Why Mobile Marketing should be your priority - NOW!

A few years ago, mobile marketing was considered text messaging, or SMS marketing, but that has changed dramatically over the past few years. While there continues to be a marketing for SMS marketing,  there is continuous access to consumers because of their obsessions with their mobile devices and use of social media. If you have been waiting, or doubt the power and future of mobile, take a look at the latest stats from hubspot.

Based on a Business Insider article, There Will Soon Be One Smartphone For Every Five People In The World :

"Mobile web use will continue to surge over the next five years, and at an astonishing rate of 66 percent each year! As the world gets its hands on more mobile devices and more are connected to each other and the Web, according to a report from Cisco. In fact, connected devices will outnumber humans this year. The surge in mobile Internet traffic will come from a global population doing more throughout the day over wireless gadgets. By 2017, the average mobile user will watch 10 hours of video, listen to 15 hours of music, make five video calls and download 15 apps each month. In all, global mobile traffic will increase to 134 exabytes in 2017."

Customers want the same experience, on a mobile device

Mobile-only users aren’t some strange new breed of customer, signaling their desire for different messages, content, and services through their choice of screen size and form factor. They’re just your customer. You can and should speak to them in same way you address all your other customers. They just want to engage with you on the device that’s most useful and convenient for them.

Here is an overview of mobile facts:

1. There's 6.8 Billion People on the planet, 4 billion using mobile devices, and 1.5 billion on smartphones

1. 91% of adults have their mobile phones at their fingertips 24/7 and within 6 feet at all time. We have access to people more often on mobile.

1. 55% of Americans said that they ONLY use mobile devices to access the web. Are you missing this key demographic by not offering a mobile friendly experiences to your audience?

1. There are 5 times as many cell phones in the world as there are PC's!

1. 82% of U.S. Adults own a cell phone.

1. 90% of mobile searches lead to an action; over 50% lead to a purchase!

1. 70% of mobile searches lead to action within 1 hour!

1. 74% of smartphone users use their phone to help with shopping and 79% of them ultimately end up buying.

1. Mobile coupons receive 10 times higher redemption rates than print coupons. If you're not allowing people to redeem offers by showing a screen or coupon code on their device, you better start now! (groupon, foursquare are examples)

Smartphones are consumers’ close companion in their daily tasks. Research shows the top five places where these smartphones are used in the US are 

• 96% at home 
• 83% on the go
• 76% in retail stores 
• 70% in restaurants 
• 68% at work

For many, using their smartphones is the only option for web access.

Aaron Smith, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project, shared that “Some 88% of U.S. adults own a cell phone of some kind as of April 2012, and more than half of these cell owners (55%) use their phone to go online."

Smith calls these individuals “cell Internet users” in his report and said, “This represents a notable increase from the 31% of cell owners who said that they used their phone to go online as recently as April 2009.”

The same Pew study found that 45% of those who use the web on their smartphones prefer Web browsing on mobile devices.

Mobile device visit share and conversion rates for Ecommerce sites

The Monetate Q4 2013 Ecommerce Quarterly published February 2014 gives insight on smartphone vs tablet vs desktop share of audience for large Ecommerce brands.

This graphic shows the tremendous growth of mobile web visitors. Tablet and smartphone use nearly doubled in from 2012 to 2013, based on over 500 million visits for retail clients, with mobile share now  27% on average.  Look for the next report to show even more percentage growth as people are ditching their PC and Laptop for mobile devices.

Mobile technology is transforming the business’ marketing efforts, giving them the opportunity to engage with their customers at a more personal level.

Is your business presenting a mobile friendly environment for your mobile users? If not, you are potentially missing out on more than 27% of your business.