Mobile Marketing – A Marketing Strategy in Your Pocket
Mobile marketing is a strategy where the goal is to reach your target audience through mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, etc. It is becoming increasingly common for devices like this to be the main source of internet access for a large number of people. So, it’s essential for any business to include them in their marketing strategy. Smartphones have tools and applications that help mobile marketing become a success, such as geolocation, access to the internet anywhere, applications such as email (which can combine mobile marketing with email marketing), social networks, app notifications, etc.
Why is mobile marketing useful for a marketing campaign?
Mobile devices, the smartphone being the main one, are a companion in our daily lives. You can’t imagine leaving home without your phone in your pocket. On our smartphone or tablet we have a many different applications that can cover different needs in just one tap. Therefore, including mobile marketing in your marketing strategies can bring a multitude of benefits to your business.
Users who shop on mobile devices normally look up the products or services beforehand, looking at different features and options to decide which one best meets their needs. Through mobile marketing, you can direct traffic to your shop, making the most of when users do their initial search.
In this way, you can take advantage of the daily and constant use of mobile devices by users, maintaining your relationship with the user over time, driving traffic or approaching the specific audience you are looking for.
Different ways to capitalise on mobile marketing
One great advantage of mobile marketing is that there are several ways to make the most of it, and each of these options results in multiple benefits for your business.
Below is a list of benefits from this marketing strategy:
–Mobile shopping is on the rise due to the increasing use of mobile devices as the primary access to the Internet. It’s essential that companies invest in this sales model, as it will ensure that they reach a wider audience, thereby increasing the number of possible sales.
-You can tap into segmenting by region. Our mobile devices have GPS and go everywhere with us, so this can be utilised to display ads according to the users’ location. For example, a restaurant can set up ads targeted to users who are close to their establishment. Here you have more possibilities of increasing your conversion rate.
–Use apps to your advantage. There are millions of apps for all kinds of purposes. Use them to reach your target audience. For example, bars or restaurants can benefit from Foursquare to make it easy for users to find them, and to access reviews from other customers. Don’t forget about the major social networks, which are already staple apps for every mobile device user, and allow you to buy targeted advertising.
-The quickest and most direct communication. Improve the efficiency of the messages you send t your users through notifications or even SMS to inform them about offers, promotions, and discounts. Or use it to keep them updated on the status of an order, payment dates, or follow up on complaints or comments.
–QR codes. It’s becoming very common to see these codes in restaurants, bus stops and on adverts. The QR Code is fast becoming an excellent tool for users to receive information via their smartphones.
Mobile Marketing and User Experience
To reap all the benefits from a good mobile marketing strategy, it’s essential to create websites that ensure that the user will have a pleasant experience on the mobile device of their choice. Making it easier for the user to navigate your site will improve your positioning on search pages, making the user stay longer (something you will monitor through user tracking) and complete the purchasing process or whatever you decide is the conversion goal to achieve. It can be filling in a form, making a purchase, etc.
On the other hand, it is important to handle this strategy with care, because with great power comes great responsibility, and it’s key to avoid being intrusive. Although mobile devices are part of the everyday life of all their users, it is very easy to create a negative image if you are too intrusive in advertising or send emails or SMS to users who did not give their data or consent to receive them. The Data Protection Act should always be kept in mind.
Choose the mobile marketing strategy and tools that work best for your product or service and the users you want to attract, as the mobile is now the channel for any business.