Mobile marketing trends 2013

MobileMarketing Trends 2013

Research

Mobile Marketing Trends 2013

Few years ago when B2C companies were scrambling to make sense of mobile

marketing to reach their customers, B2B marketers never imagined that they would be

doing the same soon. With a surge in the utilization of mobile devices – from

smartphones to tablets and eReaders, B2B marketers must face the fact that the shift in

consumer behavior which drastically affected B2C marketing, has now also impacted B2B

marketing in a big way. When someone uses their mobile phone to perform every task

from search to purchase, it can be assumed that they will do the same for making

business decisions as well.

It is forecasted by IDC, that within four years, more consumers will access Internet

content via mobile devices than PCs. This is not surprising given the consumption and

dependency on mobile devices. For a B2B company, not having a mobile presence would

mean squandering away crucial opportunities to connect with these prospective

customers.

This report analyzes the shift in content consumption and provides marketers actionable

tips for creating successful mobile marketing programs. The report also provides insights

into trends in mobile marketing, including, budget allocations, leading metrics used by

marketers, challenges faced by them, and more. This data will help CMOs re-evaluate

their investments in mobile marketing and help in the creation of effective execution

strategies.

Marketing to today’s on-the-go customer Survey ReportUnveiling Mobile marketing strategies in the B2B landscapeBy Nimish Vohra and Aditi Narayanan

Mobile Marketing Trends 2013 Regalix Research © 07/2013 01

Key takeaways

80% marketers indicated mobile as an important part of their

marketing mix

66% of B2B marketers indicated that mobile marketing

amplifies brand reach

72% of B2B marketers surveyed consider website traffic as the

leading metric for measuring mobile marketing success

51% marketers use mobile websites and mobile applications as

a part of their mobile marketing program


64 percent marketers feel that there is an obvious shift in the manner in which their

customers consume content. The B2B marketers we surveyed, indicated that their

customers use both mobile devices and PCs to consume content wherein the consumption

of content starts from one device and is carried forward via other devices. Consumers

increasingly access high-level messaging from a mobile device and then use a PC for details.

This means that companies that don’t have targeted mobile marketing programs lose the

opportunity to reach out to prospects who use multiple devices for accessing content.

It’s a multi-screen world


Source: Regalix Research, May 2013

40 percent of the marketers surveyed said that visits to websites through mobile are a true

measure of how their customers are adopting mobile. Organizations who have been able to

witness ROI through their initial mobile investments are also investing in advanced analytics

suites that help them evaluate usage patterns. While over 64% of mobile marketing efforts

are focused on attracting and engaging new customers, other players such as distributors,

re-sellers and partners are rarely targeted by marketers in their mobile marketing programs.

25% - 50% of traffic to the website is through mobile devices, say B2B marketers

?15% 15% 63% 7%

Laptop/Desktop Via a mobile device(Smart phone,

Tablet/e-reader)

Both Not Sure

Mobile Traffic Contribution



% Respondents (Range of values is 10-30%) (Range of values is 10-100%)

% Website visits from Mobile Devices

10% <10%

24% 10-25%

29% 25-50%

5% 50-75%

3% >75%

29% Not Sure

Mobile Marketing as a channel helps marketers meet many of their objectives. However, it is

important for marketers to understand the objective best served by this medium so as to

dedicate their efforts accordingly. Our survey found that mobile marketing was found to be

more beneficial in the earlier stages of the buying cycle (lead generation) as opposed to the

later stages of the post-sales cycle (retention of existing customers). This can be seen in the

benefits cited by marketers, 66% claimed that broadening brand reach is the topmost benefit

from running a mobile marketing campaign. This is followed by lead generation as claimed

by 59% of the respondents.

Mobile marketing - most effective in the early stages of buying cycle


Key Benefits of Mobile Marketing Campaigns

59%

66%

48%

35%

41%

41%

28%

Generating Leads

Broadening Brand Reach

Acquring NewCustomers

Increasing Loyalty and Retention Bolstering

Customer Service

Inscreasing Customer Satisfaction

Extending Customer Engagement (Anytime/Anywhere Access)

Others

7%


Mobile Marketing Tactics Employed by B2B Marketers

Mobile websites are the most preferred tactic by B2B marketers, as indicated by 70% of the

respondents. This is no surprise, as 40% of marketers responded that 25-50% of traffic to the

website is through mobile devices. Mobile applications follow closely as the preferred mobile

marketing tactic used by 60% of B2B marketers. Mobile applications are the preferred tactic

by marketers owing to the engagement opportunities presented by the platform. Other

tactics such as development of mobile products, mobile advertising, mobile search and QR

codes do not see high degree of investments from B2B marketers.

Marketer’s focus on building mobile web experiences seems to be measurably higher than

the focus on developing purpose-built mobile applications. Organizations are shifting their

mobile strategy away from creating specific apps, typically developed to support more

specific tasks or functions, to alternate web development techniques, such as responsive

web design.

Mobile Websites and Apps - Key tactics for meeting marketing objectives


70%

60%

20%

20%

10%30%

MobileApplication

MobileWebsite

MobileSearch

MobileAdvertising

QR Codes

MobileProduct


Although 80% of respondents to the survey concurred that it is important for marketers to

include a mobile strategy in their marketing plan, only 42% have integrated mobile into their

marketing mix. This is because marketers are faced with several challenges while designing a

mobile strategy – from limited budgets to lack of expertise to complicated delivery

mechanisms. 54 percent of B2B marketers indicated that the biggest challenge for them is

defining the user experience (factors such as screen size), followed by lack of resources as

indicated by 38% of marketers surveyed. It is important for marketers who are about to

embark on the journey to effective mobile marketing to identify these challenges

before-hand so as to devise solutions accordingly.

Pressing issues surrounding Mobile marketing


31%

54%

39%

23%

15%15% 12%

Choose the delivery mechanism (including type of devices targeted)

Defining the user experience (factors such as screen size)

Cost of content management systems

Lack of resources

Lack of experiences

Inadequate financial resources

Others


Respondents of our survey indicated that currently around 10% to 25% of their marketing budget is allocated to mobile marketing. 40 percent B2B marketers expect this figure to increase in the coming 12 months. According to Mobile Marketing Association, mobile marketing expenditures in the US alone this year will reach $10.46 billion. By 2015, spending on the channel is expected to approach $20 billion, with Mobile advertising accounting for the biggest share of total mobile marketing spend, at just under 50% of expenditures this year, or $4.87 billion—a share that is relatively expected to hold steady through 2015.

Increasing budget allocation to Mobile

You can't deny it – mobile adoption is only growing as ratified by 88% of respondents. Fueled by this surge in the usage of mobile devices, the role of mobile in connecting businesses with customers has only been growing. 80 percent of B2B marketers surveyed indicated that mobile strategy is already an important part of their marketing mix, and another 82% respondents believe that mobile is not a fad, but is here to stay.

However, marketers are focusing on mobile as another messaging channel, and mostly ignoring the potential and unique possibilities offered by the platform, mainly due to immature strategies, scarcity of talent and lack of integration.

Ready or not, Mobile is here to stay


10 - 25 percent of marketing budgets are currently allocated to mobile marketing initiatives

with 40% of marketers expecting an increase in spends over the next twelve months.

However, despite the high confidence in the effectiveness of mobile marketing as a

discipline, only 25% survey respondents have been successful in proving the ROI of their

mobile marketing program. An alarming 46% of respondents are unsure of the ROI from

mobile marketing programs. While marketers believe that mobile marketing allows them to

reach out to a greater audience, they are still unable to quantify the return and demonstrate

a direct correlation between mobile marketing and their business goals.

Curious case of the ever-evasive ROI

The true power of mobile marketing can only be witnessed once any or all of the following take form:

B2B marketers need to act fast and leap-frog competition by harnessing the true potential of mobile, incorporate innovative mobile marketing programs and use advanced metrics to measure the value derived from mobile in their marketing efforts.

Marketers launch mobile as a platform and not just a media vehicle to distribute content, which will be preceded by the maturation of M2M communication.

Marketers adopt sophisticated metrics to measure the impact of their mobile campaigns and are not limited by website traffic.

Mobile marketing tactics evolve to include more segmented mobile apps that target the entire B2B marketer’s ecosystem.


About the analysts

Nimish is Vice President and General Manager works with CMO's and

senior marketing professionals. His research focuses on predictive

analytics, customer experience management , mobile enablement and

other emerging trends that help customers leverage technology as an

enabler of marketing and business outcomes

Aditi NarayanaResearch Associate

Aditi’s research is focused on B2B content creation and distribution

practices that enable product marketing professionals deliver targeted

sales enablement material. Her research combines creative with

scientific measurement that creates real digital marketing leverage.

Nimish Vohra VP, Principal Analyst

About Regalix Research

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