Technical and Marketing Communication: Content for a Convergent World

The following notes come from the “Mobile Marketing: What are the possibilities for B2B Marketers?” session at the MarketingProfs Business to Business Forum (June 8 & 9, in Boston, MA).

Presenters: Mickey Alam Khan, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Mobile Marketer, and Michael J. Becker, EVP, Business Development, iLoop Mobile, Inc. (This was a highly informative session, jam-packed with useful statistics, especially about general mobile trends. A handout was not available that day, so this post is the result of my own quickly scrawled notes.) 

According to iLoop Mobile’s Michael J. Becker, a mobile marketing model for organizations selling to other organizations doesn’t really exisit. The best strategy when sending messages to a B2B representative’s mobile device is to remember you are marketing to an individual, not an organization. Consumer usage is primarily responsible for driving mobile devices into the enterprise. The mobile device is not purely a consumer or work device; it is a life device. Becker reminds us, “When you market via someone’s mobile device, you are entering into that individual’s personal space.” 

Why The Mobile Device is Important and Is Only Going to Become More Important to Marketers

• In some countries, mobile is the only channel; it’s the fastest growing media channel worldwide.
• Right now, 4 billion people use mobile devices. That’s a 64% penetration worldwide. The Internet has only 23% penetration.
• TV, radio, recordings, communities, print, cinema, and the Internet are all converging on the mobile phone.
• 34% of US mobile users have cut their landlines. 
• Within the next five years, your mobile device is going to replace the majority of your laptop’s functions. Within the same time, mobile devices will be the primary way of accessing the Internet. 

Understanding Your Audience

When marketing in the B2B space, what you can do is understand as much as possible about the individuals on the other end of those mobile devices as well as the kinds of devices they are operating. Here are some factors to consider:

• Interoperability
• Business Standards
• Handset Adoption: What kind of phone does your audience use?  In the general population, overall 10% have a smart phone. Significantly more than 10% have a smart phone in corporate settings. The BlackBerry is the predominant business device today.
• Feature Adoption: For example: BlueTooth, Text Messaging, etc.
• Geography: Are they worldwide?
• Channel: SMS, MMS, E-mail, IVR (voice), Internet, Mobile web, BlueTooth, and applications. 
• Customer Profile: Age, Type of Employment, Ethnicity (for example, the high popularity of the iPhone among Hispanic consumers), Social Networking Applications, and so on. 

How Are You Going to Use Mobile For Marketing Purposes?

• Direct Mobile Marketing: Pushing a message to the mobile device via a text alert.
• Indirect Mobile Marketing: Invite them to opt-in to mobile updates through direct mail.
• Relationship-Building via the Mobile Web: Must build a web site that renders well on the mobile device. Only design part of your web site for the mobile device. Use a partner for handset detection issues (for example, how your web site renders on iPhone, BlackBerry, or Google Android devices.) 

Mobile Marketing & Possibilities for B2B Space

• By 2111, more than ever (70%) will be calling into Customer Care via their mobile devices.
• Improved employee productivity through mobile collaboration, mobile IM, and mobile PBXs.
• Reduced costs.
• Branded utilities through store locators.
• Mobile enhancement of events: Booth locators, people finders, schedule organizers, text alerts, wake-up calls, mobile web sites, mobile couponing/discounts, mobile coverage, voting, BlueTooth, and so on.

More Information on Mobile Marketing

For more information on mobile marketing, these resources are helpful:

• The Mobile Marketer Blog
• iLoop Mobile, Inc. Blog

Related Links

• My Take On  MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2009 ~ re:invent, re:charge, re:engage
• Shannon Paul: Mobile changes everything.