The Mobile Marketing Imperative

Did you know that 2014 is the year that mobile takes over as the number one place for Internet consumption?

If not, it is important that you take note of this because whether your business is e-commerce or merely a consulting firm with a website, the shift to mobile is going to affect the way you market your brand.

Whether you feel that your business is in the “Mobile” fast lane, or you are still living in the past, here are a few more important statistics in the world of Mobile that you may want to pay attention to.

32 reasons to have a mobile marketing strategy:

1. In 2014, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage

2. Adults spend more time on mobile media than they do on newspapers and magazines combined

3. 91% of adults have their mobile phone within arm’s reach 24/7

4. 81% of U.S. cell users will have smartphones by 2015

5. 75% of mobile users use their mobile device for shopping

6. The global mobile market will grow from $3.4 billion in 2010, to $22 billion in 2016

7. Close to a billion smartphones are predicted to sell in 2013

8. 53% of American consumers use their smartphones to access search engines at least once a day

9. Four out of five consumers use smartphones to shop

10. Over 75% of mobile users respond to mobile-optimized sites when making purchases

11. 79% of small businesses feel that mobile sites boost customer engagement

12. Tablets are to outsell PCs and laptops in 2013

13. 64% of smartphone owners are now using their mobile devices to shop online

14. 75% of Americans bring their phones to the bathroom

15. $22 billion is being spent on mobile advertising in 2012, compared to only $3 billion in 2010

16. 52% of smartphone users prefer receiving offers on their mobile device

17. 70% of Americans would like to receive exclusive specials right on their mobile devices

18. Mobile ad spend has quadrupled since 2009 and is expected to keep growing at the same pace for the next 2 years

19. 40% of marketers are using mobile coupons

20. 95% of text message coupons are opened within the first 5 minutes

21. 22% of mobile coupons are shared with at least one friend

22. Text marketing coupons are 10 times more likely to be shared than magazine and newspaper coupons

23. Mobile search queries have grown five times in the past two years

24. 52% of all local searches are done from a mobile device

25. 95% of mobile users use their devices for local search

26. Nine out of ten mobile phone searches result in a purchase or visit

27. Three out of every five searches are conducted on a mobile device

28. 50% of travel or restaurant mobile queries result in a purchase

29. 52% of adult mobile phone owners use their devices while in a store to get help with purchasing decisions

30. 99% of smartphone owners use their mobile browser at least once a day

31. 71% of mobile browsers expect web pages to load almost as quickly as or faster than web pages on their desktop computers

32. 74% of consumers will wait 5 seconds for a web page to load on their mobile device before abandoning the site

Begging the question…What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Mobile Is No Longer Secondary

As you can see from the data points outlined above, mobile is no longer secondary, but has rapidly superseded the desktop as the preferred means of online content consumption.

The mere fact that adults spend more time consuming content online than all traditional print media put together provides tremendous insight into what the future of marketing will look like and just how engrained mobile is in it.

With ~1 billion smartphones sold in 2013 and more than 80% of the cell phone users in the U.S. carrying a Smart Phone, the shift is bound to get more impactful to every company’s bottom line.

With consumers searching, shopping and actively seeking to have special offers delivered directly to their mobile, it brings another question to the table:

Is your business prepared for the Mobile Consumer?

If you even have a spec of doubt left in the mobile movement, then just ask yourself this question:

Why do 91% of smart phone users have their cell phone within arms reach 24/7?

The reason is because our mobile device is our source of information on everything.  This is precisely why your business needs to be thinking about its mobile marketing strategy.

While rolling out a full integrated mobile marketing strategy will take planning and time, there are some things that every business can and should do immediately to improve the mobile experience.  First, let’s assess the current landscape.

Here are five questions to ask yourselves and some pointers to help with your mobile marketing strategy.

1. Does your company have its web presence set up for desktop, tablet and mobile for all the major platforms? (Apple, Android, Windows)  Tech Tip:  Many web developers and website themes now offer “Responsive” web design that can out of the box support the vast majority of popular browsers and devices.
2. What does the mobile experience today look like for the consumer of your products and services?
3. Is the mobile experience the same, better, or worse than the desktop experience?  Tech Tip: The main idea of “Responsive” design is to create a cohesive experience across multiple web platforms.
4. Can consumers easily connect to your brand on mobile platforms via social media, contact forms, opt-in and your company blog?
5. Does your website have a fast enough load time to satisfy the large majority (70+%) of consumers not willing to wait more than 5 seconds for mobile pages to load? Tech Tip:  This is often related to hosting although design can have an impact here.  Make sure to talk to your hosting company and to run speed tests to assure fast load times assuming the consumer has sufficient network data coverage.

One thing is for sure.  Mobile is moving fast and the consumer is embracing it at every corner.

Meaning that a business that isn’t thinking about mobile marketing may be missing the future of marketing altogether.

What is driving the mobile marketing imperative inside of your business?

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

Stats courtesy of ezanga and can be found here.