MOBILE MARKETING TO ENHANCE BUSINESS VALUE

Mobile marketing, as the name implies, can be introduced as a new stream of marketing on or with mobile devices and technologies. This branch of marketing philosophy tries to uncover attractive strategies for the direct communication of products or services to individual customers through the usage of mobile devices and technologies which in turn makes marketing more effective. Since this marketing strategy has become increasingly popular it is important to recognize the impact of mobile marketing on business value enhancement. The aim of this study is to identify and recommend the best suited channels, methodologies and strategies to enhance business value in the field of mobile marketing.

Rise of Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing can be viewed as a specialized aspect of IT enabled marketing for consumer value creation. Technologies like SMS, MMS, Mobile Web, Bluetooth, and LBS have enabled businesses to market their products and services (which is not mere advertising) in any convenient channel. Mobile marketing offers direct communication with consumers, anytime and anyplace. The immediacy, interactivity and mobility of wireless devices provide a novel platform for marketing .

Those factors mentioned above have brought up mobile marketing to a so powerful point that it was found to be the hottest topic for year 2008 among 100 executives from global companies in mobile & wireless industry, according to United Kingdom Trade & Investment (UKTI) conducted survey. This provides enough background & motivation to critically review on the subject matter as it is of my personal interests too.

Brands, content owners and many other businesses have embraced mobile marketing to be an integral part of marketing mix. Yet it’s found that about 55% of companies are unsure about how to reach the target audience through mobile channels . This is a fundamental barrier to enhance business value.