Mobile Marketing - it's here and now!

In this particular posting, I am not going to go into the technical detail of the why’s and what-for’s of Mobile Marketing – we are just going to look at some of the overall advantages for you in your marketing efforts by way of introduction to this incredible marketing tool that is on the brink of an absolute world-wide boom!

Although Mobile Marketing is becoming increasingly popular due to its low cost and highly targeted appeal, within most companies it is still perceived as a bit mysterious and inaccessible as a professional marketing tool.

There is no doubt that for many South Africans, their cellphone is something they just cannot leave home without. The cellphone of today is becoming more and more of a portable all-in-one device that can wake you up in the morning to begin with, keep you entertained with music and games, enable you to take really incredible photo’s, allow you access to the internet and still provide you with increasingly advanced voice and messaging options – honestly the list of modern cellphone attributes just seems to go on and on…

Having stated the obvious, it is interesting to note that over 80% of South Africans own and use a cellphone, the average cellphone user carries his/her phone around with him/her for on average 14 hours per day and an increasing number of us are enjoying easier access to the latest in cellphone technology (few of us still use a phone that isn’t at least MMS enabled).

So the question is – what could mobile marketing mean for you in your promotional activities?

Let’s first identify and briefly discuss two of the major ways in which you can market using mobile technology.

1. Direct sms marketing

Here you will access your target audience directly – as marketing messages are delivered directly via sms to the potential/existing client’s phone. The challenge lies in developing a database of opt-in readers. Generally speaking, sms marketing is hinged on your ability to offer the reader something useful – in essence you need to make their lives easier in some way, whether that be delivering information to them that they would otherwise need to go and look for, like InContact from FNB where you can track account activity on your cell, to ticket confirmations, booking reminders and notifications of special promotions. As mentioned the key here is to be able to develop that database of subscribers – privacy is a big issue in cellphone marketing. As with email marketing, you need to ensure your readers can unsubscribe at any time. Note that MMS is an great option as you are able to include colours and graphics – but you would need to first think about whether your intended recipients are in all likelihood MMS enabled.

2. Mobile Websites

Although relatively few cellphone users utilise their phones to search the web (primarily due to current cost and download speed issues), Mobile Websites are due to become a prominent marketing tool in the next few years. As a incredibly inexpensive (you can have your Mobile Website hosted for free) shop window for your company, a Mobile Website provides you with a fantastic way to access potential customers who don’t have regular access to the internet. Once you have established your Mobile Website, your advertising and corporate material should carry links to both your Mobile Website and Internet Website – you will be able to reach just about everyone in this way!

So how do you target your mobile marketing efforts?

Today’s mobile phones are seen as an expression of who we are! While there is no doubt that the younger generations X and Y are going to be more open to mobile marketing, you will be able to ensure a greater likelihood of success if your marketing efforts have been targeted to the user profile of a particular handset type. For instance, someone with a Blackberry is more than likely to be a business person/corporate, probably on the go and out of the office a lot and possibly sitting with extra cash to spend – this user profile will be very different to that of someone using a Motorola razr, or a Sony Ericsson walkman. In developing your opt-in database of message recipients, it would be prudent to try and establish what cellphone the individual uses. This of course would also assist you enormously in deciding whether to go for funky MMS type advertising or just plain text.

The opportunities are endless – and in further postings we will go into more depth into more specific areas that require discussion as there is really so much to cover regarding mobile marketing. It goes virtually without saying that mobile marketing is most definitely here and now. In 2009, companies are going to want to start looking at ways of engaging their target markets through this inexpensive, highly targeted marketing tool.