AUSTIN, TX ? With manufacturers continuing to roll out new devices with unique screen sizes and a proliferation of technologies to use, it can be tough for marketers to know where to place their bets, according to exhibitors at the Mobile Shopping Fall Summit.

At the convention, exhibitors presented a variety of new technologies and services to help retailers manage mobile initiatives both online and in-store. Mobile Marketer?s Lauren Johnson asked exhibitors, ?what is your clients? most pressing concern about mobile?? Here is what they had to say, listed in alphabetical order by company name.

Rick Valenzuela, senior mobile strategist at Akamai, New York
In general, it is dealing with the huge change that mobile has brought on. Now there are dozens of different devices and form factors to design for. Now marketers have to create apps and sites and manage the content, which creates many complications.

Eric Feinberg, senior director of mobile, media and entertainment at ForeSee, Ann Arbor, MI
The most pressing concern about mobile is ?what happens next?? Because if mobile sales are not great, where do you go from there?

Maya Mikhailov, cofounder/vice president of GPShopper, New York
For most retailers the most pressing concerns going into 2013 is, 'How do I operationalize my mobile programs to make them scalable and demonstrate ROI?'

Although many retailers have a mobile site or app, it's a stand-alone effort that is not easily updated, merchandized or managed. Often these apps and site are stale and not driving the shopper-marketing value they could be both from a CRM or in-store perspective. Unlocking this value with a well-managed program will demonstrate the required increases in multichannel ROI.

Sam Gaddis, chief marketing officer at Mutual Mobile, Austin, TX
Our clients are primarily concerned with mobile strategy. How do we frame mobile strategy and potential ROI in a way that the entire organization, including executives who may not be mobile-savvy, can understand? What people and processes do we need in place to in order to create a coherent mobile strategy that can be implemented well?

Jim Schreitmueller, cofounder and vice president of sales at Spotzot, Santa Clara, CA
I would say that for retailers and brands it is where to spend the most money. They are overwhelmed with the range of mobile solutions available. Marketers are also confounded by the metrics of mobile ? it is important to see it as an influencer versus a conversion. Mobile is driving people to stores.

Kerry Nelson, senior director of marketing at Starmount, Austin, TX
Retailers understand that mobile technology in the store is where the industry is moving, so the discussion is less around convincing them that it?s something they should do and more about figuring out what mobile means for their particular business. Each retailer?s customer engagement model is different, and each retailer will need to think through how this technology can be incorporated into the store in a way that makes the most sense for their brand and the kind of customer experience they want to convey.
 
Our retail clients are tackling the issue of how to unlock the data that resides in their back office systems, such as purchase history, wish lists, inventory and merchandising to make that information available on a mobile device to the associate, who can then use it to provide a richer experience to their customers in the store. Our clients are finding that having these capabilities is not only enhancing customer service, but also increasing basket size, which boosts the bottom line.