Mobile Marketing - Reaching the Untethered Consumers - Essay Example

?ANALYSIS OF A MARKETING NEWS STORY A marketing story d ‘Mobile Marketing: Reaching the Untethered Consumers’ was published on 3rd, December in one the most well-known websites named Forbes.com. The author Jake Sorofman has emphasized on the significance of mobile marketing strategy for the emerging as well as established businesses of the contemporary world and also, its implications, benefits and some ground rules. Mobile Marketing is the new in-thing that has been creating ripples in today’s burgeoning digital era. It is a medium which provides a platform for communication and a channel which creates a bond between the brand and its potential prospects. Brian Fling quotes is his book that “Over 1.6 billion people have access to web through a mobile devise” (Fling, 2009). The growth of mobile marketing upon which the Sorofman is stressing upon in his article can be substantiated by the following facts; There are 5x many cell phones in the world than PCs (Conner, 2013) 91% of adults keep their smart-phones within arm’s reach (Conner, 2013) By the end of 2013, there will be more mobile connected devices than there are people on earth (Brenner, 2013) The above mentioned facts authenticate the notion that mobile marketing has the tendency to emerge as the most powerful communication tool; with significant reach. It can be credited with innovative ways to connect with consumers and in giving a sales boost. A research conducted by Forrester Research in January 2013, depicts the increasing number of mobile commerce sales via smart-phones in American market (Siwicki, 2013). The author has further explained certain ‘ground rules’ to carry out an effective mobile marketing plan. He explains that bombarding smart-phone users with marketing content, by using location-based marketing, as soon as they enter a particular vicinity might be interpreted as ‘creepy’ and might be just simply ignored. Valerie Fieldmann says that such tactics can cause to have “negative spill-over effects”. The receiver might feel uncomfortable about being monitored (Fieldman, 2005) The key here for the businesses is to properly channelize their content to their particular target audience. Pouring in cascade of marketing content aimlessly adds up costs and requires a lot of effort as well. Not to mention, that it might also dilute a brand’s image. This requires an integrated and holistic approach towards the marketing plan. Neil Richardson suggests that by adopting mobile marketing the marcomm activity would more effective, if the business’s website is accessible through a mobile phone. Because the consumers would not have to wait to log into their PCs or they would not have to take out specific time to go through a business website (Richardson, 2010) The businesses have to properly segment their potential market and identify the target audience, who should be specifically targeted. The nature of the content has to be carved out keeping in mind a particular set of target audience. Such a strategy has to be embedded in the overall communication plan of a brand. If the brands rely too heavily on discharging messages across fragmented media without adopting a properly devised strategy, then it might result have adverse affects such as; Wastage of time, costs, labor Misinterpretation of message Reaching wrong audience Reaching the right audience but failure to convey the message in the right way (Lieb, 2012) Sorofman has rightly said in his article that a combination of tools should be used rather than being “mono-focused”. This argument can be further supported by what Rachael Pashqua suggests in his book named ‘Mobile Marketing: An Hour a Day’ to integrate SMS in the overall marketing strategy of the firm (Pashqua & Elkin, 2013). This does not imply that the traditional mediums should be entirely ignored. The idea is to find a strategic fit between the traditional medium and the new mobile tools. The fundamentals of both the mediums should be well understood and its effects on customer response should be taken into account. Matt Haig holds a similar view and says that addition of premium rate phone numbers can add a useful revenue stream (Haig, 2002). An innovative to use this channel could be to conduct “mobile market research”, as suggested by Immo Prenzel (Prenzel, 2009). Surveys can be conducted, in which the users will have to vote via SMS. Jake Sorofman’s article revolves around traditional “marketers”. Often people associate such practices with big brands or other companies that provide consumer goods and services (Sorofman , 2013). But in practicality, that might not be entirely true. This concept of mobile marketing has relevance for other constituencies and industries as well. Governments can make constructive use of this channel to create awareness among the masses and in educating them. Environmentalists and other non-profit organizations, who have limited budgets, can do mobile marketing, as it is cost-effective and has the tendency to go viral at a much faster rate than traditional tools of marketing. It holds significant importance for not only consumer goods industry, but has also been actively adopted by certain other businesses. Steve Olenski tells in his article, named ‘Mobile Marketing Remains a Largely Untapped Opportunity for Marketers’, that software, financial services and real-state are the leading industries to experience substantial augmentation in attracting mobile traffic when compared with PCs (Olenski, 2013) This article elaborates on the significance of mobile marketing yet, it fails to highlight the under-utilization aspect associated with this marketing concept. No doubt, mobile marketing remains much talked-about and much sought-after in the current era, still credible sources confirm that it is still an ‘untapped opportunity’. Brands still seem to shy away from investing a lump sum amount of money in mobile channels. This restriction on budgets is one of the primary reasons due to which this channel remains largely under-utilized. A research conducted in US market by eMarketer.com confirms this fact and the findings are depicted in the following diagram; The food for thought is that even after spending less than 1% of the total ad budget, mobile marketing has proved its metal. If brands want to optimize the consumer mobile experience, they would have to adopt a holistic approach to this matter. Brands can enhance the affects of mobile marketing and can succeed in delivery seamless experience in the following ways; Adoption of new methods Implementation of innovative strategies Planning and having continuous feedback Allocation of adequate amount of budgets (Palmer & Kaplan, 2007) One can conclude in a nutshell, that this burgeoning marketing concept holds significant amount of potential. If properly executed, it can do wonders. There is no denying that mobile marketing is still an under-utilized opportunity and is going through an evolutionary phase. Bibliography Brenner, M. (2013) 99 Amazing Facts on the Future of BusinessAvailable: http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2013/10/08/99-amazing-facts-on-the-future-of-business/Last accessed 3rd, December 2013 Conner, C. (2013, December 11). Fifty Essential Mobile Marketing Facts - Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/11/12/fifty-essential-mobile-marketing-facts/ Feldmann, V. (2005). Leveraging mobile media: Cross-media strategy and innovation policy for mobile media communication. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag.p.202 Fling, B. (2009). Mobile design and development: Practical concepts and techniques for creating mobile sites and Web apps. O'Reilly Media, Inc.. p.30 Haig, M. (2002). Mobile marketing: The message revolution. London: Kogan Page. p.133 Lieb, R. (2012, October 4). Converged Media Success: Setting the Stage with Content Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/lieblink/converged-media-success-setting-the-stage-with-content-strategy Olenski, S. (2013)Mobile Marketing Remains A Largely Untapped Opportunity for Marketers Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2013/09/03/mobile-marketing-remains-a-largely-untapped-opportunity-for-marketers/ Last accessed 3rd, December 2013 Palmer, D., & Kaplan, S. (2007). A Framework for Strategic Innovation: Blending strategy and creative exploration to discover future business opportunities. Retrieved Dec, 5, 2013. Pasqua, R., & Elkin, N. (2013). Mobile marketing: An hour a day. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley.p.95 Prenzel, I. (2010). Applicability of Mobile Marketing in the Marketing Mix of Trade Fair Organizers. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH.p.54 Richardson, N. (2010). A quick start guide to mobile marketing: How to create a dynamic campaign and improve your competitive advantage. London: Kogan Page.p.38 Siwicki, B. (2013, January 16). Mobile Commerce Technology - M-commerce sales via smartphones hit $8 billion in 2012 - Internet Retailer. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/01/16/m-commerce-sales-smartphones-hit-8-billion-2012 Sorofman , J.(2013, December 3)Mobile Marketing: Reaching the Untethered Consumers’ From http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2013/03/12/mobile-marketing-reaching-the-untethered-consumer/Last accessed 3rd, December 2013 Read More