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Mobile marketing is the new kid on the block. It’s the medium and strategy that all businesses and marketers want (and should) get a piece of. The modern society is fast evolving, technological advancement is hanging by the second waiting for the latest breakthrough. And the public? Fickle as always, jumping from one novelty to another.
The world has seen two major generations in marketing – the traditional and the online. Although technically the society is still reveling in the second, the mobile era is dawning. The world is seeing a surge in mobile growth. Over five billion people own a mobile device. As a matter fact, mobile phones topped the sales of just about every other electronic device – and there’s no sign of it slowing down any time soon. The mobile subscribers in China alone top the number of U.S. residents with 1.01 billion as of the end of April 2012. While in India, 10 million phones are purchased monthly with a predicted total of 900 million mobile subscribers by 2014.
Angry Birds took the world by storm and angry protests from one country to another stormed the world in 2011. There is an evident dramatic shift in how the mobile phone went beyond a simple tool for communication – changing the way we entertain, learn and economically evolve.
A hybrid of advertising and direct marketing, mobile marketing employs a myriad of tools and strategies such as mobile websites, mobile banner ads, and SMS marketing. Fundamentally, mobile marketing is a manifestation of what a mobile phone is today – a convergence of telephone, email and the internet
Why Go Mobile
Your consumers are already on mobile. Are you?
It goes without saying that because the society are shifting to mobile reliance with almost everything these days – payments, bookings, social media, local searches – having online mobile presence will greatly benefit your business. Wider reach equals to higher profit.
The mobile internet platform is steadily gaining ground. More and more people turn to their mobile devices not only for information but for entertainment as well. Given this fact, it is expected that marketing services and products will flourish. Billions of people have access to mobile phones, a high percentage of which are internet enabled. In U.S. alone, approximately 130 million smart phones are purchased each year – and growing.
1. Better and easier access to consumers. After all, almost everyone owns and uses a mobile phone. As easy as building your mobile website, optimizing it and luring visitors in – bam, that’s mobile marketing for you. No hassles of selecting the right site like in billboards, determining the proper time slot when most viewers are tuning in, or even carefully selecting and evaluating a venue for a product exhibit.
2. Enhanced potential customer reach at relatively lower cost. Exorbitant amount of money are spent traditionally by companies in putting up billboards or TV slots just to reach their market – and that’s even for a limited time. With mobile market, not only will it involve a lower initial setup and maintenance cost, but your online presence is guaranteed 24/7 with no incremental cost such personnel salary or electricity.
3. Product and service information dissemination. With a mobile website, your business is accessible to almost anyone with internet access on their phone. With easier access to information, it goes without saying that there will be an increase in potential customers – and even builds patronage. Mobile technology affords user to go online anytime they want to, which is why if your business is online, there is a high percentage that people will find your business, especially if proper optimization of your mobile site is employed.
4. Easy to share. Picture this, Mr. X discovers your business, sends link via mobile email, text or informing the person next to him. The person who has accessed the information primarily has the capacity to share it to a number of potential customers.
Elements of Mobile Marketing Campaign
In order to stay ahead in the game, businesses should look into tinkering with mobile marketing as it can help extend (and maintain) the reach of their market.
Quick and focused content delivery. Consumers who access their mobile are usually on the go – while waiting in a line or the bus even – affording them enough time for a quick browse or snippets of the content. This is why in creating your content, trash the unnecessary and go directly to the point. Make it clear, concise and creative.
Take a more personal approach. Mobile devices go where the owner is. Some claim that that their devices are surgically attached to them and would topple down with its absence. In television, businesses employ a mass marketing approach, sales pitch aimed for the masses. But in mobile marketing, businesses must ensure that their contents are compelling messages that will appeal to their market.
Promotions and sales. Mobile marketing also features sending relevant marketing messages to opted-in consumers. Mobile messaging has a high response rate since you are reaching your target audience. You can tease your customers with promotions or inform them about mobile discounts on certain products if they visit your shop.
Great shopping experience. Businesses try to come up with ways to please their customers, make them enjoy their experience at their shop so as to end up with regular patrons. In mobile marketing, you can do this as well with the help of various apps designed to improve online shopping experience. Examples of which include the tap to call and tap to email applications which give consumers the easy access of reaching the company. This, by the way, is known to increase conversion rates.
Diverse platform. Refrain from being monogamous. Utilize the different platforms available today as they do help answer the different needs of the mobile user. Try to reach your market with mobile social, video, and text message.
Business owners are kept on their toes with the constant technological evolvement. Indeed the mobile revolution is here and is not going away any time soon. Better not let your business get left behind. In the end, it boils down to what you consider is the best move for your company – and that is definitely creating a mobile presence.
