Mobile Marketing – Real of Just a Fad?

Mobile Marketing

I know that the mobile platform is here to stay, I mean all you have to do is just look around you and how many people have a cell phone stuck to their ears?  Just look down and how far is your own smart device from you?  I’ll bet within reach.  To keep confirming what I keep see and what my customers are asking about  I came across this cool article on the Hubspot blog by contributor Jeanne Hopkins. She points out something I think we all ask ourselves from time to time–everyone keeps saying it, but how do we really know that mobile marketing is the next big thing?

Here are just a few reasons she came up with after attending the recent Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.

  • The growth of the iPhone was 10 times faster than the growth of America Online. (Source: Neilson)
  • It takes 26 hours for the average person to report a lost wallet. It takes 68 minutes for them to report a lost phone. (Source: Unisys)
  • It takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. It takes 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message. (Source: CTIA.org)
  • 70 percent of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. (Source: Mobile Marketer)
  • 90 percent of all U.S. citizens have their mobile device within reach 24/7. (Source: Morgan Stanley).

You can read the rest of her cool facts at http://bit.ly/kWKqTm, but here is what I want to leave you with today. Mobile marketing has not only arrived, it is here to stay. The wires and boxes that tied us to our computers for the first 30+ years of the Technology Revolution have been removed and we are now able to do more on our mobile devices than we ever thought possible. In the coming years more people will rely on their mobile device that their desktop and laptop computer combined.

Let us know your thoughts and observations of the mobile trends you are observing in your area.

Ecommerce Mobile App Considerations

Ecommerce Mobile Marketing

Ecommerce mobile apps are forecasted to reach $31 billion in the U.S. by 2016, which means that merchants have little time to create, test and perfect their mobile strategies.

In order to grow a successful retail business, merchants must create and maintain a strong mobile Web presence. But if you look at many mobile online stores on a smart device you see nothing more than a tiny version of their current monitor based website. However, not only should traditional websites be optimized for a true mobile experience, but merchants should also take advantage of the vast money making opportunities mobile presents by also offering mobile applications to their consumers.

Mobile applications should act as an extension of a retailer’s website, and be a viable channel for consumers to leverage in order to make purchases, search for stores and browse for products, receive support, interact with the retailer’s social media and more right from their mobile device.

And while most retailers haven’t fully implemented a mobile strategy yet, some of the biggest names in the industry have, and in doing so they have already set a standard of best practices.  Here are some to consider as you plan your mobile app.

Smartphone and Tablet Optimized

Although having one spectacular app is better than having two mediocre apps, the goal of all merchants should be to offer device specific applications that provide consumers with the best possible user experience. For example, Walgreens offers apps for Blackberry, Android and iOS devices – including an optimized app for both the iPhone and iPad.

Personalization

Creating a personalized shopping experience has always been a best practice within the retail industry, both on and off the Web – and mobile apps aren’t any different. Many big name retailers, such as Target, Walmart and Amazon, enable consumers to sign in and create a profile so that the check out process is a faster and easier task, and so that consumers can maintain a consistent user experience regardless of the device that they are shopping with. For example, consumers that leverage the Target app on their iPad can customize the app’s background once they sign into their account, as well as create “TargetLists”, which is a feature that enables consumers to create lists of things they need. Additionally, these lists can be viewed offline as well as on any other device once the user is signed into their account.

Simple User Interface

Apps should improve on a company’s mobile website and offer an easier to use and more customizable user experience. If this is not the case, merchants will not obtain as many conversions because most consumers won’t take the time to figure out how a complicated app works. Lowe’s offers a simple yet feature-full iPhone app, which prominently displays a search bar and QR scanner for convenience at the top of the app’s homescreen. The remainder of the homescreen features a July 4th promotion, the ability for users to find a nearby store, an idea gallery and videos – which just so happen to be a proven best practice for boosting engagement and conversions.

lowesiphone          lowesiphone2

Nice Navigation

Navigation is always important, whether for a traditional or mobile website, or even a mobile application. Not only should merchants feature a fully functional search bar in their app, but they should also offer easy to find buttons for consumers to navigate with. Walmart’s iPad app is very similar to the retail giant’s traditional website.  Once a department is selected, it is broken down even further into additional categories for consumers to choose from. For instance, once the “Jewelry” department is selected, seven more options under jewelry appear to make locating a desired product, such as a ring, as easy as possible.

Unique Features

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to not create a cookie cutter app. Every e-commerce store has its own unique features and offerings, so mobile apps should be created with the same strategy in mind. Whether its featuring a deal of the day on the homepage of your app, or enabling your users to customize the background of the app, unique features are key when trying to implement a mobile application that will truly resonate with consumers. After all, you want an app that will encourage consumers to come back and shop while they are on the bus, waiting for an airplane or even watching TV at home.

These are just some of the many things you need to consider as you develop your own mobile strategy in the months to come.  Remember more and more of your customers are going mobile and you don’t meet them on their smart devices your competition will!

What concerns or questions do you have about building your own mobile platform for your business?

 

23 Mobile Marketing Stats You Need to Know

Mobile Marketing

It appears that with the rise in mobile spending and interest it is going beyond just a fad. Right now if you haven’t taken mobile marketing seriously it can be a bit overwhelming. Based on some of the following stats help you understand just how important it is and and that you want to add it to your priority list for the rest of this year!

23 Mobile Marketing Statistics That Make A Difference

The State of the Mobile Union

1) 1.08 of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones are smartphones. 3.05 billion are SMS enabled. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!

2) Mobile internet usage is projected to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!

3) Apple and Android represent more than 75% of the smartphone market. (Source: comScore) Tweet This Stat!

Mobile Optimization

4) 74% of consumers will wait 5 seconds for a web page to load on their mobile device before abandoning the site. (Source: Gomez) Tweet This Stat!

5) 46% of consumers are unlikely to return to a mobile site if it didn’t work properly during their last visit. (Source: Gomez) Tweet This Stat!

6) 71% of mobile browsers expect web pages to load almost as quickly or faster as web pages on their desktop computers. (Source: Gomez) Tweet This Stat!

Mobile Search

7) 7.96% of all web traffic in the U.S. is mobile traffic. That number skyrockets to 14.85% in Africa, and 17.84% in Asia — up 192.5% since 2010. (Source: Pingdom) Tweet This Stat!

8) One half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!

9) Mentioning a location in mobile ads and search results can increase click-through rates up to 200%. (Source: ThinkNear) Tweet This Stat!

Mobile Commerce

10) Only 19% of US retailers have an M-Commerce app. (Source: eMarketer) Tweet This Stat!

11) That might be okay, since only 4% of consumers prefer to shop via an app. (Source: eMarketer) Tweet This Stat!

12) 24% of US tablet owners use their tablets to shop 2-3 times per month; 20% use them to shop more than once per week; and 12% use them to shop every day! (Source: eMarketer) Tweet This Stat!

13) 29% of mobile users are open to scanning a mobile tag to get coupons. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!

14) 1 in 5 smartphone users scan product barcodes, and nearly 1 in 8 compare prices on their phone while in a store. (Source: comScore) Tweet This Stat!

15) 39% of instances where a consumer walks out of a store without buying were influenced by smartphones. (Source: Motorola Solutions) Tweet This Stat!

Mobile Social Media

16) 91% of mobile internet access is for social activities, versus just 79% on desktops. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!

17) Over 1/3 of Facebook’s users access Facebook Mobile; 50% of Twitter’s users use Twitter Mobile. (Source: Microsoft Tag) Tweet This Stat!

18) QR code scans increased 300% in 2011 compared to 2010. (Source: ScanLife) Tweet This Stat!

Mobile Email Marketing

19) If all US mobile internet time was condensed into an hour, 25 minutes of it would be spent on email. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!

20) The entertainment, finance, publishing, and social networking industries see above average mobile email views compared to other industries. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!

21) From April to September in 2011, mobile email opens increased 34%, while webmail and PC opens decreased by 11% and 9.5%, respectively. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!

22) iPad users are loving it for email — there’s been a 73% increase in opens on those skinny little things. (Source: Return Path) Tweet This Stat!

23) Mobile email readership is at its peak on Saturday, and at its lowest on Monday. (Source: Marketing Technology Blog) Tweet This Stat!

Has the growth of mobile caused you to invest more in your mobile marketing strategy yet?

 

What to Expect in Mobile for 2012

Marketing Mobile Marketing

Mobile Trends for 20122012 is officially here, and what better way to kick off the New Year than with some data? WooHoo! In its recent US Digital Media Usage report, eMarketer estimates how digital media usage will grow in 2012 in terms of the mobile marketing and usage.

Check out these 14 eye-popping marketing stats that will effect the probable growth of mobile marketing in 2012 and emphasize why you’ll definitely need inbound marketing and how this will expand cross channel marketing this year.

  • Mobile internet users will reach 113.9 million in 2012, up 17.1% from 97.3 million in 2011. Tweet This!
  • Smartphone users will reach 106.7 million in 2012, up 18.4% from 2011. Tweet This!
  • In 2012, 94% of smartphones users will be mobile internet users. Tweet This!
  • All mobile phone users will reach 242.6 million in 2012, up 2.3% from 2011. Tweet This!
  • Mobile shoppers will reach 72.8 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • Mobile buyers will reach 37.5 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • Smartphone shoppers will reach 68.6 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • Smartphone buyers will reach 36.4 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • Tablet users will reach 54.8 million in 2012, up 62.8% from 33.7 million in 2011. Tweet This!
  • iPad users will reach 41.9 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • In 2012, 76.4% of tablet users will be iPad users. Tweet This!
  • Mobile video viewers will reach 54.6 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • Smartphone video viewers will reach 51.2 million in 2012. Tweet This!
  • Adult-aged eReader users will reach 45.6 million in 2012, up from 33.3 million in 2011. Tweet This

A Few Digital Media Sources You Missed

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We ran across these digital media sources from an article in Mashable from last week we feel you needed to see.  Enjoy!


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