What Is Mobile Marketing and Why Is It Important To Your Business

Mobile Marketing Has Arrived!

And only those who take advantage of this new advertising tool can stay on top of their competitors. Marketing products and services using mobile devices is taking over more traditional forms of advertising, the same way internet marketing did during the early 90's. The CTIA Wireless Association, which is an international organization for the wireless communications industry’s recent survey said that in the U.S. alone, wireless subscribers total roughly 292.8 million. There were 1.8 trillion messages sent in 2010 and SMS- ready mobile devices went up to 243.7M. This presents a marketing opportunity that any smart businessman should not ignore.
Here are more interesting statistics:

About 80% or more than 250 million people in the US are mobile users. Four out of five teenagers own a mobile device, and they use their gadgets such as mobile phones and tablets not just for communicating, but more so for entertainment – to download music, games, watch videos or check out the latest gossips through their social networks. However, this revolution is not just taking place in the US alone!

There are now 30 countries in the world that have topped the 100% mobile device to population ratio. About 4 billion people globally are now mobile subscribers, with China (not surprisingly) having the most subscribers at about 400 million. By 2012, it is predicted that the number of mobile users will exceed the 5 billion mark! The phenomenal growth of mobile users has opened many opportunities for online marketers and even for small businessmen who give this new technology some serious thought and use it to their advantage. Based on the figures given above, it is clear that mobile marketing is the new wave of advertising and it can no longer be ignored. Doing so will put you and your business at a disadvantage! So read on and find out how you can use mobile marketing as a tool to expand your customer base and grow your business.

Are You Ready For Mobile Marketing?

Many years back, the word “mobile marketing” referred to advertising on-the-go, which means small billboards or posters displayed on top or on the sides of cars. These days, this may seem so old and passé. Nowadays, it refers to ad campaigns sent through SMS, MMS or bluetooth over mobile devices such as cell phones and electronic tablets. In 2002, big name brands such as McDonalds and Coke did one of the biggest text campaigns in the early history of mobile marketing. It was a very effective campaign that was done during the heat of the World Cup season, where consumers were asked to send a text message to a short coded number to join a raffle. It was proof that consumers were ready for something new and personal – using their mobile phones to respond to an ad campaign. Opportunities for selling goods and services over a mobile network have been foreseen at least a decade ago, but it is only in the past 2-3 years that it is fast becoming a reality. This rapid growth is due to the phenomenal sales of smartphones and tablets as well as the geo-mapping services provided by Google that allows location-based marketing. It took only one month to sell 1 million iPads, which is now the fastest selling internet-ready mobile device! Today, there are more smartphones being built and sold than desktops and laptops, and this is something that any smart businessman should consider when making a marketing plan. It is predicted that in 2020, about 10 billion mobile internet devices will be in use globally.
why should you use mobile marketing,so how do you capitalize on this new revolution and get a piece of the action for your own business?

The key is knowing what mobile marketing is all about and understanding how you can put your business at the forefront of all these developments.
Consumers are now turning to their mobile devices more often to make everyday purchasing decisions. Not only because it is convenient to do so, but also because people are learning to use their smartphones beyond simple text messaging. Most people have their phones within arm’s length every hour of the day, and some would definitely feel lost without it.

Benefits from using mobile devices as a marketing tool:

1. Mobile Marketing Creates Immediate Response. Between doing an email blast and a text ad campaign via mobile phones, which do you think will generate a faster response? Mobile phone users are known to check their phones every now and then, so any new message they receive are often opened and read within a 3-minute period. Compare that with an email message that may sometimes sit in someone’s inbox for weeks and you know which one converts to a potential sale faster.In fact one study says that 94% of text messages received by mobile users in the US are read, and 75% are read instantly!

2. Always On, Anytime, Anywhere. Mobile phones are frequently carried by users anywhere they go. If you use target marketing via mobile phones, you get the advantage of immediate message delivery and your ad campaigns are read almost instantaneously by your audience. This method of advertising reaches a wider audience than traditional methods such as print ads, TV and radio ads and even online ads that are accessed via desktop internet.

3. More Personalized Customer Management. Through mobile technology, you can deliver messages to your customers wherever they may be. You can encourage customer participation on surveys, or remind them of an ongoing sale of your products in their area. You can receive feedback immediately, and you can customize your marketing plans to engage your customers even more. One good example is a campaign ran by Orange, a mobile phone network in the UK, which gave its subscribers a 50% off on movies every Wednesday by simply texting the word MOVIE to a number. In return, those who participated received a unique code that they can use to claim their discounts. Orange not only increased its subscribers through regular promotions such as this one, but also kept their customers loyal to their brand. It is no wonder now that Wednesday is the most popular movie viewing day of the week in the UK!

4. Convenient Sales Tracking. As in any ad campaign, you need to have a tracking system to monitor how effective you are in reaching your target market. Because mobile device users often send their feedback immediately, you can easily track your conversion rates and understand your market better.

5. Unlimited Earning Potential At Minimal Cost. With a good mobile marketing plan, you can target your market, create products that are highly marketable, and achieve a loyal following among your audience. Imagine attaining all these without having to spend a huge investment on billboard advertising and TV ads! No other media can provide this kind of experience for both businesses and consumers.

Your messages are delivered instantly and you get instant results! The number of mobile users will continue to rise in the next years to come. Undeniably, the medium is here to stay – this is the future of marketing. And if you can be part of this revolution this early, while many businesses have yet to join the bandwagon, you are positioning yourself for unlimited profits in the future!

What Is Mobile Marketing and Why Is It Important To Your Business

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