Developing your mobile marketing plan

by Victor Green
3 mins read

It is easy to see why mobile marketing is so important in 2016, with the majority of consumers over the age of 18 (and many below that age) having their own mobile device, which they use pretty much relentlessly. In the U.S., 68% of adults have a smartphone and another 45% own a tablet. Many use these mobile devices from sun up to sun down, at their kitchen tables, on the drive to work, in their bathrooms and even in their bedrooms. There are a myriad of uses for a smartphone – with everything from checking emails to shopping to researching medical conditions.Basically anything you can do in front of a computer is now done seamlessly through a mobile device. A recent study found that 40% of consumers use their mobile device to make decisions about where and what to buy. Reviews in particular can have a huge influence on what a customer will buy, and many of these are found online.If you are a marketer, having a mobile marketing plan in place is an absolute. But, how do you cut through all of the clutter on the internet in order to have a solid plan that creates leads and builds your customer base?

Mobile-friendly site

Of course, the number one task on your mobile marketing strategy plan is to have a website that is optimized for mobile. If a customer can’t read your site, they are going to leave. Period. This definitely has to include your review section. Because consumers often make on-the-spot decisions about what to buy, where to eat and where to go, but need advice on how to do these things, they also want mobile-friendly and easy-to-read access to reviews. As they walk down the street on their way to a store or restaurant, they want to be able to quickly open a review for this spot and find out if it is worth their time. In an article for Forbes magazine, AJ Agrawal says you should “allow visibility of positive, negative and neutral reviews as all aspects of a company matter to consumers when making buying decisions”. Mobile reviews are an easy, effective and indirect way to market your brand.

Email marketing that is also optimized for mobile

Your email marketing efforts might be your most important strategy, but it doesn’t take much to ensure that these read well on a mobile device. By blending email with mobile, you are killing two birds with one stone. With this, you can include mobile-friendly tactics like having phone numbers be clickable, so your customers can immediately act on your call to action. Agrawal says this “creates a more pleasant and interactive total mobile user consumer experience”.

Incentives to use mobile

Giving your customers true incentives to use their mobile devices while shopping (both online and in-store) is a smart move as a marketer. These could include mobile coupons that work only on a smartphone or mobile device or discount codes that are easily clickable and usable. As well, real-time sales sent by SMS are more likely to have a consumer reacting and buying. Delivery is quick and painless.Creating a mobile marketing strategy takes some work, but it is a useful strategy that will have a huge payoff, especially as more and more consumers turn to their phones for what they need.

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