Mobile Device Stand

I just love it when academia catches up to the real world... In the past few years, we have seen millions of iPhone and Blackberry and Treo units being sold, and so somewhere some Big Brains got the idea that people might actually be using them... So recently we've seen a boatload of studies showing the increase in use of mobile devices, particularly when it comes to marketing messages and e-mail marketing. This is very encouraging news and validates what we have been discussing with our premium level clients at Kinetics Web Pro for some time.

Consider the following information:

* Nielsen Company recently reported that more consumers than ever are using smart phones, with a 72 percent increase in the number of owners between Q2 2008 and Q2 2009.
* A new e-mail monitoring application from Pivotal Veracity, MailboxIQ, has found that 9.44% of business-to-consumer e-mail is read on mobile devices, the company says.
* According to veteran Internet analyst Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley at the recent Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, "mobile Internet usage is and will be larger than we think."

Meeker went on to share some additional facts about mobile marketing:

* Internet-connected mobile devices outnumber desktops by 10:1
* In Japan, access to their most popular social network (Mixi) is 65% on mobile devices, and only 24% desktop machines.
* AT&T has recorded a 50x increase in mobile data traffic in the last three years, a percentage increase of 4,923%

Meeker made the point that users are adopting mobile Internet at a faster rate than historically they adopted computer-based Internet. Meeker cited data of 57 million iPhone units sold within the first nine quarters after launch, compared to AOL in the 90's which only attracted 7 million subscribers. However, while this data is compelling, we believe these numbers have to be weighed against the Internet culture in the 90's being far different than what it is now. We don't feel you can make a direct correlation and calculate a 9x factor increase... What is telling is the way AOL had to practically force-feed new users with free access CD's, whereas the iPhone frenzy was more of a perceived need / customer-driven. There is a customer-driven need to be mobile, which business would be smart to pay attention to.

Any time in a marketplace that customer momentum is clearly trending in such a definitive direction, businesses need to respond or be left standing alone while their competitors' doors are bursting. Some definitive steps need to be taken right away, or it will simply be too late to respond later. If you are not already, you need to review immediately:

* Are your websites mobile-ready?
* Are you using social media to drive traffic to your key products?
* Are your marketing messages mobile-friendly?
* Does your e-mail response campaign assume a desktop experience or at least allow for mobile experiences?
* Do your video pages also have text summaries?

The fact is, your audience is highly complex and evolving daily. You need to create a total marketing experience that touches your customers wherever and whenever they may invite contact from you. We have taught for years that your approach to prospecting must be comprehensive. Your follow-up campaign must also be comprehensive. Customers will engage businesses who "get it," who are willing to transact with them on their terms. How is your business doing?

Businesses should find web marketers who are skilled in mobile marketing, including a mobile conversion of your website or mobile conversion of your Wordpress blog. This is a very low investment entry point for a business, and will at least make your website able to be seen on mobile devices. You are not re-inventing the wheel with mobile. As with any other form of marketing, there are nuances you must deliver.