In today’s competitive world businesses, marketers and sellers are looking to gain by tapping in on newer mediums of reaching and influencing potential consumers. And in the eye of this fierce competition, we find the focus firmly placed on consumers who make extensive use of the mobile communication channel.
Mobile Consumers – A Powerful Tribe
The increase in mobile penetration and economic growth in general has led to the creation of a new market segment or rather a tribe – of people armed with mobile phones. These people have access to more information, better choices and the power to inflict change by influencing their peer group. In addition, mobile phones have evolved tremendously into powerful mobile devices such as SmartPhones, Tablets, and Mobile Data Dongles. These smart mobile devices offer enhanced communication, social connectivity, productivity and economic activity. With powerful computing tools at their disposable, mobile users are able to harness the full potential of internet on their small, mobile devices itself.
What does this mean for Businesses?
Ever-increasing numbers of mobile users and the increase in mobile data usage simply means one thing for businesses – an opportunity to increase profits. Naturally, for brands and businesses in general, it becomes important to have a standout presence in the mobile world. The mobile world still remains, largely untapped and has immense potential for being exploited as a way to attract new customers, marketing products/services and even making sales. Well, this is happening even as we speak; more and more organizations are adapting to the mobile platform in order to make the most of the opportunities. Sites are creating their versions that are customized for the mobile platform and mobile applications are being made to help users do more.
Tapping in…
So, how do we tap in the immense potential of the rising power of mobile consumers? How do we increase our customer base, make more sales, keep our customers engaged and enhance brand value? Here are some ways:
Attract Mobile Customers:
More and more people are using their mobile communication devices to access the internet, to check websites, to check options for shopping as well. So, if you are a business:
- Make sure that you have a site customized and optimized for the mobile world.
- Pay attention to the layout – make sure that it is easy for mobile users to view your products on their handheld devices.
- Provide easy options to order and to make purchases.
- SMS as a marketing tool – inform first time customers about new products, services, saving schemes, discount offers, etc.
Retaining Mobile Consumers, Enhancing Consumer Loyalty:
Consumers, today, are better informed, smarter and have more choices. Hence it is imperative to not only attract new customers but to also retain them as well. Mobile applications come into play here as they allow various possibilities of engaging the mobile consumer. Some of the effective ways of retaining mobile consumers and enhancing consumer loyalty are:
- Integrate social media & mobile communication tools for providing loyalty programs and exciting discount offers. This will also encourage them to buy more.
- Provide your consumers with dedicated apps that keep them well informed.
- Use mobile apps/plugins to allow consumers to share information, feedback & views within their peer groups and on different social media platforms.
Mobile marketing:
Mobile marketing is nothing but marketing of your goods, services and even goodwill via the mobile medium of communication. As the world becomes more and more interactive (all thanks to the SmartPhones and tablets), mobile marketing is gaining importance as one of the easiest and most effective ways of reaching consumers, interacting with them and in turn, possibly influencing them. The topic of mobile marketing is pretty vast and warrants a dedicated post, which we will try to share later. However, just to note: some of the most popular methods of mobile marketing include:
- SMS Marketing
- MMS
- Push Notifications
- Mobile Web Marketing
- In-game mobile marketing
- QR Codes
- Location – based services
Final Word
It is easy to understand the reason as to why most big brands, small companies, retailers, and service providers are betting high on the mobile platform when it comes to marketing of products/services. The advent of social media and the subsequent integration of social media with mobile communication tools have opened up a whole new world of influence – something which cannot be ignored.
