Are You and Your Marketing Mobile?

Mobile marketing is forecasted to exceed desktop Internet access in many developing countries, according to Dave Chaffey’s Smart insights. It was set to become the next big thing way too many times. But now it has finally become massive. So it is worth having a look at the pros and cons and the last trends around mobile marketing.

Strengths

• Multi-functional 
• Always on and always carried, built in payment system. 
• Easy consumer-brand communication using smart phone apps (Bellman et al, 2011) 
• Better ad campaign returns 
• Location-based communication and the benefits of right place, right time 
• Bluetooth mobile technology is location specific areas with rich content and low cost (Leek and Christodoulides, 2009)

Weaknesses

• Open standard (not all smart phones use the same platforms) 
• Non user friendly due to the open standard 
• Apps can be difficult to use and the clutter of apps could be overwhelming for users 
• Ad campaigns can easily backfire 
• The short message system (SMS) offers limited quality of communication (Pelau and Zegeanu 2010) 

Enough theory for today!

Think how mobile your mark comms are!

• Are your emails iOS/Android/BlackBerry friendly? 
• Do you use mobile apps as part of your promotion? Is it worth doing it? 
• Do you use FourSquare? 
• Do your competitors use mobile marketing? 
• How about location based marketing? Do you encourage Facebook check-ins? 
• Have you tried text messaging and Bluetooth?

[Update] And now you can check out the latest statistics on mobile usage and adoption to inform your mobile marketing strategy – graphs, charts and Infographics:

http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/

Check the link above for more infographics and stats. 

References:

„  Bellman, S., Potter, R.F., Treleaven-Hassard, S., Robinson, J.A. and Varan D. (2011), ‘The Effectiveness of Branded Mobile Phone Apps’, Journal of Interactive Marketing, November, Vol.25, Issue 4, p.191

„  Pelau, C. and Zegreanu, P. (2010), ‘Mobile Marketing – The Marketing for the Next Generation’, Management & Marketing, Vol.5(2), p.101

„  Leek, S. and Christodoulides, G. (2009) ‘Next-Generation Mobile Marketing: How Young Consumers React to Bluetooth-Enabled Advertising’, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol.49 (1), p.44