The following article is a guest contribution from Frans Van Hulle, CEO of ReviMedia.
Mobile is the new buzzword in marketing and has received a lot of attention in lead generation. It’s estimated that about 57.3% of the U.S. population are already smartphone users, and this number is projected to rise to 67.8% until 2017 (IDC Research Report 2013). Moreover, a recent study by Cisco estimates that mobile internet use will grow by 66% each year, with global mobile data traffic increasing to 134 Exabyte by 2017. Considering these numbers, it’s no wonder that everyone wants to get on the mobile bandwagon. Mobile especially offers tremendous opportunities in lead generation because consumers are increasingly using their phones to research products and services. Getting mobile right can therefore make a huge difference for the sales conversions of companies.
Personally, I sometimes don’t understand the hysteria about mobile. I have been working in mobile marketing for over a decade and remember building WAP pages for mobile internet use back in the early 2000s. Even back then when mobile phones were the size of bricks and not-so-smart, we created pages and apps for mobile internet use. So, clearly people using mobile internet is not really a new thing and, quite frankly, it beats me why the market has not been prepared for the mobile hype.
That is not to say that I don’t agree with the fact that there are many new mobile trends that can take lead generation to a new level. Mobile technology is at a much higher level these days, and it’s not just the phone that is smarter, but also the users who now use mobiles in most areas of life. There are in many trends that marketers can and should incorporate into their mobile lead gen strategies:
- Treat Mobile as a separate marketing channel
Although present technology makes the mobile internet experience more PC-like, the mobile experience on phones and tablets is different and should be treated as such (unless we are talking about mobile use on iPads which offers a laptop-like experience). Moreover, mobile has completely different technical requirements. Building mobile landing pages is entirely different from building traditional landing pages and different aspects matter for mobile users. When it comes to lead gen, forms should not be copied from PC-based internet channels, but changed to enhance the mobile experience. This means less, yet bigger, fields and more pages. Ever had to scroll down a really long page on your mobile? Ever lost interest because you couldn’t be bothered? Exactly.
- Geo-targeting
One of the biggest trends in mobile lead gen is geo-targeting which offers fantastic opportunities to localize marketing strategies and to deliver targeted content based on the location of the user. Geo-targeting makes it possible to reach the right consumers, at the right time, at the right place. This means that localized mobile ads can be delivered to the right target group. And since it’s all happening on a mobile phone, marketers can even offer customers incentives to visit them directly, for example coupons or directions. Moreover, ads can also be matched to what consumers are looking at on their mobile phones or which apps they are using, which increases the effectiveness of localized mobile ads and trigger a direct response.
- Click2Call
Smartphones offer a new opportunity to research information on the go. Mobile ads are great, but it’s even better to take it one step further. Recent research from iAquire shows that about 70% of mobile searches lead to action within an hour. So, why not give consumers the chance to buy online straight away. In lead generation, Click2Call takes the mobile experience one step closer to where consumers can buy via their mobile devices. Click2Call enables consumers to directly call vendors by clicking on banners, without having to fill in any forms.
- Changes in user behavior
In lead gen, the quality of leads is mainly measured by the intent of the users to buy. Mobile users represent a group who are not only eager to buy, but also who are also action-driven. Most mobile users use their smartphones to search for information, and when it comes to services or products, they are usually searching for something they want right there and then. The high sense of intent to buy therefore offers huge potential for marketers. Although some searches on mobile phones may be spontaneous, they still represent high intent since users are looking for information on the go, signifying that they feel an urgent need at that particular moment to buy a service or product.
Look around you – chances are half of the people you see right around you are using their smartphones to socialize, talk, research, surf the web, do business. There is a high probability you are even reading this on a phone or tablet. Therefore, simply responding to the mobile trend by implementing mobile optimized pages is not enough to go with the “mobile hype”. Mobile is all about encouraging a direct response and persuading an immediate action. The chance of directly connecting with consumers offers a tremendous chance in increasing sales conversions. By focusing on the behavior of mobile users and using tools to stimulate responses, mobile leads can be significantly increased. Mobile therefore offers huge potential to marketers who understand that mobile is not just a technology, it’s a behavior.
About The Author
Frans Van Hulle, CEO of ReviMedia, is a “serial entrepreneur” with more than 12 years experience in the online marketing business, focusing on launching international business ventures.
