Mobile Marketing and B2B

The evolution of the smartphone has made mobile marketing more relevant in B2B. Worldwide smartphone sales will reach 468 million units in 2011, a 57.7 percent increase from 2010, according to Gartner Inc.

Why does mobile marketing make sense for B2B? Business professionals engage with their mobile devices by virtue of necessity. In fact, our 2011 B2B research revealed that 59% of respondents use their smartphone to access email and the Web. Clearly, mobile marketing is a powerful avenue into your target audience’s world. Businesspeople exchange their information, time, and attention in return for mobile benefits, to include quick access to Web materials, industry news, meeting details and product enhancements.

Use of online resources and help in gathering purchase information

So, what is a B2B marketer to do for mobile marketing?

  1. Examine the analytics from your website and determine which parts of your website are visited most often and how many users access your website from their mobile devices.
     
  2. From that information, decide which parts of your website should be mobile-enabled. MarketingProfs (2010) offers good advice on considerations for creating mobile websites:
    1. Consider context (audience and what are they searching for).
    2. Consider real estate (only repurpose what is necessary).
    3. Consider navigation (few clicks as possible).
    4. Consider device capabilities (they are different).
    5. Consider measurement and optimization.
       
  3. Mobile marketing should be part of the discussion as you plan your next multi-touch lead generation campaigns, as well as your next trade show or large event. The use of key words, short codes, and SMS text messaging can be compelling add-on features to these types of programs.
     
  4. Think about how you can engage with your audiences with a mobile application. How could an app communicate your message?
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