Modern marketing has dramatically evolved over the past few years as modern technology continues to expand and improve. These technological innovations have given marketing a new lease of life, enabling greater flexibility and the opportunity to rapidly engage a wider target audience. In particular, small businesses have significantly benefited from mobile marketing as a successful marketing strategy. Not only is this marketing technique extremely effective, it is also highly economical.

Mobile marketing may be broadly defined as the application of mobile mediums as a method of market communication. It enables businesses and organizations to communicate and connect with audiences in an interactive and relevant way using any mobile network or device.

Essentially, mobile marketing is the advertising of products and services that reach their target audience on a mobile device such as a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop notepad. Mobile marketing can take on a variety of forms and uses tools including, SMS, proximity systems, location-based services, MMS, in-game marketing, mobile web marketing, Bluetooth and QR codes, amongst others.

SMS (small message service) marketing is a very popular marketing strategy, especially given that millions of mobile phones users and that text messaging is one of the most popular forms of modern communication. Proximity systems and location-based services allow additional marketing manipulation by using text messaging to target mobile users within a specified geographical range. This can be particularly advantageous in large shopping complexes for example, where mobile phone users can have special offers sent to them whilst shopping in these facilities.

In addition to sending text messages, MMS (multimedia message service) adds further functionality to mobile marketing campaigns by facilitating advertising through images, audio and video mediums. Many businesses are taking advantage of these marketing strategies because they are able to send bulk advertising messages to their clients at the push of a single button. On average a SMS or MMS is read within five minutes of receiving the message. With such a rapid response rate, SMS and MMS mobile marketing can be a highly effective marketing strategy to generate leads and drive traffic for a business.

Mobile gaming has grown considerably over the past few years with interactive real time 3D games, social networking games and extensive multi-player games becoming extremely popular. Consequently, businesses are engaging these consumers by advertising within mobile games, in addition to other mobile web-based marketing. This technology can be intergraded with mobile texting services to provide reminders of important events and promotions. Additionally, Bluetooth mobile advertising products can facilitate an interface between businesses and customers, whereby consumers can download text files, images, games, videos and other media. This provides another reliable avenue for mobile marketing strategies.

Quick response codes, commonly referred to as QR codes, have been around for many years, however more recently they have been incorporated into mobile marketing campaigns. QR codes are essentially bar codes that can be scanned by mobile devices and subsequently open a hyperlink to relevant product information. They provide a very effective marketing strategy, especially with the ability to merge QR codes, tracking features and various mobile landing pages to capture leads, process sales and provide detailed product information.

Undoubtedly there are a wide variety of mobile marketing tools available to businesses, providing marketing flexibility and the capacity to tailor marketing to meet specific business requirements. Additionally, mobile marketing is real-time marketing. Consumers can receive advertising material or other information practically instantly.

Mobile marketing tools are also very easy to use, for both the vendor and consumer. Furthermore, mobile marketing can reach a wide consumer base with very little effect or cost. Given that mobile content is easily shared between users, mobile marketing has exceptional viral opportunities. As friends, families and colleges frequently share information; businesses can receive excessive exposure without any extra effort. Consequently, mobile marketing inevitably leads to higher conversion rates and more business opportunities.

Mobile marketing has another added edge over traditional marketing methods; it becomes personal. As mobile platforms interact directly with end users, there is the ability to create personalized interactions and build ongoing customer relations. Businesses can create direct dialogue with customers, this not only provides a sales avenue, it is also a way to generate customer feedback and improve marketing strategies.

The financial investment required to employ mobile marketing strategies are extremely low compared with the potential financial return. For example, using SMS and MMS to market a business will typically require the payment for sending the messages and nothing more. Additionally, costs are lowered by reduced labour requirements. It does not take long to put together and execute a mobile marketing plan in comparison with other marketing strategies.

Essentially, mobile marketing strategies enable mass communication at very low cost to the business. Mobile marketing can be easily integrated into existing marketing plans and provide a more personalized approach. Undoubtedly, mobile marketing will continue to expand and offer a very viable, financially rewarding and exciting approach to small business marketing strategies.

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group marketing firm and can be reached at http://www.geisheker.com.

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group advertising agency and can be reached at http://www.geisheker.com or by calling 920-471-1638.

Author Bio: Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group marketing firm and can be reached at http://www.geisheker.com.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: mobile marketing