By Curtis Gorrell, Bader Rutter & Associates, www.converge.baderutter.com
Marketing to people through their mobile devices is still in its infancy, but it’s gaining interest among marketers. Entrepreneur magazine chose mobile marketing as one of the top 10 Web marketing trends for 2010, and research conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association indicates that mobile marketing spending is set to rise 124 percent from 2010 to 2011.
Mobile marketing can be an effective way to reach your target audience, particularly when integrated with other tactics, such as social media. For marketers who are interested in incorporating mobile marketing into their communications plans, a proven strategy is to approach mobile as an actionable item. The acronym ACT provides an easy way to get started.
A is for Audience
Like other aspects of an effective marketing strategy, it’s important to know your target audience. Start by gathering answers to the following questions:
- To what extent are they using mobile devices?
- Which mobile devices are they using?
- How are these devices being used?
- How can you improve your audience’s mobile experience as it relates to communicating with your business?
Many mobile devices have built-in features that you should think about leveraging to the benefit of your audience. For example, consider location-based services that take advantage of mobile GPS capabilities. Since most people carry their mobile devices with them at all times, start examining ways in which location could be used to benefit and communicate with your audience.
C is for Competition
Competition is often an overlooked step in evaluating a mobile marketing strategy. See what your competitors are doing. Each of the different mobile operating systems has its own respective marketplace where users can find and download third-party applications. That’s a great place to start research.
By entering a keyword search, such as in the iTunes store or the Blackberry and Android marketplaces, you can find out in about an hour how your competition is reaching its customers via mobile marketing. As you learn more, you can dig deeper and enhance your company’s ability to stay a step ahead of this new trend.
T is for Total Commitment
The mobile marketplace is not unlike what we experienced in the mid-1990s, when websites eclipsed Prodigy and other Internet-based services in popularity. In the ‘90s, creating websites was mostly a function of the IT department until companies understood the importance of integrating that function across the company. In the same way, mobile marketing needs to be a part of a company’s strategic planning and part of the overall process.
There are a lot of companies uncertain about how mobile marketing will take off and whether it makes sense for their businesses. If this is something your company is considering, know that it shouldn’t be a one-off project, but an integral part of an effective marketing strategy.
