Is Your Business Marketing on the Move? - Lime Marketing

Mobile Marketing, the Pros and Cons

As members of today?s global culture, we would feel amiss if we did not have our mobile phones with us all the time. Mobile devices are so prominent in our society that even our junior high students expect ready access to a mobile phone?preferably a smartphone. Global brands are capitalizing on this direct access to individual consumers. So what are the pros and cons for you, as a business owner, when it comes to using mobile marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy?

The Pros

• Mobile use is on the rise.

Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley predicted in December of 2010 that the mobile internet would overtake fixed internet?and in the Wi-Fi sector it has. How much longer will it take before mobile devices completely overtake PC use? Considering that the number of smartphone sales surpassed PC sales at the beginning of this year, it won?t be long. In the last 16 months one billion mobile connections were added, a growth that can be credited in large part to the demand for mobile in Asia, Africa, Brazil and China (Gigaom.com). Many mobile users are also mobile-only users (Mobithinking.com).

• Mobile marketing is highly targeted.

Using a mobile marketing technique to connect with your consumers or audience guarantees a connection with your target audience. Mobile ad consumers choose to receive your ads making mobile marketing an opt-in marketing channel. You are communicating directly with your target market because they have expressed interest in your product or service in order to receive your ads.

• Mobile marketing has higher conversion rates.

Because mobile engagement rates are high?far higher than those of television advertising, email or internet display?mobile ad conversion rates are also high. Within three minutes of delivery, 90 percent of all text messages are read, whereas it takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. Also, 99 percent of all text messages are read by the recipient, and these text messages can be used to drive traffic via links to rich media, video or other marketing media.?

• Mobile outperforms other media.

The following statistics are taken directly from the 60secondmarketer.com?s compilation:

1. Mobile coupons receive 10x higher redemption rates than print coupons (Borrell Associates).
2. Mobile ads perform 2 to 3 times better than online ads in key metrics, such as brand favorability, awareness, and purchase intent (Insight Express).
3. 70% of mobile searches lead to action within 1 hour, as opposed to online searches, 70% of which lead to action within one month (Microsoft).

It?s safe to say from these stats that mobile advertising could hugely affect your marketing strategy.

The Cons

Mobile websites and apps continue to face off.

Both mobile websites and apps are used by consumers, and consumers report equal satisfaction with each. However, most shopping is done via mobile web, and apps are used by consumers for gaming, accessing social media, maps and music. The division between the two can be visualized in the divide between Google, on the forefront of mobile web and search, and Apple, the app-makers. Will one mobile platform win? That remains to be seen. (You can see a more in depth look at this in a previous post: Web Browsers vs Apps = Apples vs Oranges.)

Mobile ad creators don?t have the time or the skills.

Because of the fragmentation between mobile websites and apps, many marketing professionals do not have all the time or the skills at their disposal to create specific marketing ads for this variety of mobile platforms. The options left are outsourcing or hiring individuals in-house to tackle this problem, both of which require considerable additional work.

Mobile ad units are inconsistent in platforms and sizes.

The variety of mobile phones and devices means that there is also no consistent ad unit for use in mobile marketing. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), a global non-profit trade association, monitors the development of the mobile market and has established a universal ad package, but you should consider carefully who your target market is and what devices they use before extending your mobile marketing ads across a variety of platforms.

In analyzing these pros and cons, its clear that mobile marketing hasn?t remotely hit its stride. The next two years will be crucial to the future of this medium in the overall realm of marketing strategy. Even if you choose to remain mostly on the sidelines, not using any mobile marketing techniques, my advice? At least keep track of campaigns that use techniques similar to those you might employ yourself. Of course, considering the ease of an SMS campaign, how could you not want to experiment with a few limited mobile marketing initiatives? Mobile marketing is real-time marketing: direct, timely, and targeted. And it?s on the rise.

?Top 5 Mobile Advertising Trends to Watch, mashable.com

Advertising + Mobile Marketing + Target Marketing

Source: http://getlimed.com/2011/09/is-your-business-marketing-on-the-move-if-not-you-better-get-mobile/

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