Application Generated Mobile Texts to exceed $70 billion Revenues by 2016, overtaking Person-to-Person Messaging, says Juniper Research

Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS to become increasingly important for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) as revenues from one-to-one communications peak

Hampshire, UK – 4th May 2011:  A new report published today by Juniper Research forecasts that revenue from A2P SMS will exceed $70bn by 2016. Revenue from these types of messages will overtake that of P2P SMS during that year as the strategic focus for players within the mobile messaging ecosystem shifts from communication between individuals, to sending and receiving service-enabling messages.

A2P messaging – defined as those messages which are sent to or from an application – has a wide variety of use-cases. These include financial services, advertising, marketing, business administration, ticketing, television voting and any other service where information needs to be sent to, or received from a large number of users in text form.

Mobile Messaging Report author Daniel Ashdown argues: “While SMS is one of the oldest value-added services, it has an enduring appeal for a number of reasons. In terms of text communication it is unrivalled on the mobile device in its ubiquity – virtually every handset in the world can send and receive it. This makes it extremely appealing for brands who want to enable communication with their customers, as unlike other messaging mediums, they know it will reach almost its entire intended audience.”

However, revenue from P2P (Person-to-Person) SMS – commonly referred to as texting – will peak in a number of regions during the period 2010-2016 as it reaches a low point in valuation. The report finds that even in other regions where SMS has not reached the same levels of traffic, revenue growth will be moderate due to continuing competitive pricing, particularly of prepaid message buckets.

Other key findings:

•    Premium-rate SMS and MMS will decline due to challenges from other forms of billing/delivery.

•    MMS traffic and revenue will continue to grow, but A2P MMS will not have as bigger impact as A2P SMS.

•    Mobile IM will increasingly become a customer retention exercise as with fixed line services

Source: By Juniper Research on 9th Dec 2014

The first text message was sent 20 years ago!

Ever wonder when was the 1st SMS was sent? Read below...

The very first text message was sent 20 years ago, on Dec. 3, 1992. The momentous missive? “Merry Christmas,” wrote Neil Papworth, then a 22-year-old engineer, to Richard Jarvis, an executive at British telecom Vodafone. Jarvis was attending his company’s holiday party in Newbury, England, and received the text on an Orbitel 901 (see picture on left).

To be precise, this marks the 20th birthday of SMS, which stands for Short Messaging Service. In most cases, an SMS is sent from one phone to another on a narrow slice of cellular bandwidth called the control channel, an ever-present connection that’s also used to notify phones of incoming calls and signal strength. That’s one reason why SMS has proven to be a durable form of communication during disasters, when traffic channels, which are used for phone calls and larger data transfers, get overloaded.
The control channel’s diminutive size is what accounts for the strict, 160-character cap on text message length. (In turn, that’s why Twitter, which was originally based on SMS, limits tweets to 140 characters, in order to fit the message plus the sender in a single text message.) It’s also why some people argue that wireless carriers gouge their customers by charging several cents per text when the marginal cost to the company is zero: the control channel is used whether or not it’s transmitting an SMS.

In fact, on its 20th birthday, the text message finds itself threatened by a host of free alternatives, from Facebook messaging to Apple’s iMessage. SMS usage is waning in much of the world, now even including the United States, which was slower to the adopt the technology. That decline is likely to accelerate as more people purchase smartphones that are laden with other messaging options, meaning the future of SMS lies in feature-phone markets like India and Africa.

Still, text messaging remains the world’s most widely used form of digital communication, with some six billion to eight billion texts sent per year, according to various estimates. The technology has endured, in part, thanks to its compatibility across different types of phones and networks: SMS didn’t really take off until the late 1990s, when companies and governments began lifting regulations that only permitted sending texts between customers on the same network.

Though other forms of communication had more memorable inaugural messages—”What hath God wrought” was the first telegram—it’s fitting that the first SMS was “Merry Christmas.” Nowadays, the busiest day for text messaging is, in fact, Christmas Eve, when people across the world reach out to each other with short and sweet attempts to connect.

Source: By Zachary M. Seward on 3rd Dec 2012

SMS to drive mobile messaging ad revenue past $7.14bn by 2017

Think mobile messaging services like Whatsapp are killing SMS? Think again.

In fact, the use of location-based SMSes to deliver relevant ads will see mobile messaging ad revenue hit US$7.14-billion by 2017.

According to UK-based tech analysis company Juniper Research, targeted SMSes have significant benefits for anyone looking to push their brand. While they may lack the rich media content of other advertising formats, they are very familiar to consumers and have a much higher chance of being opened, even if unsolicited. SMS ads are also a low-cost option for those seeking large reach; in the UK, for example, a bundle of 1 000 text messages costs around £0.05 (8¢) per message, falling to around £0.03 (5¢) for larger bundles.

That said, consumers can react negatively to this kind of targeted advertising. That’s why the campaigns that work best are the ones that people have to opt in to. Juniper research reckons these types of schemes will become more common as operators attempt to look for revenue streams beyond voice and data but it is unlikely that they will become opt-out or compulsory.

According to Juniper research’s Charlotte Miller, the effectiveness of SMS, combined with location-based ads is a particularly effective one:

Sending adverts using mobile messaging gives advertisers a simple, cheap and effective way of reaching consumers. Adding location technologies is an even more powerful proposition, particularly for transactional advertising as marketers can reach consumers who are near a location where they can purchase. Knowing that the recipients of an ad have actively asked to receive it and will in all likelihood open it is also particularly attractive.

Although SMS will drive the market, companies will have to include other forms of mobile adverts, such as those that direct consumers to mobile optimised sites or content, particularly given the highly promising mCommerce opportunity.

Mobile apps meanwhile offer valuable inventory for mobile ads and, according to Juniper Research, spend on in-app advertising will increase rapidly over the next few years.

Source: By Nur Bremmen on 20th August 2012

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Why Mobile Marketing Campaigns Reach More Customers

Not believe in the saying that a simple mobile marketing could churn up response rates? Look at the statistics below and think again. :)

Unlike social media, e-newsletters, billboard ads, or TV commercials, mobile marketing messages will most likely get through to consumers.

A recent infographic by Mogreet revealed that 98 percent of all SMS and MMS messages sent are opened.

In addition, Gene Sigalov of Content Marketing Institute says that within three minutes of being sent, 90 percent of all text messages are read by the recipient.

Texting a call to action
Content marketer Patricia Redsicker pointed to a study from Morgan Stanley that found 91 percent of people with cellphones keep them within arm’s reach at all time.

“If all those people always have their phone right next to them at any time, day or night, what an opportunity to reach them if you’re doing mobile marketing,” she said.

Redsicker said SMS marketing messages should include a keyword that is easy to remember along with a short code and a call to action. For example, a text might read, “Text LOL to 34567 to Win Free iPod.”

“Then, give them a confirmation text that makes them feel good and important,” Redsicker said. ”[It could say] ‘Awesome, you rock.’”

Use mobile to build a customer contact list
Entrepreneur’s Gail Goodman suggests that shops use text message marketing in a way that benefits themselves and consumers.

“Customers entering into your retail establishment probably are carrying their cellphones on them,” she said. ”Build your contact list by inviting patrons to send a text message or scan a QR code. Put a sign at your cash register to encourage such activity while the shopping experience is still fresh.”

Offering a coupon or special offer for customers that do so can encourage people to sign up. “And you end up building your list without having to manually enter email addresses after deciphering handwriting on a sign-up sheet,” Goodman said.

Be everywhere
Shareef Defrawi of Zizinya Web Solutions said, “Mobile marketing is where it’s at, and where it’s at is wherever your customers happen to be. By optimizing and refining your mobile marketing campaign you can reach them at the moment they need you.”

Source: By Kylie Jane Wakefield

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Four Mobile Marketing Trends That Spell “Opportunity”

For small businesses that are weighing the value of a mobile marketing or mobile commerce program, a recent infographic on mobile trends from Outsystems® is packed with helpful insights.

The infographic highlights four mobile trends that small businesses will want to take advantage of:

1. The mobile boom is here and now. According to the infographic, there are 5.3 billion global mobile subscribers, representing 3 out of 4 people on the planet. By comparison, worldwide internet use in 2011 was only 2.3 billion. With more than double the adoption rate, mobile presents a huge opportunity for small businesses to reach potential customers.

2. To attract more local customers you need to optimize your web presence for mobile search. Web searches on smart phones have become much more common, quadrupling in number in 2011. Thirty percent of all restaurant searches are now performed on mobile devices, as are 17% of auto searches and 16% of consumer electronics searches. Mobile search has become critical for reaching customers who are nearby and ready to buy.

3. B2B customers are waiting for you to go mobile. Seventy-two percent of the U.S. workforce are using mobile phones, and nearly 95% of those are using smart phones. This highlights the important of optimizing your website and marketing programs for the mobile experience.

4. Mobile apps help customers buy from you. Confirming what we saw in a recent success story on B2C mobile apps, the infographic tells us that B2B customers are eager for apps as well. Seventy-five percent of B2B decision makers said that mobile apps increase productivity, and almost two-thirds said that apps enable faster decision-making. This is another clear indication that customers are ready for small businesses to join them in the mobile space.

How will you take advantage of these mobile trends in your marketing program?

Source: By Rohan Gandhi on 13th July 2012.

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23 Eye-Opening Mobile Marketing Stats You Should Know

Marketers are starting to realize that the mobile upswing isn't just a fad. Thing is, if you haven't already made an investment in mobile marketing, starting now could seem a little daunting. I mean, it's just one more thing to add to your ever-lengthening to-do list, right?

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it, even if it just means you start mobile-optimizing your emails. Or maybe you invest in optimizing your site for mobile visitors. Or even do a little mobile SEO. Wherever mobile marketing stands on your list of priorities, there's no doubt it's here to stay -- and these stats should help you understand just how important it is, and perhaps help you prioritize your efforts.

23 Mobile Marketing Statistics You Should Know

The State of the Mobile Union

1) 1.08 of the world's 4 billion mobile phones are smartphones. 3.05 billion are SMS enabled. (Source: Microsoft Tag) 

2) Mobile internet usage is projected to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014. (Source: Microsoft Tag)

3) Apple and Android represent more than 75% of the smartphone market. (Source: comScore) 

Mobile Optimization

4) 74% of consumers will wait 5 seconds for a web page to load on their mobile device before abandoning the site. (Source: Gomez) 

5) 46% of consumers are unlikely to return to a mobile site if it didn't work properly during their last visit. (Source: Gomez) 

6) 71% of mobile browsers expect web pages to load almost as quickly or faster as web pages on their desktop computers. (Source: Gomez) 


Mobile Search

7) 7.96% of all web traffic in the U.S. is mobile traffic. That number skyrockets to 14.85% in Africa, and 17.84% in Asia -- up 192.5% since 2010. (Source: Pingdom) 

8) One half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices. (Source: Microsoft Tag) 

9) Mentioning a location in mobile ads and search results can increase click-through rates up to 200%. (Source: ThinkNear)


Mobile Commerce

10) Only 19% of US retailers have an M-Commerce app. (Source: eMarketer)

11) That might be okay, since only 4% of consumers prefer to shop via an app. (Source: eMarketer) 

12) 24% of US tablet owners use their tablets to shop 2-3 times per month; 20% use them to shop more than once per week; and 12% use them to shop every day! (Source: eMarketer) 

13) 29% of mobile users are open to scanning a mobile tag to get coupons. (Source: Microsoft Tag) 

14) 1 in 5 smartphone users scan product barcodes, and nearly 1 in 8 compare prices on their phone while in a store. (Source: comScore) 

15) 39% of instances where a consumer walks out of a store without buying were influenced by smartphones. (Source: Motorola Solutions) 


Mobile Social Media

16) 91% of mobile internet access is for social activities, versus just 79% on desktops. (Source: Microsoft Tag) 

17) Over 1/3 of Facebook's users access Facebook Mobile; 50% of Twitter's users use Twitter Mobile. (Source: Microsoft Tag) 

18) QR code scans increased 300% in 2011 compared to 2010. (Source: ScanLife)


Mobile Email Marketing

19) If all US mobile internet time was condensed into an hour, 25 minutes of it would be spent on email. (Source: Return Path) 

20) The entertainment, finance, publishing, and social networking industries see above average mobile email views compared to other industries. (Source: Return Path) 

21) From April to September in 2011, mobile email opens increased 34%, while webmail and PC opens decreased by 11% and 9.5%, respectively. (Source: Return Path) 

22) iPad users are loving it for email -- there's been a 73% increase in opens on those skinny little things. (Source: Return Path) 

23) Mobile email readership is at its peak on Saturday, and at its lowest on Monday. (Source: Marketing Technology Blog) 


Has the growth of mobile caused you to invest more in your mobile marketing strategy yet?


Source: By Corey Eridon on 21st June 2012.

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Chief Marketer 2012 Mobile Marketing Survey: Mobile Goes With Everything

Call it the “new black” of marketing. Mobile seems to be integrating into campaigns of all types, and in fact is being used more as a bridge for cross-platform campaigns and less as a channel on its own.

That’s one finding from the latest version of the Chief Marketer Mobile Marketing Survey. Marketers tell CM that they are getting their messages into mobile primarily as a way to drive prospects or audiences to campaigns taking place elsewhere. Whether it’s a video that’s meant to be shared via social channels—increasingly accessed first on mobile devices—a QR code that drives commuters to a web site, or an SMS campaign sending out offers to be redeemed in stores, mobile is becoming the connective tissue whose most important role today is holding multichannel campaigns together.

“Everyone’s got a phone and keeps it close most of the day,” said one respondent. “Depending on your aim, you can reach a mass audience or one as targeted as a specific town, block or street. That makes mobile flexible and useful in ways other channels can’t manage.”

Fifty-seven percent of all survey respondents said they integrated mobile elements into their marketing last year, against 39% who said their brands did not use mobile, and 3% who did not know. (Figures don’t always total 100% due to rounding.) But only 30% said they ran self-contained or mobile-specific campaigns last year, while two-thirds of those polled did not. So for most of those who deployed campaign elements in mobile last year, the channel was a tactical asset rather than a strategic one.

But that pattern might change, and soon. More respondents (51%) said they plan to run more mobile-only marketing this year. And more than a quarter of those polled (26%) said they are at least undecided about whether to run a mobile-centric campaign in 2012, possibly adding to that 51%.

Those results suggest that mobile is morphing from a helper technology that makes other campaigns work better into a standalone, standout platform star in its own right—while retaining its capacity for providing “assists” for goals scored in other media.

Source: by Brian Quinton | Chief Marketer on Jun. 5, 2012

SMS to remain more popular than messaging apps

Mobile operators’ SMS revenues may be under pressure from messaging apps such as WhatsApp, but the overall SMS market is still expected to grow over the next five years. Informa Telecoms & Media forecast that global SMS revenues will increase at a compound annual rate of 3 percent, for total revenues in the period 2011-16 of USD 722.7 billion.

While operators in some developed markets will see slower growth or even a small decline in SMS revenues, the market researcher does not expect a uniform drop across the board. Globally, Informa forecasts that SMS traffic will total 9.4 trillion messages by 2016, up from 5.9 trillion in 2011. However, SMS’s share of global mobile messaging traffic will fall from 64.1 percent in 2011 to an estimated 42.1 percent in 2016. At the same time, mobile instant messaging traffic will increase from 1.6 trillion messages worldwide in 2011 to 7.7 trillion in 2016, doubling its share of global messaging traffic from 17.1 percent in 2011 to 34.6 percent in 2016.

While mobile IM will grow, the bulk of the revenues will still go to mobile operators. Informa forecasts that mobile operators will take USD 8.7 billion or 54 percent of total IM service revenues in 2016. Meanwhile, OTT messaging service providers’ share of IM revenues will climb over the forecast period from 37 percent in 2011 to an estimated USD 7.4 billion or 46 percent of total revenues in 2016.

Operators will also still profit from MMS and e-mail services. While MMS is expected to represent just 1.7 percent of global messaging traffic in 2016, at 387.5 billion events, MMS will represent 10.6 percent of global messaging revenues within the same timeframe, at USD 20.7 billion. E-mail will be the second revenue generator for mobile operators by 2016, generating an USD 32 billion in revenues, or 16.3 percent of total global messaging revenues, Informa estimates.

Source: by telecompaper on Tuesday 29 May 2012

Using SMS to Power Customer Loyalty Programs

How do you feel if you received mobile coupon / voucher from restaurant, cafe and you will get discounted price when you dine in?

Customer loyalty clubs are awesome. You get your little punch card or barcode keychain at the time of sale and every time you go back and make another purchase you get points towards a reward. The reward usually comes in the form of a free product, special pricing, or branded merchandise. You know what we’re talking about: Buy 5 sandwiches and get the 6th free! So, how can we use SMS marketing to help drive the success of our loyalty rewards program? Let’s take a look at a three real world examples:

1) Starbucks Offers Mobile Coupons

Back in 2009, Starbucks ran a mobile coupon loyalty program in Mexico. The strategy behind the campaign involved not only rewarding loyal customers but also introduced Starbucks to new customers. Starbucks used a very traditional marketing channel – postcards – to encourage customers to subscribe to Starbucks’ SMS distribution list. By doing this, the customer would get a download link for a ‘buy one get one free’ mobile coupon. That was the part of the campaign to attract new customers. Existing customers were rewarded by an in-store display that prompted customers to text a different keyword to the same short code, which opted the customer in to an SMS list that offered discounts and offers. The cashiers at Starbucks were able to read the mobile coupons directly from the customers’ mobile phones at the time of sale. The current offer could be changed to encourage repeat customers.

The Takeaway:  An SMS campaign can be used to not only generate new customers with a static offer, but also to reward existing customers with coupons and offers that frequently change. The frequently changing offers give the existing customer subsequent reasons to visit the store.

Source: Mobile Marketer

 

2) Taco John’s Drives Participation

A more recent example comes from Taco John’s, which used a text message campaign early last year to drive participation in a customer loyalty program called “My Town Mania.” Customers were able to receive not only coupon offers, but also healthy living tips via SMS during the campaign’s six-week duration. As mentioned, the SMS campaign supported the “My Town Mania” loyalty program, in which customers could earn points by sharing photos and videos of their communities. Points could be redeemed for free food, gift cards, and merchandise.

The Takeaway: Taco John’s strategy ties in directly with another great mobile marketing campaign tip we covered earlier in this blog: tie your SMS marketing message to information that your prospect will want to see on a regular basis (e.g. the weather). In the case of Taco John’s, it was healthy living tips.

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily

3) Vienna Beef Helps its Customers Reach Their Customers

The previous two entries were examples of business-to-consumer marketing via SMS. In this next example, we take a brief look at how a supplier acted as a third party to create an SMS business-to-customer program for its customers. The supplier was Vienna Beef, a hot dog maker based in Chicago. The pass-through businesses were restaurants that carried Vienna Beef products. The customers were hot dog lovers around the country. Vienna Beef offered its customers (restaurants) a ‘pre-packaged’ SMS campaign that the restaurant could in turn use to entice their customers (hot dog lovers) with offers and announcements. The restaurants would use point-of-purchase displays and other forms of marketing to promote the program. After the restaurant’s customers subscribed to the SMS list, the customer would receive coupons that could be redeemed by showing their mobile phone to the restaurant’s cashier. Restaurants owners had a great deal of control over the frequency and content of their store’s messages and offers, but Vienna Beef provided suggestions and support to restaurant owners who were charting new ground with this marketing strategy.

The Takeaway: Suppliers can develop creative customer loyalty SMS campaigns that can benefit each member of the sales chain, from the supplier (e.g. Vienna Beef) to the business (e.g. restaurants) to the customer (e.g. hot dog lovers). It’s a win-win-win for everybody involved.

Source: Chief Marketer

Source: by Todd Jensen on June 8, 2012

Five Tips for Better Text-Message Marketing

Connecting with consumers when they’re on the go is more important than ever, and text message marketing (also referred to as SMS, or short message service marketing) can be a highly effective technique.

But the proliferation of mobile devices doesn’t guarantee marketing success. If your pitches don’t resonate with consumers and motivate them to act, then your efforts are for naught.

Here are five tips for writing marketing texts that get read and produce results:

1. Be brief and focused.
Your text message should be laser focused and succinct. There’s no room for fluff in mobile marketing. Know who your target audience is and speak directly to it. Leave out extraneous details and simply describe how to take advantage of your offer and its benefits.

2. Avoid hype, slang and abbreviations.

If your text message looks like spam, consumers will delete it without a second thought. It’s critical that you leave out anything that might seem too slick and promotional. That includes marketing hype like “amazing” offers, slang and text abbreviations, all of which cheapen the perception of your brand and can destroy your campaign.

3. Offer something of immediate value.

No one wants to receive texts from a company unless the messages offer something of immediate value. Because text messaging is an instantaneous medium, you should include real-time offers. Whether you’re providing information about a sale or a new product, the message should describe the benefits of acting now.

4. Identify yourself.

How often have you received a text that doesn’t identify the company or brand? Instead, you often see a phone number you don’t recognize and a vague message that could have come from any number of companies. And how often have you simply deleted those anonymous messages? It’s essential that you clearly identify your business or brand to avoid getting the spam treatment.

5. Make consumers feel special.

Don’t clutter consumers’ text message inboxes with offers and news they could easily get from your website or your brick-and-mortar locations. Instead, make recipients of your texts feel they’re special and have qualified for an exclusive promotion. Otherwise, they will most likely opt out of receiving any future texts from you.

Source: By SUSAN GUNELIUS on 28th March 2012.


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SMS Will Remain More Popular Than Mobile Messaging Apps over Next Five Years

Mobile messaging apps is not a treat to mobile operator anymore. The foretasted figure for SMS traffic by 2016 is 9.4 TRILLION would be amazing and shocking to everyone.

Mobile operators' SMS revenues may be under pressure from mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage and others, but Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that mobile operators will still generate a total of US$722.7 billion in revenues from SMS between 2011 and 2016.

"There will not be a uniform decline in mobile operators' SMS traffic and revenues as a result of the adoption and use of over-the-top messaging services," says Pamela Clark-Dickson, senior analyst, Mobile Content & Applications, at Informa Telecoms & Media. "Factors such as the operators' pricing strategies, and the penetration of smartphones and mobile broadband in a market will determine how quickly and to what extent substitution occurs," she adds.

"For example, operators offering integrated tariffs that include a balanced proportion of voice, SMS and mobile data, are continuing to see growth in their SMS traffic and less impact on their SMS revenues," says Clark-Dickson.

While Informa is forecasting either slowing growth or even a small decline in person-to-person SMS revenues in some developed regions and countries, total global SMS revenues will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 3% over the next five years. Western Europe will generate the highest amount of SMS revenues globally between 2011 and 2016, totalling US$174.1 billion, followed by Asia Pacific Developing, where SMS revenues will total US$173.8 billion between 2011 and 2016.

Globally, Informa forecasts that SMS traffic will total 9.4 trillion messages by 2016, up from 5.9 trillion messages in 2011. However, SMS's share of global mobile messaging traffic will fall from 64.1% in 2011, to 42.1% in 2016. At the same time, global mobile instant messaging traffic will increase from 1.6 trillion messages in 2011 to 7.7 trillion messages in 2016, doubling its share of global messaging traffic from 17.1% in 2011 to 34.6% in 2016.

Informa also forecasts that, by 2016, mobile operators globally will still be generating a higher proportion of revenues from mobile IM than the third-party providers of OTT messaging services will, at US$8.7 billion or 54% of total IM service revenues. However, the OTT messaging service providers' share of IM revenues will climb from 37% of total revenues in 2011, to US$7.4 billion or 46% of total revenues in 2016.

MMS remains a lucrative service for mobile operators, punching above its weight in terms of revenues. While global MMS traffic is expected to represent just 1.7% of global messaging traffic in 2016, at 387.5 billion events, global MMS revenues will represent 10.6% of global messaging revenues within the same timeframe, at US$20.7 billion.

However, mobile e-mail will be the second highest-revenue generator for mobile operators by 2016, generating US$32 billion in revenues, or 16.3% of total global messaging revenues. "Mobile e-mail is an important revenue-generating service for mobile operators, largely because they offer it as a service bundled with a mobile data plan," says Clark-Dickson. In addition to Research in Motion's BlackBerry services, mobile operators also generate revenues from their own-brand mobile e-mail services and from offering data plans that are specifically tied to mobile e-mail services that their subscribers can independently access on their devices.

Source: By cellular-news.com on 29th May 2012

11 Incredible Mobile Marketing Statistics

WOW amazing statistics are being shown here! So were you aware of these before looking, no? Now it's the time for you to start exploring. Remember: smart phones are driving the world now.

Mobile marketing is changing the way marketers, brands, agencies and consumers think about marketing. Smart phones have changed the dynamic forever.

No matter whether marketers care about social media, local marketing, email marketing, e-commerce, phone calls or web traffic—mobile marketing is changing them all.

If you don’t believe that mobile is changing marketing forever…you’re wrong.

Hopefully a few of these stats will open your eyes.

• There are 7 billion people on Earth. 5.1 billion own a cell phone. 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (Mobile Marketing Association Asia, 2011)
• It takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. It takes 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message. (CTIA.org, 2011)
• Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons. (Mobile Marketer, 2012)
• 91% of all smart phone users have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7 – (Morgan Stanley, 2012)
• 44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users (Facebook, 2012)
• Mobile marketing will account for 15.2% of global online ad spend by 2016. (Berg Insight, 2012)
• It takes 26 hours for the average person to report a lost wallet. It takes 68 minutes for them to report a lost phone. (Unisys, 2012)
• 70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. 70% of online searches result in action in one month. (Mobile Marketer, 2012)
• 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase. (Search Engine Land, 2012)
• 61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call. (Google, 2012)
• 52% of all mobile ads result in a phone call. (xAd, 2012)

Why You Should Care

Mobile marketing gives marketers access to a captive audience in a hyper-targeted way. It produces more immediate responses, and a higher response rate, than any other marketing method ever seen before. The mobile marketing tsunami is changing the dynamic of every element of marketing.

Everything will be touched.

Marketing executives need to start prioritizing mobile marketing in their budget right now. That doesn’t mean devoting 1% of a budget to mobile. It means devoting significant resources to developing mobile properties and mobile presence. The mobile rules for PPC, SEO and optimization are different.  This may require hiring new staff or an outside firm.

To start conservatively, consider a mobile landing page or a mobile text-back campaign. Or, if you want to be more aggressive, you could develop a website or an app.

Marketers should view mobile with excitement. There is an opportunity in the mobile marketing world that is almost too great to imagine. Consumers respond to mobile marketing in a staggering way. Response rates to mobile marketing are unparalleled in any marketing channel of which I’m aware.

Trust me, get out in front of this wave of mobile marketing or you will be swept away by it.

Source: By Jason Wells on 16th May 2012.

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Study Finds 84% of Small Business See Business Increase Through Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a trend that you can't afford to neglect it. Believe it or not, it has been helping businesses to grow continuously and is expected to be on a rise in the coming years. So read more and you would know better. :)

A study of more than 500 small business owners by Web.com (Network Solutions’ parent company) revealed a lot of enthusiasm and positive results from small business engaging in mobile marketing.

More than 69 percent of small business owners surveyed believe that mobile marketing is key to their growth over the next five years. The number of businesses having a regular website increased to 60 percent but only 26 percent have a mobile-friendly website and less than 14 percent have a stand-alone mobile website.

The top reasons for using a mobile website by the small business owners were:

• Provide better service to existing customers (38 percent)

• Attract more local customers (36 percent)

• Gain competitive advantage (34 percent)

According to the survey release “there is a large gap between the rapidly increasing mobile search volumes and the majority of small businesses lagging behind in mobile search strategy. Over 61 percent of small businesses currently do not have a mobile search strategy and are missing out on consumers trying to find them via a smartphone device.”

It is no surprise that lack of time and resources was one of the hurdle’s for the business to leveraging mobile marketing and budget came second. However 64% said that they had spent more on mobile marketing this year than in previous years. This is definitely a trend that we can see continue to increase.

Source: By Shashi Bellamkonda on 8th May 2012.

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Mobile Boom Changes the Direction of Marketing

With the excessive boom in mobiles, could you actually continue to ignore the importance of mobile marketing? Apparently, it's a big N-O! Just imagine: there's a big bulk of gold awaiting right in front of you, are you going to take it or leave it? The same theory applies, and it's worth for a thought. :)


Within the last decade, the marketing industry has seen the power of direct marketing shift from print, to TV, to online advertising. Currently, we are seeing another major direction shift in marketing. This directional shift is called the mobile boom. Business Insider reports that in 2011, the number of smart phones sold exceeded the numbers of PCs sold. With this trend continuing (and accelerating) in 2012, many brands and advertisers are targeting consumers via their mobile devices.


In the past decade, retail stores experienced a sharp shift in consumer purchasing from brick and mortar to online. This shift resulted in retailers across the nation closing stores, laying off workers and focusing their attention online to maximize profits.


Now another shift is happening. Consumers are accessing the Internet via their mobile devices in large and growing numbers. This is important because online marketers were once limited to reaching their market when they were in front of their computer – usually at home or in the office. This resulted in large blackout times where advertisers could not reach their consumers. With mobile marketing, advertisers can reach their potential customers at any time and in any place. The question now is, as a business, what are you doing to make sure that you are part of this mobile boom? Producers now have a few ways to capitalize off of this shift.


The first step is to build mobile optimized pages for online storefronts. This will help increase revenue by improving the consumer experience.


“The easier it is for consumers to navigate mobile sites, the higher the conversions,” says Erdolo Eromo, Senior Vice President of Sales at Mobile Messenger. “Not only will poorly designed interfaces increase bounce rates, they may also damage a brand.”


According to David Nachum, Associate Product Manager at Google, 61% of consumers are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble accessing from their phone. He goes on to say that last year, Google “began to limit ad serving on high-end mobile devices if they pointed to landing pages with Flash-heavy content.”


What this means for businesses is that if your site is not properly optimized for mobile, Google and other search engines will be less likely to point consumers there from organic search. With mobile search growing at an accelerating rate, an oversight like this may lead to obsolescence.


The next step would be to partner up with a direct carrier billing platform company like Mobile Messenger. With the mobile boom comes a new form of payment capabilities that merchants can use to increase ROI by driving more sales. According to mopay, a payment solutions provider to online merchants, “Direct carrier billing will be a catalyst for innovation and change within the mobile payments industry in 2012.”


The mobile boom is happening right now. Businesses will need to redesign their online face to remain relevant in the Cloud generation.

Source: By Erdolo on 3rd May 2012.

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The Time for Agencies to Mobilize Marketing is Now

With the mobile boom in full swing, agencies who hesitate to go mobile risk getting left behind. To stand in front or to be left behind, it's totally your own choice.

This year, online advertising spend is projected to surpass traditional print ad spending for the first time ever, growing by more than 23% to nearly $40 billion from last year.

While mobile advertising is also on the rise, the market is still relatively miniscule in comparison to the overall online advertising market, with mobile only projected to only reach $2.6 billion in 2012.

With more than a billion smartphones in use worldwide and approximately half of all online searches now originating on mobile devices, this is the time for ad agencies to fully embrace the new possibilities of mobile advertising. But many are still reluctant to do so. The reason? Fear of the unknown.

It’s no exaggeration to say that advertisers who want to remain relevant need to get over their fear of mobile marketing – quickly. Mobile internet use is poised to outstrip desktop internet use in 2014. Mobile device use already tops PC use in many major markets, according to a Google study. And if the threat of irrelevance isn’t sufficient motivation to take the plunge, ad agencies should also note that mobile customers are a highly desirable demographic group:

 - 36% of mobile shoppers are in the 25-34 age range and an additional 21% are 35-44 – the exact demographic many advertisers are trying to reach.
- 52% of mobile shoppers use their smartphones to research product features, and 29% conduct comparison shopping online using their devices.
- 34% of mobile shoppers make $100,000 per year or more, and 18% make between $75,000 and $100,000.

With such attractive demographics and a marketplace that is increasingly turning to mobile advertising solutions, agencies that focus exclusively on print and PC-based advertisements have plenty of reasons to explore the prospect of mobile marketing. However, many are hampered by misperceptions about the technical complexity of the mobile medium as well as the expenses involved.

The good news is that these fears are misplaced. Just as technology has generally become simpler and more intuitive for the average user, mobile technology is becoming more straightforward for both users and advertisers. Today, it’s easier than ever for an agency to develop and implement a mobile marketing strategy and take advantage of the huge opportunities the explosive growth in the mobile advertising sector presents.

Creative teams can now access an array of third-party solutions that can make creating branded mobile content a snap. Offering truly user friendly mobile content creation systems at an affordable price, third-party developers now empower advertisers to build and publish web content and specialty apps complete with highly customizable buttons, fonts, headers and embedded video. Agencies no longer need specialized technology expertise to operate mobile campaigns since their development partners can handle the back-end architecture.

With the right partner, agencies can leave worries about screen size optimization and mobile viewing dimensions behind and focus on creating compelling content and campaign strategies that drive revenue. A competent third-party vendor can allow agencies to develop mobile ads in-house without programming knowledge, much as software programs enable non-techie users to create, edit and publish documents and social media content every day without ever entering a single code. Many third-party services also make social media integration and analytics part of the package, with access to Twitter and Facebook widgets as well as campaign metrics from applications and programs like Google Analytics and APIs.

In light of these new options and the rapid growth of the mobile advertising industry, the only question that remains is why any agencies are still reluctant to jump on the mobile marketing bandwagon. With affordable new solutions and user-friendly technology, it’s time for the last of the holdouts to mobilize their marketing campaigns.

Source: By Alex Kutsishin on 23rd April 2012.
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SMS Aids Collaboration, Reduces Missed Appointments, Bosts Mood

Didn't know that a simple message is able to help life a person's mood. But I guess it's never too late to know it and start showing your care to people around you. :)

Psychologists at the University of California-Berkeley found that text messages help people feel more connected and cared for and help life a person’s mood when they send or receive an SMS. UC Berkeley professor Adrian Aguilera led the study, which was published in the journal, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

Aguilera told the UK’s Telegraph that the study originated back in 2010 when he began using text messages with patients who had depression. He sent them texts that prompted them to think about their moods and reply to positive and negative daily interactions. Aguilera said that the research provides new insights into the need for regular contact and check-ins from mental health professionals.

An article in the Wall Street Journal this week discussed how text messages between physicians and patients can help enable a more collaborative partnership. The report focuses on a new project, called the Collaborative Chronic Care Network, that currently includes participation from 6,800 patients and 33 healthcare centers.

According to the WSJ, “one of the participants is Emily Brandt, a 20-year-old student at the University of Michigan with ulcerative colitis. As part of one pilot, she gets four text messages every day asking her different questions, including whether she took her medicine and how many times she woke up in the middle of the night. Her doctor, [Dr. Jeremy Adler, a pediatric gastroenterologist], gets the results in graph form, which he and Ms. Brandt analyze together every two weeks.”

Since Dr. Adler can now see trends based on Emily’s tracking, they have been able to test out whether intravenous injections of a medication should be given more frequently or whether an improvement in symptoms during an unrelated antibiotics course might indication other means of treatment.

A study published in the Irish Medical Journal found that text messages significantly reduced non-attendance for appointments at an outpatient urology clinic in Dublin, Ireland. The study tracked missed appointments during a two year period before the introduction of text message appointment reminders and compared them to two years of data gathered while text message appointment reminders were used.

“The non-attendance rate in the two years prior to text message reminders was 17.6 percent (4,544 patients). Following the introduction of text message reminders, the overall non-attendance rate declined to 12.4 percent (3,423 patients), a reduction of 29.5 percent. The greatest improvement, a reduction in non-attendance rate of 63 percent, was seen in patients between 16 and 30 [years old].”

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SMS Campaigns More Effective Than Email Marketing (Mobile Marketing)

Imagine that you have limited time promotion for your target group, would you still be using email marketing to inform them? Sitting and finger crossing those emails will be read on time before it's too late and have not gone into the junk mail?

Why would you choose SMS campaigns over email marketing for your business? If you are more familiar with email marketing, it can be tempting to stick with something you know.

The issue with trying to contact your customers by email is that so many companies have used this strategy that it can easily be associated with spam by your target market.

SMS marketing and SMS advertising are an excellent way to engage consumers, especially if you are using highly targeted content in your messages. They are more likely to be opened wby the recipient than an email from an email address that he or she does not recognize. If you can’t get a good percentage of your customers to open your messages, you will not be able to get them to take the next step, which may be to view a special promotion, use a mobile coupon, or visit your brick and mortar location.

Since SMS mobile marketing messages are delivered instantly, they create a sense of urgency for the recipient. This is a great vehicle to deliver a limited time offer to your customer base and encourage your customers to make a decision quickly.

When you decide to use SMS campaigns for your business, make sure that you are tracking your results. Users can opt in to receive messages, which allow you to personalize the content and measure which campaigns are giving you the best return on investment.

Source: By Carrie Chitsey on 19th April 2012.

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Send Out SMS Reminders And Have The Consumers Coming In

Well, service-based companies will never be the same again ...

Service-based companies must show their mettle from the competition by value-added offers and also unique promotions. Hair salons, traditional spas, nail spas, and personal trainers normally provide the same array of services plus they are available on every part of the city. For consumers to go back, they must have had an extremely beautiful experience or even a great reaction to your service to ensure that they’re seeking a lot of the same or even delighted to try various other services you might have available for them.

Businesses like these use a “by appointment only” dynamics, and in the past business people might only count on phone calls and on great faith that customers comes in on their designated times with out fail. Overlooked appointments turn to missed opportunities, therefore innovative strategies for ensuring that clients arrive every time should be found. For this reason, business people are increasingly using tactics which entail using popular media channels for example delivering SMS reminders to customers regarding their upcoming sessions.

Except for very young children and people who’re especially averse to using any form of modern day communication technology, pretty much every person within the urbanized areas of the world possess a mobile phone. Many more can also have tablets and notebook computers in their arsenal of mobile devices, but the mobile phone is the one particular need that is certainly held within the owner’s reach for almost the entire day, daily.

Enterprising individuals keep this fact at heart and bank onto it to fuel their creative advertising tactics. Appointment-based businesses will take up a powerful communication system that can create large customer listings using a thorough appointment history and use it to send text messages reminding all of them of the up coming appointments. Rather than reaching customers by phone or even delivering all of them an e-mail, companies can send a SMS which is almost certain to end up being read immediately.

By keeping a clean communication suite which keeps a record of each customer and schedule, delivering appointment reminders through SMS will be a breeze. Staff can quickly access customer info and, being an additional touch, browse the customer record for favored products or services so the business may alter their service to suit just what the customer desires and avoid whatever they hate, the next time they come in. By going the extra mile to deliver far more customized choices, businesses can foster client satisfaction and loyalty.

Since most text services like this have an option for customers to avoid getting messages, it is certain that the customers that do stay with the distribution list want to obtain your text updates. Therefore, you may create an SMS marketing method that will directly targets this specific group, rather than the general public. You can request customers to try new services at the limited-time discount, provide sign up rewards, recommendation incentives, and also loyalty programs that may have them returning on your business over and over again. It merely requires a short and clearly composed text message, and you have a marketing tool which talks to your target market.

Have customers informed of your best services and, more importantly, show on time for their planned sessions. Build your business by having an powerful SMS communication system to see the results develop over time.

Source : Banyon Files on 18th April 2012

How Mobile Marketing Pushes Small Businesses to Prosperity

Hey, the trend is now going towards M-O-B-I-L-E! Are you ready to chase after the trend and be the first few to gain competitive advantage?

Iselin, NJ, April 18, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Google officially reported 500% increase in local searches. That means that people search for local service providers on internet. Web surfers use mobile phones and other mobile devices to search internet. Having a mobile friendly website is a priority for Small Business owners.

"The advantages of having a mobile website are obvious:

* billions of people use mobile devices to browse internet
* people are looking for local information on their mobile phones
* there is not too much competition on mobile internet at the moment

"The situation will change, no doubt. Mobile internet will become crowded. The same story will happen: the best domain names will be taken, search engine optimization will take more efforts and will cost more money. It will take much longer to get noticed by the search engines in the nearest future.

"But that's in the future. Right now Small Businesses can take full advantage of the situation to get access to 5.3 billion mobile internet buyers," says Alla Goltsman.

Alla continued, "I see a big ongoing problem in pay-per-click advertising: majority of online advertisers drive web traffic to websites that are not mobile friendly. These websites are displayed in bits and pieces on mobile devices. It's a big waste of money! Small Business owners need to be fully aware of the problem.

"Some time ago Google purchased AdMob - the largest mobile advertising platform. Pay-per-click advertising is moving to mobile platform. Besides, mobile advertising is cheaper than regular pay-per-click advertising. In order to conduct mobile advertising campaigns a business must have a mobile friendly website."

Source: by Alla Goltsman on 18th April 2012.

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