5 Mobile Trends For 2012
Always on, connected 365 days a year. Consuming information where, with who and when you want it. Making decisions to go where you want or to buy what you want; on the spot. Finding out what is happening around you and connecting with your friends 24/7.
This is what consumers are doing at the moment and in the rate smartphones are being sold, it is almost inevitable that this will become the standard. Brands go where the people are; however they seem to be lagging when it comes to establishing their mobile strategies. So lets look at my top 5 mobile trends for the coming year…
The first three I will mention might be open doors, but not to be dismissed.
Location Based
Connect with your consumer when they are looking for a place to eat, where they can find a certain product or if they are looking for a good deal. Location Based marketing will enable brands to deliver your consumers a service in the context they require in that specific place and time. It is expected to grow to 1,4 billion users by 2012. You can target your audience in their context, their age, gender, where they are, what their personal preferences are and locking into their specific intention at that time. Send them on a scavenger hunt and reward them for their compliance and input.
Social Networking
This trend goes hand in hand with the previous; location based marketing. At this moment this is the fastest growing category on mobile phones. We have established that there is no use describing what kind of target groups use social media, more relevant is finding where we can pinpoint passion groups. People will be sharing what they are doing, how they are experiencing it and whether they endorse your product, service or event or not. It is likely to evolve to an infrastructure provider, turning into data warehouses and providing user data and access to consumers.
Mobile Search
Pulling your consumer through the marketing funnel is slightly different to pushing them; they will be influenced by their peers and in the consideration phase they will tap into the web to find the information they need. They will go online directly to look for better deals, they will actually do so even whilst talking to your sales rep. Search will empower your consumer to immediately buy tickets, make a reservation or to validate what they are told. Where do they land? I hope on your mobile site, your mobile site has another set-up than your regular site. They will dismiss your brand if you do not provide them with the information they need. If you do not have a mobile site… get one now!
My dad used to say; fix the roof when the sun shines. Now the sun is still shining, but due to the increasing market penetration of smartphones and the changing way consumers are taking in information, the first three trends are a must do.
For you that are already in tune with your consumers… have a look at the next two.
Object Recognition
We see a lot in a day and are encountered by things we find remarkable, interesting or compelling. A lot of these things are not tagged or we don’t know what they are, where to find it, how much it costs or where it can be bought. Thanks to great camera’s, 3G networks and Mobile search we can now create applications that recognize the things are surroundings in front of us. We can instantaneously tap into our needs, inspiring people to a whopping call to action.
Mobile Commerce and Mobile Payment
Though not evolved into a full extension of e-commerce, mobile commerce is a force to be reckoned with. Enabling consumers to immediately purchase the product or service they are interested in, is offering them full convenience and propelling them thought their decision making process. Think of the conversion rates you can achieve… facilitate your consumer to do unpack offers, promotions and location based incentives. In order to get consumers on board, payment solution providers need to address ease-of-use for users and ease-of-implementation for customers without compromising security.
Convenience, customer experience and flawlessness are three keywords in making your mobile offering succeed. When is the last time you have used your mobile to check-in, share your status, search for information or to engage with your peers? Wouldn’t it be great if every brand or organization would offer you a good experience? …does your brand offer this experience?
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It is amazing to me that we are still a society that is so hung up on the privacy rights of the citizens, more now than ever before. In the same society, we are also very demanding of wanting our needs filled yesterday and convenience drives are product choices. As I look at the options of location based marketing and the use of things such as QR codes, I often wonder if privacy is even possible anymore. The consumer has went from being the hunter to now becoming the hunted and I wonder what sort of ethical dilemma this could create by companies. I can now watch any show on TV and never have to watch a commercial thanks to DVR and have often wondered how this would combated. We want the convenience of everything at our finger tips yet we still remain as people who wish people continue to respect our privacy. If Smartphones have come this far in such a short time, it makes me wonder what will take place over the next 20 years. Perhaps, I will be told what I need well before I think I need it. This seems to be a major violation of my rights, not as a consumer, rather, my rights as a citizen.
Hi John,
thank you so much for your elaborate response and your insights. I do agree with you in the violation issue; however I feel and know that we are the master of the information we receive. You can always block information, not share things or make sure you filter the ads you feel that invade your privacy. (take your example for the DVR)
Personally, I think the mobile and new marketing trends will add a value to my life, to the marketing efforts of brands and all stakeholders involved. Kotler said we had to position our 4 p’s and push our products to the consumer; so everyone started doing that.. too many impulses were coming our way. Then we had Godin who said we had to stand out from the crowd and create purple cows… so everyone started doing that. Bombarding us with even more remarkable content… after that the era of content came: organisations said you have to have the best content within all media, whether it to be social, online or traditional. In my opinion that is a violation of my civil rights.. I have brands screaming BUY MY STUFF everywhere I go.
But now we are going to an era of CONTEXT, I will be receiving information that is tailored to me, information I can access at my own whim and share with my peers. Less screaming around me, but pulling in relevant information when I need it.
I hope my reaction has helped you to put new marketing into another perspective and I truly hope that you will find advertising less intrusive.
Have a good weekend,
neil
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Hi Niel, i totally agree on your blog post. Mobile technology has evolved into a system we can incorporate to e-commerce. I can see a promising future for the mobile point of sale systems like PyPal, Sqre, mPowa, etc. The technology opens doors for neat and intuitive buying experience. Cheers!