The Age of Mobile is upon us. The smartphone is everywhere. I mean everywhere !

And they seem to be inseparable from their owners regardless of venue.

Bedrooms, subways, theme park rides, swimming pools, bathrooms.

Apparently we absolutely need to be within arm’s reach.

Just in case we need to search, tweet, text or share.

Let’s look at some industry facts that provide guidance as to how your business can benefit.

 

According to Comscore, 36.9 percent of mobile users, and rapidly growing, use social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, on a regular basis.

From a consumer standpoint, mobile data usage is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 66 according to our friends at Cisco Systems.

Smack-in-the-head tip : Consumers are using mobile, more and more.

From a vendor point of view ,  mobile advertising ( U.S. alone as a benchmark ) is estimated to grow  at a compound annual rate of 47 percent, as per new IDC research .To top this off, they predict that within 3 years ( leading up to 2016 ), mobile’s overall share of digital marketing advertising will account for 21 percent – shooting skyward from around 6 percent today.

Smack-in-the-head tip : Businesses are increasing their mobile ad budgets.

From a B2B and fulfilment point of view, both several global consultancies such as Gartner and Forrester, are predicting that the growth of mobile payments continues to skyrocket. In fact, Forrester believes in the U.S. alone, mobile payments market will reach $90 billion by 2017, which is close to a 48% compound annual growth rate from the measly $12.8 billion dollars spent last year in 2012.

Smack-in-the-head tip : Consumers are increasing their mobile commerce spend exponentially. Is your business missing out ?

So why is this happening ?

Vendors and consumers alike are being educated the hard way with regard to mobile optimized websites. The simple fact is that most online searches are being conducted via mobile. When a consumer finds a website that is difficult to read and navigate, they simply move on to the next online business. New customers are lost, and existing business clients complain, and enterprises are now getting it.

Mobile-optimized technologies are rapidly maturing. Responsive web design, QR code technology, smartphone app development and marketing; these are all smoothing the way for seamless, and even fun, mobile consumer interaction.

Consumers are enthralled with the ability for mobile technology to allow for targeted ( opt-in profile ) advertising, especially GPS enabled geo-targeted marketing. Given the choice of blanket, TV-like advertising, and the targeted version, there’s no contest, as any disruption is ‘relevant’. For businesses, cost are reduced, and prospecting increases in efficiency .

And let’s not forget, nobody leaves their home without their smartphone. You feel naked without it. A sense of panic ensues when you realise you left it behind somewhere. The smartphone has become the trusted and almost always-on gateway of social networking and ecommerce. And the overlap between social networking and ecommerce is increasing at a steady pace as reputation management starts playing its part in fulfilment assurance.

Mobile Playbook

There are many affordable options available businesses and professionals alike, that can easily be added to your mobile playbook.

These include QR codes , SMS or text messaging, mobile apps ( and its inherent PUSH technology advantages ) , Mobile coupons and ads, and the oft-forgotten mobile-optimized website.

Your customers and partners are embracing mobile marketing. Don’t get left behind.

Got questions ? For a no obligation consult, connect with us at www.webmentum.com, or email hymie@webmentum.com today .