (e.g., agent interactions can sometimes benefit from providing on-the-fly links to web resources).
4. Enable easy connections to agents— being able to reach help without leaving an app can boost the experience significantly.

Mobile can really shine when enabling combinations. Example: Moen, which provides a popular line of faucets, enables contractors to send pictures to support agents, who can provide on-the-spot assistance with specs and installations.

Brainstorm the possibilities, put yourself in your customers’ shoes, and in that context think through how these expectations are evolving and where they are likely to go in coming months.