Virgin Mobile has rolled out a mobile Web experience to accommodate its growing tech-savvy customer base.

The company teamed up with Usablenet on the mobile initiative. Consumers can access the mobile site by entering http://www.virginmobileusa.com into their smartphone browser.

?Virgin Mobile recognizes that offering a strong mobile presence that adds value to the customer is a critical success factor for brands today,? said Carin van Vuuren, chief marketing officer of Usablenet, New York.

?In the highly competitive wireless space, a strong mobile experience that makes the customer's life easier provides a competitive advantage and can be the definitive reason for a customer choosing your brand over a competitor,? she said.

?With its new mobile site, Virgin Mobile is demonstrating its commitment to providing a seamless user journey by creating a compelling mobile experience that drives engagement and makes it easy for customers to complete key tasks?.

Creating experiences
Through the mobile site, Virgin Mobile customers can locate the nearest location through their device?s GPS capabilities.

Additionally, consumers can view full details and descriptions of all available phone and plans.

Customers can also purchase new mobile devices and phone plans via the optimized site.

The mobile site also lets consumers manage all phone and wireless accounts.

?Virgin Mobile saw a need for a stronger mobile presence to better engage their valued customers and decided to partner with Usablenet to provide a mobile experience that taps into these customers' needs and desires,? Ms. van Vuuren said. 

?With its newly optimized mobile experience, Virgin Mobile customers can more easily locate nearby retail locations on the go, view full details and descriptions of available phones and plans, purchase any new mobile phone or plan, and manage their accounts, all from their smartphone,? she said.

?The mobile experience provides added convenience to customers that will ultimately strengthen brand loyalty and lead to deeper engagement.?

Key elements
The Virgin Mobile optimized site also incorporates several social media tabs such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest to further connect with consumers on a deeper level.

Having a mobile site is crucial for marketers nowadays, as more consumers access information via mobile.  

?In the coming months, we'll continue to see brands focus on deploying next-generation mobile experiences that provide more context to the user and deliver on what consumers expect in the areas of social, local and personalization,? Ms. van Vuuren said.  

?In addition, we will see mobile payments continue to accelerate as brands aim to streamline purchasing and make it easier for customers to complete transactions on the go,? she said.

?Finally, we will see video emerge as an easy and engaging way to display inventory and provide users with unique experiences that tap into an exploding part of mobile.?

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