The merits of mobile strategies to enhance a brand's position marketing have come more into focus these days. In the United States, smartphone ownership is rising dramatically, driven mainly by ever-dropping prices and the promise of new 4G networks. By mid-2011, 49 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers will wield a web-enabled smartphone. In fact, 65 percent say mobile Internet is the most important feature when purchasing a new phone.
So you've spent time, effort and money strategizing, building and marketing your brand position. One of the many tenets of position marketing is, once you've established your position, make sure you shout it to the world! Jack Trout says that a leader who doesn't brag about it is the best thing that can happen for his competition. The mobile channel allows savvy marketers to turn up the volume.
Examples of mobile marketing techniques are text alerts, ads, contests, surveys, loyalty links, and more. Crocs recently provided a great example for capturing contact information and increasing sales. Signs posted in stores advertised the opportunity to text a number for a 15 percent discount. A code would come back quickly, and the salespeople knew exactly what to do with the information. The effect it had was to encourage people in the store to buy more than originally planned.
Here's a short list of mobile marketing attributes:
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- Helps to build brand awareness
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- Provides an immediate avenue for customers to buy, inquire or engage
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- Improves shopping convenience
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- Stimulates social media use and word of mouth
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- Extends print and broadcast media campaigns, special offers and promotions while giving users interactive access
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- Assists in building a one-to-one relationship with customers
Think how these attributes alone can enhance your position marketing!
We've moved past the days when the only attention paid to mobile was to optimize a website's appearance in mobile browsers or to create a mobile version of a site.
Present day marketers create mobile display and rich media advertisements to drive traffic to retail locations. A recent study by Insight Express (a digital marketing research firm) found that mobile media outperforms online media in the ability to drive purchase intent (170 percent increase) and brand favorability (85 percent increase).
Others create specialized applications to provide enhanced brand experiences. To date, there have been more than 3 billion Android apps installed. Apple passed 10 billion app downloads in January.
Most mobile phone owners have their device within arm's reach 95 percent of the time. Instant information access, location awareness, social connectedness, and personalization -- these characteristics are part of what makes mobile devices an extension of us.
By 2014, the number of mobile Internet users is expected to surpass the number of PC-based Internet users. Will your business -- and your position marketing strategy -- be ready?