Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing involves reaching customers when they are using the Internet away from thetraditional home or office desktop environment. The increased use of smartphones, iPads, Tablets, and similar mobile devices has may make mobile marketing a must for many online businesses. Mobile marketing uses interactive media that assists customers in gaining location and time-sensitive information throughwireless connectivity. It is helpful for all the stakeholders including organizations and clients. Consumers can search for a necessary product anywhere, anytime. Organizations can access prospective global buyers at any location at any time.                              

Mobile marketing may drastically alter the current business landscape. Globalization may not be so simple without mobile marketing. Many business organizations have interactive websites that enable their users to “mobile view”. Marketing via cell phones, especially through text messages, is widely used throughout the world.  It is estimated that a recipient of a text message will read it within minutes, a phenomena that may increase a consumer’s response rate to an advertising message. Many companies have developed large databases of customers’ information and send them promotional packages and special offers through text messages.  Enterprise solution software can assist businesses in sending mass marketing messages within a single click. In addition to being cost effective, this software may also turn out to be one of the most prompt ways of marketing and advertisement.

Distant marketing, such as mobile marketing through SMS (or text messages) may not always receive as warm a welcome as a real time view of a product. Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a step toward two- dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) representation of products. An organization can send an MMS to its clients in order to present a better picture of its products.  

Push notifications constitute another type mobile marketing that is used globally.  Apple introduced this technology to its smartphones, and many companies later adopted it. Push notifications may be an efficient way to communicate with end-user customers. These notifications “pop up” as messages on clients’ mobile phones, informing clients of new events or developments in a phone application without their actually having to open up the relevant application.  Organizations may benefit from the adoption of push notifications because this technology can allow them to alert customers or new products or discounts.  A push notification can also function as a “call to action” ad.  A push notification interrupts the user in the midst of whatever function he is using on his phone, such as surfing the Internet, and alerts him to a new development.  If the development appeals to him, he can then click on an embedded link and then visit the company’s application or website. 

Many businesses keep their websites simple, interactive and viewable by mobile phones. Mobile phones may be important to the success of many online retailers, such as eBay and Amazon. Their websites may not be fully synchronized with cell phones but may provide options to make online purchases. Customers can customize web options according to their preferences and can access organizations’ products from anywhere in the world at any time.  Mobile marketing technology may help the world convert to a competitive global environment.

Mobile marketing may have revolutionized marketing techniques, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) may have revolutionized mobile marketing.  GPS enables consumers to locate any business, restaurant, hotel, school, or hospital within few seconds. GPS may aid companies in capturing the attention of their target consumers. Location-Based Services (LBS) is another form of mobile marketing that can operate without GPS and send marketing messages to customers based on their location.

One of the advantages of mobile marketing for an organization may be its ability to foster direct connectivity with its end-user customers. Using this technology effectively may yield favorable results for companies.  Many people may deem their cell phones to be for their personal use and may become irritated by mobile marketing messages.  Companies that adopt a conscientious attitude towards customers’ privacy may reap more benefits from mobile marketing than companies who do not.

Image Source: http://nmsua.edu/communityed/alamogordo-community-education/professional-development/mobile-marketing-certificate/

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is form of advertising that involves direct communication between a business and its end-user customers. Direct marketing may use various techniques, such as phone calls, text messages, advertising emails, interactive websites, online ads, and promotional letters. Direct marketing may be helpful in gathering real-time customer feedback. Marketing messages may directly address consumer choices and consumer demand. These messages enable companies to have direct contact with their target market. Direct marketing is also known as a “call to action” (CTA), as advertisers prompt their target audience to act, be it to buy their product or click on the link embedded in a pop-up ad. Direct marketing may allow firms to effectively track consumer responses to their products and ads.  

An example of a pop-up Netflix ad on in an online Webster's dictionary.

Many types of business all over the world utilize direct marketing.  Well-executed direct marketing campaigns may provide companies with a keen insight into the preferences of its consumer base. The benefits of successful direct marketing initiatives may be directly measurable through subsequent increases in its sales.

The quantifiable metric of direct marketing is known as the consumer “response rate.” Advancements in technology and consumers’ increasing use of the Internet may render it convenient for managers and researchers to measure and quantify the results of a direct marketing campaign.  Companies with small marketing budgets may hire direct advertising experts to help them reach their target market segment.

A crucial aspect of direct marketing may involve delivering the right message to the right consumer at the right time. A “call to action” may encourage a customer to put in an order, visit a store, browse a website, or request more information about a product. Direct marketing campaigns may reach their target customers via email, fax, postal addresses, or even mobile phone. Other communications media may involve social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter, telemarketing, and point of sale (POS).     

Globalization may require a firm to employ dynamic marketing strategies. Emails, online web stores, and telemarketing may help a firm interact with its target international market segment. Web stores can allow buyers and sellers to easily interact via emails and inquiry forms.  Many web exchange platforms retain their customers’ contact data and use it send them unique business offers. This may be an effective way for a business to interact with its international consumers.        

Executing direct marketing campaigns may be challenging due to both obvious and subtle factors. Subtle challenges may include cultural differences, time zone differences, and language barriers. Excessively contacting customers may make them irritated or even aggressive. Excessive marketing through e-mails can result in customers’ filing these emails as “spam.” Customers may deem telemarketing to be a cumbersome breach of their privacy. Online stores can alleviate customers’ privacy concerns by informing them of their privacy policies and allowing them to opt out of mailing lists or telemarking campaigns. 

Image Source:  http://empenn.wordpress.com/2012/05/

Loyalty Marketing

Loyalty marketing can be important for any organization’s success.  Many business researchers define this concept as such:  “attract the right customers, get them to buy, convince them to buy often and bring new clients.”  Consumer loyalty is a relationship of trust between an organization and its customers.  Loyal customers may be important stakeholders for any successful organization.  Loyalty programs, also known as loyalty strategies, may reflect the objectives of an organization.  In this competitive environment, loyal customers can play an important role in an organization’s success.

Communicating with customers via email, phone, and print correspondence may demonstrate an organization’s appreciation of its consumers.  Information regarding sales offers, discount packages, and sales may provide clients with opportunities to purchase more.  These special offers may proliferate among consumer groups and may furnish a company with more customers.

Organizations may adopt various loyalty strategies.  Organizations may develop unique product offerings for each customer.  The Internet can enhance a company’s ability to engage in this form of personalized marketing.  Online stores may allow customers to fill in their personal data with an option to highlight their interest in specific products and services.  Retail stores may compile this data through manual forms.  Organizations may thus analyze the shopping patterns of their clients and extract their personal interest items.

Rewarding customers may be a significant step toward earning their loyalty.  Globalization may tighten competition within a market.  The presence of many competitors in a market may make it more difficult to earn customers’ loyalty and gain competitive advantage.  Rewards may encourage regular customers to become loyal customers.  These rewards may demonstrate to customers that the company really does appreciate their business.  It is these loyal customers that may become a significant asset for the company. 

Customer loyalty may be influenced by the behavior of a company's employees.  A friendly and welcoming attitude and efficient customer service on the part of employees may be ways to earn consumer loyalty.  Loyal employees may influence loyal customers.  Company policy may encourage employee satisfaction and thus may encourage these same employees to become more adept at meeting the needs its consumers.  Policies that may motivate employees include attractive job packages, compensation, and incentives.  Employee motivation may intrinsic as well as extrinsic.  Intrinsic motivation may come from prestigious designations and job titles, whereas extrinsic motivation may come from high salaries, great compensation packages, and flexible working hours. 

What Is Public Relations

Public Relations (PR) manages the flow of information between an organization and the general public.  PR involves obtaining information about the general public, including its demographics, interest topics, and current events.  The purpose behind an organization’s public relations department is to message its customers, stakeholders, investors, partners, and employees about its leadership, management, and product and services.  Great PR efforts can involve winning social awards, participating in local welfare activities, working closely with the press, and effectively communicating with an organization's employees.

Management uses PR to inform the general public about its organizational policies and procedures.  PR enables an organization and its surrounding society to adapt to one another.  It is a strategic process of communication that may benefit both the organization and the general public.  PR departments analyze the growing trend of events, predict the consequences, counsel the organization’s management, and implement programs accordingly.

PR is more an art than a science.  It implies particular skills concomitant with an updated knowledge of the general public.  PR directly deals with human nature, which can be capricious and unpredictable, and takes into account the principles of social sciences, such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology.  A public relations expert has to consider cultural and demographic factors pertinent to the target population before planning and executing any campaign. 

PR aims to inform the general public through both internal and external communications, including marketing campaigns, promotions, advertisements, special events, and public exposure.  Many companies hire PR experts as full-time employees or consultants.  The PR industry may have to reshape itself in order to adapt to current business management trends.  Contemporary PR techniques combine advanced technological techniques for information proliferation with opinion polls in an effort to evaluate the general public’s impression of an organization.  The general public's opinion of an organization may help an organization implement better products and services.  Market research can be effective tool to guage the public's opinion of a company's policies and products.

The fields involved in public relations may evolve over time.  These skills include communications, the arts, psychology, politics, sociology, ethics, and the study of management and administration.  PR experts may serve various social institutions, such as government agencies, NGOs, political parties, and trade unions.  PR experts may serve in an organization’s departments of crisis management, public affairs, opinion-making, investor relations, and employee relations.

One of the challenges facing PR includes negative impressions surrounding PR experts.  Some antidotes to the negative stereotypes surrounding PR experts may involve education about ethical and unethical behavior, hiring reputable people as PR experts, rewarding good conduct, publicizing good practices, and issuing licenses.  These solutions may be difficult to implement, but they may lead to favourable outcomes.

Another challenge facing the field of public relations is the ever-changing nature of human needs and preferences.  One way to solve this problem may be to use up-to-date market research techniques to guage the public's opinions of an organization over time.

Mega Trends in Mobile

Predicting where the mobile industry will be in the next few years can be challenging given the speed of growth and innovation which can render many analysis obsolete in a few months. In 2007 it was unexpected to some market analysts that Apple could produce a phone that could completely disrupt the industry. Critics were silenced when Apple’s iPhone gobbled market share and became the dominant force it is today.

More people worldwide are preferring mobile devices over personal computers. Research firm Gartner expects that by 2015 more than 80% of all mobile phones will be smart phones and 20% of them will be Windows phones. As a result mobile devices will surpass PC as the most common Internet access tools. According to StatCounter, mobile traffic accounts for 12% of the world’s Internet traffic as of September 2012.

In some countries, more people have already shifted to mobile. In Asia, 20% of traffic comes from mobile double from the September 2011 figure, while in India mobile has already surpassed desktop traffic where it now accounts for 53% of Internet traffic.

Consumers could increasingly rely on smart phones and tablets to watch videos. By 2015 video may account for 60% of data traffic and will eat up huge chunks of the bandwidth on the network. Mobile video could become an extension of television and greater integration will allow users to pick up watching from mobile and then switching to TV.

Frenzied Demand for Bandwidth

The increase in mobile usage can also increase demand for bandwidth and speed. Wireless carriers are increasingly looking to upgrade their networks to 4G/LTE to satisfy consumer demand. LTE is expected to rapidly grow in 2013.

Mobile social networking could grow to become a greater percentage of mobile network traffic. Social networking hubs can connect varied data points like messaging, e-mail, games, commerce and entertainment portals. Some believe that social media networks may gradually become infrastructure providers that offer consumer data to companies.

Mobile search could likely become more powerful as more capable phones equipped with object recognition become integrated in search. Visual search can allow users to compare prices. More sophisticated apps may let users take actions based on the result. Mobile search could allow an instantaneous series of actions from finding the object to taking action on it.  Already Google Handwrite has the functionality to provide mobile users a ways to search more easily.

For businesses, the cloud may hold many benefits for organizations in terms of cost reductions, security and innovation.

Impact on Learning Environments

Mobile could be the next vehicle to spread education in places that lack teachers. The digital textbook, interactive charts and graphs, audio and visual media and live discussions through programs like Skype are among the ways that students may remotely learn. Mobile learning could open up the possibility of a classroom that is not bound in single room but one where students are free to explore the outside world.

Cloud computing has revolutionized data storage. Consumers may have been the early adopters for cloud computing but enterprises are increasingly looking to the cloud. More employees than every may access corporate resources or catch up on work through their mobile devices using the cloud. Mobile may drive employee productivity and businesses could use cloud computing to optimize their business process performance and provide new benefits in innovation and productivity. 

An opinion article.  www.sismarketresearch.com