American Medical ID is launching the mobile site after realizing that medical patients need a place to buy ID jewelry in places such as hospitals and doctor offices. The company is working with Unbound Commerce on this initiative.

“Most interactions with medical professionals and pharmacists happen when consumers are being diagnosed and treated,” said Wilson Kerr, director of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce, Boston.

“The mobile site from American Medical ID means consumers can purchase potentially lifesaving custom-engraved medical ID jewelry, from the hospital, doctor’s office or pharmacy,” he said.

Personalized message
One of the main hooks for using the American Medical ID mobile site is that it lets consumers customize their medical ID tags similar to the company’s Web site.

To access the mobile site, consumers can enter http://m.americanmedical-ID.com on their mobile browser.

The homepage features the company’s products and shows users how the medical tags can be used and what they look like.

Consumers can then filter their choices at the top of the page, which is broken into bracelets, necklaces and accessories.

The mobile site also features a deal section to highlight products that are on sale.

Once consumers have selected an item, they can put their personal touch on it with a custom engraving that are approximately 16 characters long, depending on the product.

Users can also spell check their engravings and send them to friends and family via email.

American Medical ID is also using QR codes in its direct mail materials that link the company’s mobile site, which is helpful for patients looking to buy items on the spot at a hospital or doctor’s office after being diagnosed.

Users can also call a 1-800 American Medical ID number to get instant help.

“A mobile commerce site offers consumers the ability to convert a time-sensitive transaction, when and where they are most likely to convert a purchase,” Mr. Kerr said.

“Mobile marketing complements the site, as linking mobile click-through traffic to a non-optimized site leads to a very poor customer experience,” he said.

Mobile health
This is American Medical ID’s first foray into mobile.

The company decided to use a mobile site after seeing a significant portion of traffic coming from handsets to a non-optimized location.

American Medical ID was also able to integrate mobile into its existing marketing efforts with QR codes that led to a mobile experience.

A mobile site makes sense for the company because as consumers are diagnosed, they need a quick way to buy medical supplies and are likely to have their mobile devices on them.

“Smart retailers know that 50 percent of consumers will own a smartphone this year and mobile commerce is exploding,” Mr. Kerr said.

“Without an integrated mobile site, mobile marketing drives consumers to a site not designed to work on the device they are viewing it on,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York