The business scenario is changing rapidly today with the emergence of mobile marketing that uses mobile devices. This is supposedly the next explosion impacting the business market as mobile devices become more prevalent with consumers. With the growing number of mobile users in the marketplace, mobile marketing is the next market trend.
More amazing mobile marketing apps and solutions are emerging in the marketplace to support all types of mobile devices. However, there is a need for the best mobile marketing campaigns to impact a business. As mobile penetration is expected to increase exponentially in this decade, the potential of mobile marketing grows in leaps and bounds. Already there are many consumers possessing more than one mobile phone, although not every unit is a smartphone. But as the number of active phones increases with built-in Internet capabilities, cost effective mobile marketing campaigns would also grow in the market.
1) Subscriber Based Mobile Marketing
This form of mobile marketing campaign requires consumers to subscribe to a particular marketing program just like traditional marketing methods. Users are required to sign up to enjoy customized messaging and newsletters with creative marketers personalizing the messages. The more common subscriber based mobile marketing campaigns applied today include SMS marketing, MMS marketing and mobile applications.
SMS mobile marketing is popular as the techniques and technologies used are compatible with most mobile devices available in the market today. However, SMS campaigns can be perceived as negative and labeled as spam. Well designed SMS campaigns can be very cost effective in promoting a business offering as SMS services may only cost 0.01 cents when bulk purchases are made.
MMS marketing is more upscale than SMS marketing as the former uses slightly more sophisticated multimedia features for a more attractive marketing presentation. However, MMS packets may not be accessible by older generation mobile phones that do not have the latest technologies to support higher resolution images although it may be relatively affordable to reach many recipients.
Mobile applications are designed for mobile users with smartphones which may be fewer in number at the moment. Hence, the target audience may be limited for a business, especially when various Mobile Operating Systems exist.
2) Location based Mobile Marketing
Another type of mobile marketing campaign in the market is location based services that are getting a lot of hype. Mobile users desire to have their mobile connectivity combined for offline and online activities so that they do not miss important happenings in their lives. Several types of location based mobile marketing exist; these include Check-in services and Bluetooth marketing.
Check-in services on mobile marketing are offered by popular social media sites like Facebook where retail locations can offer special deals to customers upon checking in at identifying locations. These special deals can be in the form of coupons, badges and discounts to enjoy more savings on their online purchases. There are professional mobile marketing companies that are ready to assist business enterprise’s brand the image with an optimized marketing campaign.
Bluetooth marketing is also based on location where mobile phones with an active Bluetooth connectivity can receive customized promotional messages. Discounts and special offers can be conveyed easily at any time when the phone is active to allow mobile users an immediate notification depending on their location.
3) Mobile Internet Advertising
Mobile Internet ads are impactful mobile marketing tools where a promotional ad can be screened on the smartphone via an Internet connection. Such ads may seem comparable to online ads, but offer a higher impact to the company. The various types of mobile Internet ads include iAd and Google Mobile Ads.
iAd originates from Apples as a mobile ad platform for iPads and iPhones. This is a great business opportunity in displaying business ads on Apple mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. However, mobile users must have certain applications to receive such ads; alternatively, they must be connected to the Internet.
On the other hand, Google Mobile Ads enable more mobile users to perform web searches via Google platform. A host of Google applications can be employed even on Android phones. Hence, it is common to find a huge selection of excellent choices for mobile advertising solutions with Google Mobile Ads.
Best Approaches and Practices
Regardless of the choice of mobile marketing campaign preferred by different business enterprises, it is crucial to note the different benefits offered and note the objectives of implementing mobile marketing solutions prior to any indulgence. A careful research to compare and contrast these mobile marketing campaigns is crucial to choose the best option in the market that fits the business requirements.
One of the important approaches to mobile marketing campaigns is identifying the target audience. This would narrow down the scope of features and options available to benefit the business. However, many businesses may not limit their marketing strategies to just one with several options operating simultaneously to fit different target groups. This would promote the business offerings to a wider circle of influence for a bigger ROI.
Best practices should be implemented to gain market confidence in the company while building up the brand and image. A little more investment may be needed in promoting the business entity to secure better potential leads through more sophisticated and proven mobile marketing campaigns. Professional mobile marketers or experts can be roped in to speed up the process and outcomes if the company has the financial resources.
Conclusion
Mobile marketing is gaining a stronger favor with consumers and modern businesses due to the convenience of mobile devices and emerging sophisticated mobile applications in the market. Although considered as in its infancy, mobile marketing is developing in leaps and bounds.
A growing number of mobile users today are using the Internet constantly for all types of purposes. Innovative companies should capitalize on cost effective mobile marketing campaigns that would convey their promotional offers immediately as modern day consumers love to be kept updated on the latest happenings and offerings especially where free stuff can be won easily.
