Mobile is one of the fastest growing marketing fields. According to Duke University’s The CMO Survey, marketers plan on focusing on social media and mobile marketing in the coming years. 6 percent of the companies state that their budgets on mobile marketing will shoot up to 15.6 percent over the next few years. However, many of these companies admit that they don’t have a cohesive plan as to how to best leverage mobile marketing nor how to measure their efforts. Despite not knowing exactly how to achieve their marketing plans, marketing leaders will invest a large portion of their budgets to understand and manage the impact of mobile.
There is no ignoring the surge of popularity that mobile use is experiencing. Mobile marketing has increased by 160% in the last few years, which reflects just how much consumers are starting to rely on information and purchase making with their phone. Plus, companies hope to reach customers with timely deals, offerings, and information to boost sales.
Although consumers are using their phones to find merchandise and make purchases, mobile marketing companies are less than confident in how to capitalize on this spike in usage. Respondents on the Duke Study gave customer engagement a 3.56 (out of 7) when it comes to mobile marketing programs, a 3.12 in customer retention, and customer acquisition a 2.89. Mobile’s impact on profits was only rated as a 2.64 out of 7.
The numbers from the Duke Study don’t seem particularly inspiring, but the revenue potential that effective mobile marketing can have is significant. The convenience of being able to search for items while on the go and purchase them on the spot is a huge seller for mobile marketing. Plus the purchase of international merchandise is almost an everyday occurrence for most consumers. For many of these items there are no interchange rates as seen with debit or credit cards. So this could be a major source of savings for the avid international shopper and a lucrative marketing avenue for companies.
Mobile marketing and payments industry is still in its infancy, and mobile marketers as a whole will have to do some work to convince potential customers to tolerate and follow through with the purchase of marketed offers. Until then, mobile marketing departments will have to find effective strategies to create and maintain customer trust, retention, and acquisition. eMerchantBroker.com will manage your marketing merchant account with precision and skill while you reach your marketing goals.