It's Time to Get Serious About Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

The scale of smartphone change and adoption is staggering. 64% of Americans aged 18-34 already have smartphones.

Of those, people who purchased within the past past 3 months, 80% got a smartphone.

In fact, 3 times more smartphones are being activated every minute than there are babies born!

61% of users said they were unlikely to return to a site if they’d had trouble viewing it on a mobile device
40% said they would actually take the further step of visiting a competitor’s site.

Get serious about mobile

It’s clear the mobile universe is exploding, with new devices, new platforms, and millions of new users. As marketers, we all need to stop and take a deep breath, then go for a walk (get out of the office!) and think about our mobile strategy (or lack thereof).

Mobile marketing is not just for retailers! Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can ignore mobile because you’re not in a retail business.

Don’t even think about creating a mobile app. Unless there is a compelling reason to create an app, don’t even think about it. A mobile app MAY be part of your overall strategy, but it’s definitely NOT the place to start. Remember, links don’t open apps!

Start with the simple things, then put your thinking cap on

Get your email right. 55% of users with an internet-enabled phone use it to check personal email. What does your email look like on a mobile device? What you your e-newsletters or lead nurting campaigns look like on mobile devices? Do your emails works well on very small screens and on iPad-sized screens?

Optimize your website for mobile users. Is your website meeting the needs of on-the-go mobile users? Do you need to re-work the website to present a usable mobile version, or do you need a separate mobile website? Often, a skilled programmer can make a website work well on mobile by changing how things are displayed busing CSS3 and responsive web design principles.

Forms are hard to fill out on mobile devices. Look at the forms you are currently using on your website. How can you simplify them for mobile? It’s not as easy to fill out a form on a mobile device as it is on a desktop. What (minimal) information do you REALLY need from me to complete this interaction?

Create once, publish everywhere. New technologies and programming tools allow us to create content one, and publish it to a mobile landing page, a mobile website, traditional websites, specialized web portals, Twitter, and internal social media platforms all at once. What does this mean for your content? Who needs to see what, on which kinds of platforms? If your content is going everywhere, do you need to re-think how you create your content?

“I want it now!” A golfer at the ninth hole would like to order lunch. I’m driving to your office and need your phone number because I’m stuck in traffic. A student at your college needs to know where her next classroom is. And by the way, when is the next bus coming? What are the “I want it now!” opportunities in YOUR business?

Are You a Local Service? Yelp connects people with local businesses via web and mobile search. Using their smart phone app, you can search for local couriers, notaries, printers, and shipping services by their distance to you, customer rating, price or hours of operation. For these companies, proximity and positive customer feedback are critical to the success of their mobile marketing efforts,. For service providers, mobile is local, and mobile is social.

Marketing agencies, B2B companies and B2C companies need to think through how they can create a powerful mobile marketing strategy. With smartphone and pad-type device acquisitions climbing dramaticly each month, the time to consder your mobile marketing strategy is now.