
Of course
that means that as small business owners, we will need to make sure that we are
in front of our customers and clients where they choose to be. If the key
statistic is correct, and there is every reason to believe that it is,
consumers stay within a 3 foot range of their mobile device 24 hours a day.
Therefore, any effective marketing strategy must incorporate mobile devices.
It's going to be important for you to know your target market extremely well.
Naturally,
this is no secret to you, if you have been in business any length of time.
However, knowing your customer now means knowing how much time they spend on
their mobile device. It means finding out where they "hang out." It
means discovering how they transact their business, such as banking and product
purchases. And it means knowing how they entertain themselves during their
leisure time. If you don't know these things about your particular niche and
customer, then you may be doing mobile marketing in a haphazard way.
Understanding
how your client communicates is also important. This is especially true when it
comes to using a mobile device. Think about your particular demographic. Do you
think that those that find you and do business with you use SMS Text Messaging?
Do they use instant messaging? Do they use e-mail in the same way that they do
on their desktop computer?
Do they use
their communication on their mobile device for their work projects or do they
use them primarily for leisure? These are all
very important questions for you to be able to answer.. Every demographic is
going to be different. Your product and service offerings are going to be
different, even from your competitors. Therefore, you will need to get to know
the habits of your prospects and customers extremely well.
Of course,
this means that, just as you have probably been tracking the traffic on your
business website, you'll need to start tracking the results of any mobile
marketing campaign that you are doing. This includes understanding the open
rates of your SMS messages. It includes how much action people are taking on the
placement of your QR codes. It means understanding how many people are
receiving and then executing their mobile coupons. Every aspect of your mobile
marketing campaigns should be tracked and evaluated on a regular basis.
New Opportunities
Mobile marketing
represents a great opportunity for those companies willing to invest the time
to understand the patterns of their demographic. Those companies will be able
to understand what kind of messaging will work best for their customers and
clients while they actually have their mobile device in their hands.
As a result
of this, you're probably noticing that large corporations, as well as small and
middle- market companies, are spending more resources on mobile advertising.
Industry statistics indicate that mobile marketing, as a whole, is a $1 billion
industry focus. It is expected that this will double by 2014 and continue to
increase.
This is a
recognition that the transition that people are making between socializing,
entertainment, work and communication is now taking place all on a mobile
device. It is quite possible that a person could spend an entire day with their
mobile device in front of them, without the need to read a newspaper, turn on
their personal computer or "watch" the news.
Increased Smartphone Use
You would
agree that smartphone use has been increasing over the last five years. While
this does not always mean that smartphone access to your business and/or your
website has increased, it does mean that consumers are possibly beginning to
look at these devices as their first choice for computing.
And this
fact alone should have implications for your business, whether you have begun
implementing mobile marketing elements or not. Recent studies indicate that
over 70% of smartphone users find retailers, compare prices, and search for
product details with their mobile devices. Of course, most of this activity is
happening while these individuals are on the premises of the business that they
are looking to make their purchase from.
Much of this
increased activity has to do with the increased ease of attaining smartphones.
In 2010, pricing models have been transitioning from that of the traditional
cell phone to making sure that individuals get a product they like enough to
use data on it. It is this data usage that carriers are leveraging in order to
generate profit.
Therefore,
you've probably seen companies like T-Mobile offer expensive and elaborate
smartphones such as the Google Nexxus, iPhone or iPad for $0 upfront costs. The
customer agrees to make payments over the course of 24 months or two years. The
charge for the device is made convenient by adding it directly to the actual
phone and data plan. This is based on the fact that it is unlikely that
consumers who desire to keep a device with them 24 hours a day would fail to
continue making payments.
In addition
to this, the retailer is also offering its customers the ability to upgrade
their device every 6 to 12 months. This allows them to keep up with the most
recent technology. While T-Mobile and other companies do this to engender
loyalty in their customer base, the effect on the industry is dramatic.
Carriers like T-Mobile have basically assured individuals that they can carry a
smartphone without the necessity of having to make the purchase of $500-$600
upfront.
As a result,
consumers can own and use a smartphone for little to no up-front investment. This
assures the carriers that users will work to make sure that they keep their
contracts to use the service.
This
factor alone is almost certain to increase the demand for mobile devices and
Internet access over the next decade.
Technology
companies such as Verizon are also accommodating individuals based on their
desire to have and hold this technology. By providing increased bandwidth in
their homes, the company acknowledges that it is likely that a family could have
one or several mobile devices that accessing the Internet through their home network.
Once again, a technical understanding of what is happening isn't as necessary
as understanding that smartphone use is increasing and being accommodated by
technology companies in order to build their own marketing funnel.
While these
accommodations may not yet affect your business directly, they are an
indication of the fact that consumers are being left with increasingly fewer
reasons to be away from their mobile device. Assuming that they will be
accessing your marketing funnel using their mobile devices is vital. How will
they be able to be helped by your company? Will they find it easy or more
difficult?
Optimization of Websites and Applications for Mobile
One trend
that may go unnoticed, is what businesses must do regarding the changes needing
to be made to websites to accommodate mobile devices. While there is no statistic
based on research as to how many companies have made their websites mobile
optimized, there is definitely an increase in concern and discussion among
businesses about this.
It has been
such a concern, that search engine giant Google has had to weigh in on what
businesses need to do in order to meet the demands of their mobile customers.
Of course, Google's guidance has primarily been about how to be found in search
engines. The fact that they have indicated that mobile design is preferable to
other forms, shows that this topic is one that webmasters want to see settled.
There are
two factors that are important to note about this statement being made by
Google. The first, most obvious statement, is about responsive design its self.
A website that is considered to be responsive, changes its operation based on
what kind of device accesses the site.
For example,
a company can have a certain set of parameters just for their desktop PC users.
Typically, the companies want to make sure that individuals find the maximum amount
of information, and that they find their experience to be pleasurable, or at
the very least positive.
Companies, as a result, utilize a number of special
graphics along with their branding, to give the users of their website the kind
of experience that would make them want to come back and do business again.
This is
substantially different for their mobile customers. The objective, while still
to provide a good user experience, is executed with a minimal number of
graphics. It is also executed with just enough branding so that the customer
actually knows who they're doing business with. A responsive web design allows
the site visitor to land on your web presence and be shown the kind of page
most conducive to their device. In other words, the website responds to each
device that accesses it.
In recent
years, the solution had been to redirect a website visitor to a mobile device when
the technology "recognized" that the user was a mobile one. You might
have seen it from time to time that a website might look a little different in
terms of its address. You may have seen the web address “m.website.com”. The “m” was an indication that you (the visitor) were
redirected by the site to a mobile version of the website that your device
would be able to read with ease. However, most users, as well as decision
makers at Google, felt that this was a less than optimal experience. It was,
according to engineers and experts, better if the company invested in website
technology that responded instead of
redirecting the actual site visitor.
But there is
yet another aspect of Google’s statement regarding responsive web design that’s
important to note. While the company has made explicit statements about the fact
that this kind of website isn’t factored into their search results, some of the
evidence in the current search statistics seems to reflect otherwise. There is
some evidence, that there is a favoring of websites (in Google search) that
have undertaken responsive web design in the actual results. However, critics of this theory feel as if
Google's engineers have not been honest and/or forthcoming about whether or not
responsive design affects search results.
When a user
is redirected from the standard website to another (a mobile duplicate with the
“m” in front), there is a time factor and lag involved in this process. This
means that Google could be sending individuals to websites and pages that are
and prove to be a sub optimal experience due to the time it actually takes the
searcher to get to a page to get the information that they want. In effect, a
redirected page loads slower.
What this
means to you as a small business owner is that you will need to be aware that
the industry trend is to move away from websites that do not respond to the
browser of the device user. If you haven’t invested in responsive design, you
need to be aware that it is becoming a centerpiece of how business will be done
on the web.
While that
doesn't mean that this will all change drastically again in the next few years,
it does mean that you will need to address this, so that a customer that comes
to your website can stay as long as they need to in order to make a favorable
buying decision.
Mobile applications
are another part of the website experience for your particular buyer and/or
prospect. If your company depends on the user being able to engage in some kind
of activity on your website, it will be difficult to do this, assuming that
they are accessing the Internet from a mobile device using a regular web browser.
As a result,
you could follow the practice of a number of businesses that have created their
own mobile application. A mobile application is a piece of software that users
download to their devices and are then able to interact with a specific company.
For example,
accessing mobile banking using a web browser is possible, yet difficult for the
user to complete their transactions using them. This is the case, even with the
stripped-down number of graphics that a web designer uses for the typical
mobile website.
As a result,
banks are giving their customers access to mobile applications, which are free to
download. These applications are little pieces of software that users download
to their mobile devices. This gives them just enough software and interface to
transact business with the bank. The connection between the application and the
bank is more secure as it does not go through the mobile browsing process.
In order to
get perspective on how this trend is going, one statistic to know would be the
number of app downloads being done worldwide on an annual basis. The most
recent gathering of statistics by the Gartner Corporation, indicated that
mobile app stores have seen downloads increase from 64 billion from 102
billion. Free applications account for over 85% of the application downloads.
App
downloads are being treated less like computer software than you might think.
The fact that the codes are little bits of software placed on the computing
device, would cause a business owner to ask whether or not this makes a
difference if the user does or does not use the app. This is a valid concern,
and is a good question to ask.
The key to
understanding the significance of mobile apps can be found in its usage even
more than the number of downloads. In an article in 2013, industry analyst
Smart Insights, published an article that stated that app usage dwarfs the use
of mobile browsers for those that are active with their devices. In fact,
consumers spend over 80% of their time on mobile apps versus mobile websites.
This statistic is true regardless of platform--Windows, IOS or Android.
What these
trends in mobile websites and mobile applications means to your business is
that consumer convenience is of the utmost importance in creating the experience
you want them to have with your company while online. What mobile apps and
mobile websites do, is to make it convenient to do business with your company.
It gives your customers the ability to transact business and do research while
they are on the go and away from their home and/or office.
Therefore,
you will need to evaluate both your website and the process that buyers go
through in order to have access to everything that your company provides. Are
there ways that you can make the user experience on a mobile device a smoother
one? Is the user experience one that will cause them to want to come back or
might it tell them to look for another competitor?
The decision
on whether or not to create your own mobile app, is not a one-size-fits-all
decision. It is one where you will need carefully evaluate how your customer
spends their time online and what they respond to. Then consider where to place
your emphasis and resources in creating the right mobile experience.
Mobile and Social
One of the
factors that makes the Gartner research a call to
interpret properly, is the fact that much of the app time span by consumers is being done on a social network: a spoke. In fact,
in the recent edition of even return, the
industry analyst indicated that over half of the access to social networks is
being granted to mobile devices. Therefore, the vast majority of activity that
you are engaging in (if you are engaging on social networks) is taking place
with the user from their mobile device.
This is very
important for businesses to know as they create their social strategy.
Companies that rely heavily on content and sharing in order to get new
customers to opt into their list, should recognize that this activity is being
directed on a relatively small screen. Therefore, as a business owner, you'll
need to consider whether or not your demographic of customer is likely to use
their mobile device to sign up for your e-mail list.
While every
marketing decision you make will need to be tested, you should assume that
social activity on networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus
and even YouTube, is just as likely to be taking place on a mobile device as it
is on a desktop or laptop PC. There are indications that the dramatic increase
in activity on social networks such as Facebook, are starting to level off.
Consumers are finding ways to socialize on their mobile devices using other
means.
However,
this does not mean that you should not have a social strategy in place. If your
goal is to capture audiences on social media, you will need to make sure that
you are utilizing digital media to its fullest. This could mean that you are
likely to get and keep your customers’ attention if you are using images that
are carefully selected. These images should grab the attention of your
readers/viewer to get them to pay attention to the message that comes after.
In addition
to this, you want to make sure that you are making full use of both audio and
video. Audio allows you to get users to share in-depth conversation and
information that your company is using in order to promote its business. There
is some question as to whether or not this kind of media will actually attract
the attention of other users.
Video, on
the other hand, is very likely to attract attention. Companies are getting more
savvy in uploading their video to social networks and viewing platforms for the
networks. They're doing this with front page thumbnails that jar the user out
of their regular pattern of viewing. In some cases, the thumbnail is not an
indication of what the actual video is about. It simply is a scene that grabs
attention.
These are
two activities that aren't made easy on a mobile device. If you are sharing a
considerable amount of text, assuming that users are going to share your
content, the evidence is that this is unlikely to happen.
The Rise of Proximity Marketing
In the early
days of the increasing popularity of mobile device use, companies began
experimenting with location-based services. Called proximity marketing, companies
were using the GPS signal inside of mobile devices in order to trigger
advertising on that device. This may come in the form of a push notification to
the user, a text message, or in some cases, an e-mail. Of the three, e-mail was
the least effective. Primarily, this is because proximity marketing has always
been a "real-time" strategy.
Of course,
companies that use proximity marketing most effectively are selective about how
they use this tool in media. They tend to know their demographic extremely
well, and understand whether or not their customers would appreciate receiving
a message based on their location. For those customers that see privacy as a
significant issue, proximity marketing will probably not be a preferable way of
reaching them. Companies will need to make sure that the value that they are
delivering to their customers as they go through their testing process is high.
What kinds
of information can you deliver using proximity marketing. The companies that
are most effective in using proximity marketing tend to do so through SMS
messages with coupon codes that give the user either a premium or discount.
Other companies are able to deliver product information and links as well as
promotions for future products and events.
Although the
process is simple to understand, the technology that is implemented is fairly
sophisticated. The programming must determine which users have given their
permission to receive messaging, what kind of device they are using and the
appropriate method of delivery. The business owner will find that the process
is relatively invisible to them. They will be determining the specials and the
actual advertisement and promotions.
Local Search Activity
One trend
that business owners should find encouraging is that mobile devices seem to be
encouraging users to look for products and services in their local area using
search engines. Once again, this will be another place where businesses must
consider making sure that their website design is responsive. On the one hand,
they will want to have a conventional website that will rank in search engines.
In other words, their website will be found for those searching for the
subject.
What has
happened over the last 2 to 3 years, is that the formula that search engines
have been using in order to determine website ranking has been changing. The
formulas that had at one time been based solely on the way that keywords were
placed on pages, the way links were created and the way websites were
structured. While those factors still have some relevance in how often these
are found in their local area, they no longer have the same weight that they
used to and there are considerable more relevant factors now that are a part of
a local search.
In
particular, one factor is the way that content is created. Although there are
no humans evaluating every search query and every webpage, search engine
companies are getting more sophisticated in determining what they feel is the
best possible content for search users to read. As a result, the evidence
proves that the guide it has been given by search engines is actually a good
match for what actually is happening during searches. Search engine analysts
have stated that content should be written for the user. No longer should
content be written in order to pile in keywords in order to make their content
relevant.
Another
factor that plays into local search is event based content. Companies that create
the kind of content that doubles as an event that should be attended by users,
are gaining the benefit of authoritative linking as well as relevant treatment
in the search engines. As a result, your company should be educating your
client base whenever possible. This will probably mean announcing that you have
webinars, live events and Google hangouts (to be discussed later).
Companies
that are able to create this kind of content and make it relevant to mobile
users are finding that their content is being favored by search engine
companies.
Reputation Management
Another
factor that search engine companies have discovered is that a considerable
number of consumers rely on reviews to make their decision about what services
to purchase. And they have been adapting their algorithm accordingly.
In
particular, search engine company Google is providing companies that have good
reputations with their customers, as indicated by reviews, favored position in
the search engines. What this looks like is having an average of 4 to 5 stars
in reviews on Google's online business directory pages.
The
relevance to mobile marketing is clear. Users are seeking information about
products and services while they are on the go. They want to be able to look at
a glance to get recommendations on what they should be seeking in addition to
just finding out what is in their local area.
This is a
shift that search engines have been making in order to a comment date mobile
users. In order to take advantage of this factor, your company will need to pay
attention to those things that consumers find helpful. In addition to this, you
will need to pay strict attention to your online reviews and how customers are
reporting what they are experiencing at your company. This is an important element
in local search as it relates to mobile users.
Video Marketing
While video
marketing's rise in popularity isn't necessarily directly related to mobile
computing, the trends are just as pronounced on devices as they are on personal
computers. In other words, mobile users have a desire to experience video
content and increasing rates over and above things that they would want or need
to read. As a result, you will need to make sure to create video content that
is engaging the mobile user and giving them the opportunity to make decisions
that would be favorable to your company.
One of the
benefits of video marketing within the YouTube platform is that when the
description is written in detail, the video content is ranks in the search
engine results as high as any typical website content. Currently, search engine
giant Google is favoring some video content as much as it does some
websites.
YouTube has
become an effective platform in video marketing, as all platforms--Android,
Windows and IOS, have integrated apps that allow users to click on links from different
applications on their mobile device to land within YouTube.
Therefore,
consider the possibility of creating links within certain pages of your mobile
device having users to click on them, and then experience video content on YouTube.
Furthermore, envision what you could do if users would then be able to
experience the rest of your video content conveniently placed within your video
channel. In other words, video is central to both searchers/mobile device
users.
Google Hangouts
Companies
are utilizing Google’s multimedia broadcast system called Hangouts. They're
using them as leverage in their business in order to provide live streaming
information to their customer base. And they are also using them in order to connect
staff members inside of their companies.
A key factor
in this process is that Hangouts are mobile enabled. In other words, users can
experience live streaming multimedia content from their mobile device. In
addition to this, broadcasters can send live streaming content from their mobile
device. This means that there are no limits to being able to share which
multimedia content might be of benefit to your target customer. Savvy marketers
are using Google Hangouts in order to create video testimonials with their
customers.
The reason
that Google Hangouts are important with respect to video testimonials is that
they are instantly uploaded to YouTube. That means that there is a high
likelihood that these videos will both rank in search, and provide mobile users
a convenient option to view your video content. Companies are leveraging this
tool in order to create what users will find helpful. Some have leveraged this
tool even further by taking advantage of Google’s favoring mechanism for both
events and video content. These events ranked even higher in search on the
local level.
The Growth in Influence of Mobile Computing
Google’s
focus on fusing their search capabilities with mobile technology will be a
major influence on businesses as time progresses. But make no mistake, Google, even as large
and influential as it is, will have no choice but to work in the same direction
as mobile’s influence. Its users (and
your customers) have both directly and indirectly demanded it.
On average,
typical mobile device users look at their device up to 35 times per day and no
less than 20. This means that while
communication and research is happening, so is decision making. If your company is in position while this decision
making is happening, then you will be able to move with your consumers. To ignore this fact will be to move against
the evidence.
This is a
move toward increasing convenience.
Consumers are demanding to be able to do more with their computing on
their terms. Their preference is not to
have to wait for information, nor is it to have to wait for access. They want to be able to get all of the
information they need, on demand.
Technology
is accommodating them. Devices are being
made that grow more powerful and sophisticated.
It’s easy to expect that what we are currently using on our desktop in
power and resources will soon be in our hands.
As discussed earlier, the trend is that this technology is being made
more , not less affordable. Companies
such as Sprint, ATT, T-Mobile and others are incentivized to make sure that we
have devices so that we will continue to use and desire data plans.
Even when
consumers use what is considered to be older technology (e-mail), they’re doing
it increasingly on their mobile device.
There is no end to the increase of mobile computing.
What this
means for your business is that positioning is critical in all five elemental
areas as it fits your strategy: 1) SMS, 2) Coupons, 3) Mobile Websites, 4)
Mobile Apps and QR Codes. This is the
starting point for acclimating your company to meet your customer where they
are.
What the
future will hold for marketing is anyone’s guess. We do know that what is slow in adoption in
older generations has been fully embraced by younger ones. In
fact, it is fair to say that what is now called “mobile marketing” will soon be
termed simply marketing. It will be as
commonplace as the devices themselves.
Not only
must businesses implement the elements mentioned above, but they must also
rethink foundation principles as they’re altered by mobile computing. Can a company’s unique selling proposition
change based on how they implement mobile?
Can a company think differently about their customer lifetime
value? What will a contact database look
like…will it be text or email? What will
it mean to generate PR if there is less emphasis on television and radio? What
will media advertising look like--will it remain cost prohibitive or will it be
too cheap to ignore? Businesses will be
rethinking the way that marketing has been done since the internet took its
place in popularity. When that happens,
what will be the next game changing innovation on the horizon?
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