As we discussed in our previous post, mobile technology is rapidly changing the way that we do business. Small business owners who want to stay competitive have found it increasingly important to integrate various mobile technologies into their work place. In today’s look at mobile technology, we are going to focus on how mobile technology is affecting small business marketing.
Mobile technology has opened up numerous new avenues through which small businesses can do their marketing and advertising. Text messaging (SMS), mobile apps, mobile websites, QR codes, IVR messaging, and banner ads are just a few of the ways that businesses have been targeting potential customers on their mobile devices. So what is it about mobile technology that makes this sort of marketing effective?
The first big benefit of mobile technology is that it can effectively reach customers in a medium where they spend a lot of time. Our society is becoming more and more attached to mobile devices. Smartphones and other mobile devices are continuously handy, increasing the potential exposure of a customer to your marketing message. And mobile marketing is not just for teenagers. In fact, the biggest purchasers of mobile devices are in the 35-44 and the 45-54 age brackets.
In fact, there are multiple studies supporting the idea that your customers are seeing more and more on their mobile devices. Some of the findings from these studies are listed below (source).
- Text messaging (SMS) is one of the quickest ways to reach an individual. 97% of mobile users will read the text message within 15 minutes and 84% of them will respond to a text message within an hour.
- The average mobile marketing push has a response rate of 12-15%, with some companies seeing as high as 60%. This is in comparison with direct mail marketing, which has a response of about 2-3%.
- About 40% of mobile users have expressed an interest in receiving mobile coupons.
- Mobile websites are in as high demand as PC websites.
Due to the ability of many mobile softwares to “read” the website or information that an individual is looking at, marketing can become more targeted. After reading the information on the site, the software can run an ad that is related to that information, delivering a message that is relevant to that particular customer.
As technologies continue to develop, mobile devices will continue to impact the ways that small businesses handle their marketing campaigns. And that’s not the only area that will continue to evolve. In our next mobile technology post, we will look at how it is affecting small business commerce.
