On the go

If you're wondering if mobile computing is ever really going to "take off," check out these astounding statistics from a variety of sources:

• 1.7 billion people using mobile internet services by 2013.*
• By 2014, mobile internet is estimated to overcome PC internet use.*
• 56% of American adults are now smartphone owners. (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2013)
• Mobile now accounts for 12 percent of Americans’ media consumption time, triple its share in 2009. (Source: Digiday, 2013)
• Twice as many web ready mobile devices today as PCs.*
• 700% growth in traffic on smart phones by 2015.*
• Of the 70 percent of shoppers who used a mobile phone while in a retail store during the holidays, 62 percent accessed that store’s site or app and only 37 percent of respondents accessed a competitor’s site or app. (Source: ForeSee, 2013)
• Retailers’ apps with store mode gather five times more engagement. (Source: Point Inside, 2013)
• Last year, only 12% of consumers bought anything through social media. (Source: PwC, 2013)
• By the end of 2013, there were more mobile devices on Earth than people. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• Mobile internet is growing faster than desktop internet ever did.*
• Mobile data traffic is expected to increase by almost 4000% by 2014.*
• 25% of international media and marketing executives see mobile as the most disruptive force in their industry. (Source: AdMedia Partners, 2013)
• 65% of U.S. shoppers research products and services on a PC and make a purchase in-store. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• 54% use or would like to use digital touchscreens in-store. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• 48% use or would like to use a smartphone to shop while in-store or on the go. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• 80% of smartphone owners want more mobile-optimized product information while they’re shopping in stores. (Source: Moosylvania, 2013)
• Nearly 50% of shoppers believe they are better informed than store associates. (Source: Motorola, 2013)
• Americans spend an average of 2.7 hours on mobile internet each day.*
• 75 percent of Americans bring their phones to the bathroom. (Source: Digiday, 2013)
• Mobile brand exposure can be more effective than other media messages. Mobile internet users are 60% more likely to be open to mobile advertising than the average mobile data user.*
• Mobile visits to Facebook increased by 112% and Twitter by 374%.*
• It took 20 years for the first billion mobile internet subscribers and only 40 months for the second billion.*

          *Data collected from Adobe Web Analytics, Omniture, Smart Insights, Mobile Marketing Statistics 2013 by eSchool.

The summary of all that data (and there was much more I could have included) is that mobile computing is exploding.  What that means, is that while many of us marketers are struggling to figure out how to make social media relevant and valuable to our marketing strategy, we must now also consider mobile computing.

Including mobile computing into your marketing strategy is more than just making sure your website looks good on a smartphone.  It is figuring out how to use the unique aspects of mobile computing to enhance the customer's shopping experience.  It might include promotions or strategies to lure people who are near your physical location into your establishment, or it might be ways to engage visitors once they cross the threshhold.

It also means you need to understand that customers are comparison shopping while in your store; with your competitors and with your own online presence.

Marketing and communications are changing.  The tools that we have to reach customers and other stakeholders are constantly changing as well.  And the speed of that change seems to ramping up faster than the speeds of computers.

The important thing to remember is that the key responsibility of marketing to communicate with and develop relationships with customers and prospective customers has not changed.  You probably won't participate in every new tech innovation that comes along.  You probably shouldn't.  But don't have your head in the sand either.  Keep yourself aware of what the opportunities are and identify those that are strong opportunities for your business.  Then try your best to take advantage of all the new opportunties to make your brand shine.

You need to adapt some of the new technology.  You don't want to stay in one place because your customers are obviously on the go!

Related articles

• 7 Ways Mobile Will Change Business In 2014
• Do you have a people strategy?

The Many P's of Marketing: Pennies

Marketing has gotten more and more nuanced, as new technologies and strategies have opened up many options for marketers.  It is my contention that today, the marketing mix contains much more than the traditional four or five P's that are taught in school.  In this series I am exploring the Many P's of Marketing.

Pennies: When I got an iPad a while back, I spent the first few weeks learning about the whole "iCulture" created by Apple.

I am talking particularly about apps.  To a Windows boy, born and bred, apps seem an awful lot like programs and software that you could purchase and upload to your computer.  Except that apps are REALLY easy to install and many of them are free or cost mere pennies to purchase.

The success of smart phones and tablets has created a whole new app-based economy.  For literally pennies you can have access to a seemingly endless array of tools, games and features, both utilitarian and frivolous, that can fill your devices memory, and the hours of your day, with "things to do."

The thing that I think is so amazing is the ubiquitous nature of it all.  Long before I had an iPad or smartphone, I knew about Angry Birds and CT5K (couch to 5K, for the uninitiated) training app.  I lusted for apps that I couldn't get with my non-smart phone and Apple-less and Android-less existence.  

The brilliant thing about this app-based world is the ease of entry.  Many apps allow you to try a basic form of the app for free.  You get hooked and then forking over the $2.99 for the upgrade is a no-brainer.  And even though they make just pennies per purchase, the sheer volume of these small purchases has helped some small time developers to make a decent income, at least according to this Newsweek article.  The continued success and eager adoption of each new version of the Apple Operating System (iOS) would seem to indicate that this trend is continuing.

There are two thoughts to ponder for those marketers who don't work for Apple.  The first and more generic thought is the age old axiom that you can deal with only making a few pennies profit per item as long as you can make it up in volume.  The Internet provides an effective and efficient way to reach a huge audience, if you can figure out how to capture peoples imagination.  And their pennies.

The second thought is that it seems more and more important to figure out a way to "app-ify" your marketing plan.  Because smart phones and tablets have become more popular, an increasingly large portion of the marketplace are using these devices as their go to venue to interact with the electronic media.  In 2011, it was estimated that 35 percent of all US adults had a smartphone (83% had a cellphone).  That forecast was up to 45% for 2012, which I think shows the incredible growth of this industry/product/media.

The music industry seems to have done just this.  It wasn't that long ago that if you wanted to purchase a particular song, you had to buy the whole album (really a CD but I am glad we still call them albums.)  Maybe, if you were lucky and the song was released as a single, you could get the song a bit cheaper on an EP.  Now, songs are available for purchase individually.  Your cost to get a particular song you are fond of has gone from $17.99 for the CD to $1.29 or less.  This has had some interesting consequences.  According to an article in Digital Trends, music sales overall rose from 2011 to 2012, but album sales are down.

How a company responds to the app-ification of the marketplace will depend on a lot of factors.  How their decision impacts the company, will depend on the marketplace.  Will we all be rejoicing about pennies from heaven or scratching for pennies?  I don't know for sure.  The crystal ball app I downloaded needs an upgrade to get me the answer.

The Lament of the Luddite: Frozen out by new technology

I consider myself technology friendly.  Really I do.  But I am also on a budget, so I don't have all of the latest electronic toys I would like to have.  I haven't really missed them, but in the last week a couple of things happened that made me wonder just how much of a Luddite I have become.

I was at a presentation at which the presenter gave QR codes as links to her presentation slides and tip sheets. Very cool and very of the moment.  However, for those few of us who have not joined the Smart Phone revolution (as I wrote about here) QR codes are just funny looking square patterns.  I could not link to her materials.

Shortly after that, I got this month's issue of FAST Company, a magazine that I highly recommend.  It is a fun, thought provoking publication and always has something in it that I can use at work (and in this blog!)  This month's issue of FAST Company had a cover sheet proudly proclaiming that I could now get the magazine on my tablet device.  Unlike smart phones, I have never even considered getting a tablet.  The promotion cited all of the additional content I could get on my nonexistent device.  Which made me wonder why I am being short-changed because I only experience the publication in its archaic paper format.

My point is that as companies rush to meet the surge of new ways we can access content and information, they should make sure to remember those of us who are a little slow on the uptake.  Don't let your loyal customers or subscribers be frozen out by new technology.

Smart "Phones"

I have been shopping for a new phone recently and decided to end my Luddite ways and get a smart phone.  There is a lot of information available about the various and sundry "smart" phone options.  The only thing I can't seem to get is which smart phone actually works well...as a phone.  Hmmmm.

Other posts you might enjoy:
http://allismarketing.blogspot.com/2011/10/babies-and-bathwater.html
http://allismarketing.blogspot.com/2011/06/luddites.html