Profit from the Mobile Marketing Revolution

Are you ready for the mobile marketing revolution?

There are currently over 5 billion mobile subscribers worldwide and, according to research, 60% of the time when business decision makers go online, they leverage their mobile device to access the web and access their email. So, it’s critical that you start thinking about ways that you can integrate mobile marketing into your marketing mix. Now, if you are not doing anything as of yet, don’t panic because most likely most people are accessing your website leveraging traditional computers. But, it is predicted that by 2013 most people will be leveraging mobile devices to go online more so than traditional laptops and desktop computers so it is time to get started.

Where do you get started? Get started with your website, your most powerful marketing tool. Figure out ways that you can make your website mobile friendly.

The problem with most websites is they look awful on mobile devices. They’re difficult to navigate, difficult to read, difficult to use. So, you need to create a separate website that is specifically optimized for mobile devices if your website is not responsive. Now, this may seem difficult but it is not as difficult as you may seem. If you leverage a content management system (CMS) or you leverage an ecommerce system, most likely, there are web-modules that you can use to very easily create those mobile versions of your website.

The second place that I want you to start, is thinking about ways that you can start integrating more online video to replace big blocks of text. Even on the most optimized mobile website, big blocks of text are difficult to read. So, figure out ways that you can replace your traditional product descriptions with videos that demonstrate products and show their best practices. Have a rich educational library not just of articles but of videos as well. What happens is many mobile devices are very easy to stream youtube videos so you can stream your great videos online right on those mobile devices.

Third, look for ways that you can leverage QR codes or quick-response codes in your print communications. You may have seen them, those little black and white communications. What they provide is a way way for mobile users to scan those QR codes and be instantly transported to your mobile website. You can leverage them on your postcards and on your print ads to extend that message. There is only so much information that you can communicate in a little print ad. But if you have a QR code that sends people over to a complimenting website, you can really extend that message and get people to take that next step.

The fourth way of leveraging mobile marketing is to create apps for your customers that help them do their job better. There are literally millions of apps out there, that run on mobile devices, to accomplish a variety of different tasks. Companies like United Airlines have created apps to manage the reservation process, to check in. Also, supermarkets have created apps to stream personalized coupons to shoppers. ISSA has created that fantastic app for the ISSA interclean show to make it easy for people to find the various resources,to add value to the show.

So, think about ways that you leverage mobile marketing to add more value for your customers.

Any questions? Contact me.