Mobile Marketing

8 in 10 people are smartphone shoppers; Is your marketing campaign ready for that?
Or
8 out of 10 people rely on their phones for shopping; Are marketers aware?
Or
8 out of 10 people can’t shop without their phones. Is that good or bad for marketers?

Mobile shoppers are set to become the most critical segment of consumers in the near future. Are marketers prepared for m-commerce?

Mobile shoppers have evolved into ‘anytime shoppers.’ At present, 8 in 10 smartphone users are shopping on-the-go, while 3 in 5 consumers are using their smartphones to assist with shopping. Clearly we are witnessing an explosion of people relying on their mobile devices to help them with their pre-purchase research and final decision making. This sub-category of online shoppers (mobile buyers) has become the most important consumer category for businesses associated with apparel, footwear and electronics.

Traditionally speaking, most brand marketing campaigns, including television commercials and print ads were directed at the in-store buyers, whereas mobile consumers were considered somewhat more of a surplus base that is small and not incredibly relevant. However, the wind of change has turned the entire buyer-market scene around, and mobile buyers are suddenly as important as the in-store buyers, if not more. Modern marketers are tapping into this gap by rolling out extensive mobile-optimized marketing campaigns, since the line between in-store and mobile buyers is diminishing rapidly.

Companies who are doing it right

Mobile marketing campaigns aren’t just about sending mobile-optimized mailers, creating mobile apps replete with the maximum amount of information about a product or in-app advertisement. It is not that these things are not important; of course they are, but print and visual media can serve the same purpose as well, if done correctly.

Amazon for instance has a brilliant digital campaign that is working for its mobile buyer, even if they have no role play to cater to in-store consumers. Like Amazon and eBay, most e-commerce players were the first to seriously consider m-commerce, and were successful in rolling out authentic mobile campaigns that earned them some serious revenue. Further, McDonald’s, Quiznos and Taco Bell are the front-runners among fast-food chains organizing comprehensive marketing campaigns and getting some mean business.

Mobile marketing has witnessed many innovative campaigns by some big brands from Nike and Ikea to the German automotive marque Audi. Nike’s iOS running app campaign struck the right chords with its advocates and the central idea was something everybody easily identified with the brand. On the flip side, Ikea opted for an entirely radical approach – augmented reality. Their m-commerce campaign has a mobile app that allowed customers to virtually pick their spot and place furniture in their home. Audi epitomized their efficiency by rolling out the Start-Stop mobile app that helped users in saving their battery juice. Evidently, there are lots of innovations possible; you just need to find one that caters to your target audience and business the best!

Smartphones aren’t going anywhere, so is mobile marketing

Mobile shoppers are being called anytime shoppers for a reason – their behavior. Most buyers are increasingly relying on their smart devices for product reviews, checking for competitor pricing and general buyer sentiment around a certain product. Interestingly, self help is becoming the new norm with1 in 3 shoppers using their smartphones to find information regarding a product, instead of asking store employees. It has now become imperative for businesses to ensue modern mobile-optimized brand campaigns with immediate effect, since their revenue will grow if their mobile buyers increase in number.

Reach customers directly and hit the right sentiments

Mobile advertising is flexible and can bring some some exciting numbers of more buyers and leads. For starters, Christmas holidays are usually the time when we witness the year’s highest sales. Further, all marketing channels including signage, print or visual media are the most aggressive around holidays. Now imagine, what mobile campaigns could accomplish if they are directed strategically to the buyers interested in smartphones and cool applications. If you push your brand through mobile advertising and in-app ads during holidays and point your products directly at buyers, then there’s a little chance of failure, provided the campaign clicks well.

People love window shopping on their phones

The time is coming when mobile buyers will predominate digital buyers, and the best guess would be in the near future, may be the next couple of years. M-commerce thrives on consumer interaction, and if the website is mobile-ready and responsive, chances of a positive engagement are enhanced considerably. Here’s an interesting video about understanding smartphone consumers, which talks about nuances and insights about mobile marketers’ behavior.

9 in 10 smartphone shoppers are using their smartphones for pre-shopping activities, be it for finding store location, opening/closing hours or making price comparisons. This is a very troubling study for those who don’t have a decent mobile-ready m-commerce website. Responsive web design creates an effective web experience on every device and screen size, which positively effects lead-to-sale conversion.

Sales team gets smarter with smartphones

If you own a brick and mortar store, then having a smart sales team equipped with tablets is a great idea. The customers are getting smarter every day, and having an inefficient team with limited information won’t help you in obtaining that fawned upon customer trust. It is not easy to outsmart buyers, since they have become more aggressive, have started asking more questions and are more interested in comparing different competitor prices.

As per a study by Marketing Land, as much as 77% of smartphones driven retail purchases take place in stores. This has added more traction towards deploying a tech savvy sales team equipped with iPads and answering all customer queries and sharing product reviews. And this direct interaction between buyer and seller is a major component of mobile marketing, which also effectively gauges real-time consumer buying sentiments.

Images sources – thinkwithgoogle.com