First of all what is mobile marketing?

“Mobile marketing is promotional activity designed for delivery to cell phones, smart phones and other handheld devices, usually as a component of a multi-channel campaign (Berney, 2010).”

In case you are unsure simply think: Messaging where engagement occurs on a mobile device.

Want to learn more? Check out this video

The facts

With the numbers of mobile users increasing everyday, businesses are incorporating this communication channel within their marketing strategies (Berney, 2010). Mobile technology constantly changes the way we do business and successful mobile marketing strategies will attract a high proportion of today’s smartphone and tablet consumers (Ismail and Razak, 2011). Whilst some say smart phones will never be able to replace computers, as Foresee (2012) mentions; generic retailing websites are still more popular than the mobile version. However according to Murtagh (2014) mobile phones exceeded laptops and desktops for internet usage for the first time in 2014.

Did you know?

• M-commerce is a fast growing marketing channel.
• In 2013 M-commerce generated $41.68 billion which was an increase of 68.2% on the previous year.
• In 2017 it is expected to generate close to $100 billion.
•  UK smartphone usage estimated to hit 34.6 million (53.7% of the population) this year!
  (Jones,2012)

How often do you use your mobile?
I carried out a study based on my own university to discover: 80% of participants admitted to using their mobile phones before a simple purchase was made. I think you get the message of how important mobiles are becoming…

So we understand the mobile industry is rapidly growing but why is mobile marketing going to become a vital tool for the future success of your business?

1.) “It can help you acquire new customers.”

A study discovered that over 84% of small businesses have seen an increase in new business activity due to their mobile marketing efforts (Pasqua and Elkin, 2013). If you own a small business I suggest you start implanting mobile marketing strategies now!

2.) ” It can generate new sales”

By sending promotions to your existing customers it reduces the risk of losing customers (Murphy, 2005). Campaigns can be sent in minutes, with 90% of SMS being read within 15 minutes and therefore a sale is more likely to occur (Shanker et al, 2010). What is there to lose?

3.) ” Offers a higher response Rate/Effectiveness”

The average response rate is approximately 15%, versus 2 – 3% for other advertising mediums such as direct mail (Barnes, 2015). WOW!

4.) ” People can Multi-Task with mobile Marketing”

According to Nielson (2014) 14% of tablet owners and 7% of smart phone owners have used their device to purchase a product they have just seen advertised on TV. Let’s admit, many of us are on our phones whilst watching the TV aren’t we?

5.) ” Offers Mobility/Reachability “

Messages reach recipients wherever they are. No need to be by a radio, computer, or mailbox; phones are within our reach 80% of every day (Relander, 2015). With our busy lifestyles, this does make a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

6.) ” Allows Marketing Campaign Integration”

Provides the ability to integrate new, innovative forms of advertising/promotion with existing strategies to enhance their interactivity and impact (Vlachos, 2011). This gives us the best of both worlds!

Let’s look at some successful mobile marketing campaigns

 

#1 Starbucks: Multi channel mobile marketing

Starbucks is one of the premier mobile Marketers by offering many ways for consumers to connect with a company whilst ensuring privacy and permission. Using a combination of mobile payments, mobile apps and QR cards.

Results: Starbucks is a leader in mobile payments, processing over 1 million mobile payments a week.(MobileMarketer, 2015)

Checkout this article on Starbucks Mobile Marketing Strategy. http://bit.ly/1OBK8vW

 

#2 02: Mobile Rewards with priority Moments campaign

A mobile app available to 02 customers which provides local coupon offers and experiences that are relevant and redeemable wherever they are. The app offers 30 partners. Priority moments is free, 02 forecasts that the average consumer could save about £100 a month.

Results: Rated one of the most successful Marketing Campaigns to ever exist. 2013 winner! (MarketingSociety, 2014)
Check out this Link for further information.

 

#3 Adidas and Optism: SMS Mobile marketing

Adidas and Optism offered a mobile campaign to drive foot traffic to a new Originals store in Egypt. Targeted to sports and fashion lovers. Text sent just one day before the weekend. Completely free to reply.

Results: 35% response rate! As well as a direct impact on sales in certain aspects of the business. An increase of discussions on social Media too (Mobilemarketingassociation, 2015).

 

#4 Coca- Cola Mobile marketing campaign in 2011

The Essence Music Festival had 40,000 attendees in New Orleans, during the show, attendees were encouraged to text the keyword CELBRATE to a short code. The company gave away tickets to its BBQ event to the first 500 entries.

Results: With in 3o seconds, 3,145 people pulled out their phones for a chance to win. 20% of  users that engaged opted in for an ongoing connection with the brand and 16% of the audience engaged with Coca-Cola digitally at the concert more than once! (mobilemarketer,2015)

Check out the mobile marketing magazine for more information.

 

Ways to maximize the mobile marketing in your business…

1.) Use proper Key words

It is beneficial to make your keyword strategy work in terms of mobile marketing, for example; include the local area in conjunction with your keywords, since mobile customers are typically searching locally. Remember the most effective method is to keep your keyword phrases small (Barnes,2011).

2.) Prioritize sales and special offers

whilst developing mobile strategies, it is important to keep in mind that you have a limited window of opportunity for catcing the attention of your prospects (Berney, 2010). The most effective way to do this is to include sales and specialoffers on your first mobile site. This can also include an opt-in that allows your users to receive alerts when new offers are available, this can help boost response rates further.

3.) Contact information

It is imperative to include your contact information, rather than just providing an address, take it to the nest level and include a map to assist with customers finding you?

4.) Compatibility

Consumers today use a range of mobile devise. For this reason it is essential to ensure that your mobile marketing materials are compatible with all mobile devices (Barnes, 2011) . Additionally, it is vital to make certain that your materials are updated whenever a new device is released.

How can  my business use SMS?

Use this link today! http://bit.ly/1FTWdZn

• Easily upload contact information
• Quickly create and manage message templates
• Target specific users with personalised messages, to create a one-to-one relationship
• Include your brand or company name in sender ID so that customers know the message is trustworthy
• Escape license fees. The Cloud Portal and Message Manager are totally free
• Easily access reports through the Cloud Portal to see the success of your campaigns
• Send large scale broadcasts or target specific users within groups

To conclude…
A Recent headline indicated, “mobile to take over fixed internet access”, I suspect that many CMOs recognise the opportunity to grow any kind of business with the assistance of mobile marketing. All marketing is about facilitating timely, valuable, and relevant interactions with customers, and mobile is another way to do so.

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Tweet: Starbucks is a leader in mobile payments!
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Would you like to read more on this topic?
Please checkout this interesting Mobile Marketing Journal

References

Barnes, S. (2015). Mobile Marketing: the role of permission and acceptance. International journal of mobile Communicatios, [online] 2(2), p.128. Available at: http://inderscience.metapress.com/content/3jw1j7p0gwu7mycr/ [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015].

Berney, P. (2010). Mobile marketing. London: Kogan Page.

Fmcgnews.co.uk, (2015). Customer satisfaction gap between mobile and website widens. [online] Available at: http://www.fmcgnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=581:customer-satisfaction-gap-between-mobile-and-traditional-retail-websites-widens&Itemid=90 [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015].

Foresee (2012) Foresee Mobile Satisfaction Index. White Papers & Research: Foresee

Ismail, M. and Razak, R. (2011). A Short Review on the Trend of Mobile Marketing Studies. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM), [online] 5(3), pp.pp. 38-42. Available at: http://online-journals.org/i-jim/article/view/1581 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2015].

Johnson, L. (2013) Top 10 Mobile Ad Campaigns From H1 2013, Mobile Marketer. [Online] <http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/15918.html> [Accessed 4 April 2015]

Jones, C. (2013) Ecommerce Is Growing Nicely, While Mcommerce Is On A Tear, Forbes. 02 February 2013 [Online] <http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2013/10/02/ecommerce-is-growing-nicely-while-mcommerce-is-on-a-tear/> [Accessed 4 April 2015]

Marketingsociety.com, (2015). 2013 winner: O2 Priority Moments Mobile Marketing – case study | Marketing Society Case Studies. [online] Available at: https://www.marketingsociety.com/the-library/2013-winner-o2-priority-moments-mobile-marketing-case-study [Accessed 2 Apr. 2015].

Mashable, (2013). How to Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy. [online] Available at: http://mashable.com/2013/11/28/mobile-device-metrics/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Mobile Marketing Association, (2015). adidas steps up to mobile marketing with wide-ranging campaign for U.S. NBA All Star Week (Isobar). [online] Available at: http://www.mmaglobal.com/studies/adidas-steps-mobile-marketing-wide-ranging-campaign-us-nba-all-star-week-isobar [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015].

Mobilemarketer.com, (2015). Starbucks is 2012 Mobile Marketer of the Year – Mobile Marketer – MobiLegends awards. [online] Available at: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/resources/mobilegends-awards/14499.html [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Mobilemarketer.com, (2015). Tag: Coca Cola – Mobile Marketer. [online] Available at: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/tag/Coca+Cola [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Murphy, J. (2005). Diffusion and success factors of mobile marketing. Electronic commerce research and applications, 4(2), 159-173.

Murtagh, R. (2014) Mobile Now Exceeds PC: The Biggest Shift Since the Internet Began, Search Engine Watch. 08 July 2014 [Online] <http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/opinion/2353616/mobile-now-exceeds-pc-the-biggest-shift-since-the-internet-began> [Accessed 4 April 2015]

Nielson (2014) Living Social: How Second Screens Are Helping TV Make Fans [Online] <http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/living-social-how-second-screens-are-helping-tv-make-fans.html> [Accessed 14 April 2015]

Relander, B. (2015). 4 Can’t-Miss Mobile Marketing Best Practices. [online] Entrepreneur. Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244472 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Vlachos, P. (2007). Mobile Marketing – Achieving Competitive Advantage through Wireless Technology. Journal of Services Marketing, 21(7), pp.539-541.