Marketing to Mobile Users — Factors to take into account

Written by Bruce Townsend
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 00:00

The technology gossip in the first week of 2011 was all about two new ground-breaking products. First up Microsoft, in a break with their long-standing reliance on Intel, announced a version of Windows that will run on ARM processors, which power most of the world’s smartphones.

Secondly, Sony hinted strongly at a forthcoming phone or tablet that will be capable of running games for the PlayStation Portable, or PSP.

Both moves took the technology world by surprise and generated great excitement in the industry. But what do they mean for marketing?

The common ground to both is the massive shift to mobile that is taking place at the moment. In 2010 with the iPad, Apple gave us a genuinely usable and portable PC for the masses, with real computing power. Others like Samsung and Dell quickly followed suit. Sony and Microsoft are desperate not to be left behind. This growing trend has massive implications.

In 2011, mobile devices will usurp more of the functions of personal computers. In future, your mobile device may well be your personal computer, perhaps with a docking station attached to a larger screen and keyboard for desktop use.

As one consequence of this shift, marketing in 2011 will need to take more account of both the location of the target, and the device the person is using.

• Websites must be readable and usable on mobile devices. Where they use technologies like Flash and Javascript, which may not be supported, they should also provide alternatives.
• Response mechanisms for email campaigns will need to support email-enabled devices such as the iPad and Blackberry. Remember, the success of email is heavily dependent on the immediacy of the response.
• Point of sale marketing must consider the customer’s ability to search online and find a nearby competitor offering a cheaper price.
• Social media marketers will need to understand and embrace the location-based networking offered by Facebook Places, Foursquare and others.

The businesses that gain from the current shift will be those that move swiftly and intelligently to accommodate the needs of their increasingly mobile consumers.

By Bruce Townsend, ecommerce product manager and SEO specialist at Actinic. Originally published on UtalkMarketing.com.