Key Numbers From the Study
In the study, there were a number of important statistics that were of particular interest:
- 63% of respondents have found mobile search changed the way they gather information
- 81% use mobile search in the evening while 80% use it on weekends
- The majority of respondents said they used it while running errands, with just under half of those participating making a purchase
- The top three reasons for using mobile search? Locating contact information for local retailers, finding online retailers, or finding a manufacturer website or product.
- More than half of those surveyed use search before making offline purchases
In short, it means people are relying on their phones more and more to help get things done and make use of the minutes normally wasted during the day.
What It Means For Businesses
If you’re not already online and using some form of mobile browsing, you may want to look into putting it on this year’s to do list. This doesn’t mean that special mobile websites and marketing campaigns are necessary, however. The best idea is to ask your customer base and search your analytics for the answers.
If you find mobile users are making use of your website, you should examine your current marketing and online efforts, and if it’s profitable for you, consider developing a mobile marketing strategy. Here are some great questions to answer:
- Are you currently providing the information mobile users are searching for? In this study, contact information, searching for online retailers, and pricing were the top three.
- Can your target audience find you when using mobile search? If potential customers can’t find you when they’re searching for any of this information, they will go elsewhere. It’s that simple.
- Does your marketing strategy include information for those researching purchases online? Product descriptions and information is becoming more and more import. It needs to be accurate, effective, and concise. This is just the start.
- Can you include features or provide value to people on the go? Mobile is the tool of choice for those looking to make the most out of every minutes. Do you have content, tools, services or some other feature they would benefit from? Have you made it easy for mobile users to access?
- Do you offer something for the evening and weekend crowds? This is a huge, especially for services like attractions, movie theaters, and other entertainment providers. No surprise here, but if you fall into this category, and aren’t answering the ‘what should we do tonight’ question, you’re losing out. Other businesses should also take the needs of weekend and evening crowds into consideration.
Just the answers to these questions alone can provide you with tons of creative marketing ideas that will take you far beyond mobile ad campaigns.
More Mobile Marketing Resources
If you’d like to find out more about mobile marketing and creating campaigns, try some of these great resources:
- Mobile Marketing Magazine
- Mobile Marketing Watch
- Understanding Mobile Marketing: Technology and Reach (PDF)
- Mobile Marketing: From Marketing Strategy to Mobile Marketing Campaign Implementation (Scribd hosted PDF)
- Mobile Marketing Consumer Study (Hosted PDF)
Have you looked at mobile campaigns and websites? What were your thoughts? What seemed like the biggest challenge for you?