I’ve been reading a lot of 2012 B2B marketing predictions lately and I love seeing how frequently marketers are mentioning the rise of mobile marketing. However, the term “mobile marketing” is still being used to encompass too many elements which makes it difficult for people to understand how all the different components can be used. Mobile marketing is still maturing but here are the four elements we’ve found that B2B marketers should be focusing on to be successful in the mobile channel.
1. Mobile Website: A mobile website should be the first step any company takes in the mobile space. Mobile visitors are in a rush, looking for a very specific piece of information like an office location or phone number. Google has recognized people’s preference for good mobile experiences by stating that they’ve begun ranking pages with mobile versions higher in search so if you want to get found, you need a mobile website.
2. QR Codes: Until you have #1 sorted out, don’t bother with QR codes. Many marketers make the mistake of using QR codes to link to desktop websites which is frustrating for customers. Your prospect has taken the time to take their phone out, open their QR reader app and visit the page you link to. If they can’t quickly determine the value of your offer, they’ll abandon your landing page so think carefully about what you want prospects to do after they’ve shot your QR code.
3. Mobile App: In B2B mobile marketing, apps are useful tools for helping prospects access your sales resources in one convenient place. Apps are completely opt-in, they provide you with more information about customers than any other channel and push notifications have higher open rates than companion email marketing campaigns.
4. SMS messaging: I still haven’t found a really good use case for SMS in B2B mobile marketing. Text messaging is an incredibly personal channel but it can be useful. If you’re going to use SMS messages, make sure they’re extremely targeted, offer amazing value and provide some easy way for people to unsubscribe.
The email and social media channels are also both inherently mobile because people check these channels from their phones but for the most part, there’s not much extra work needed to optimize these presences for mobile.
Mobile provides marketers with the ability to find out more about customers than any other channel. When combined with marketing automation, the mobile channel gives you the power to target customers with perfectly contextual marketing messages as they move through your sales cycle. Learn to use these 4 mobile elements effectively and you’ll quickly start seeing results from the mobile channel.