What Is Mobile Marketing?

Mobile marketing includes a broad range of digital marketing strategy options designed to reach current and potential consumers on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile devices are everywhere these days, so it makes sense for companies to use text messaging, in-app messaging, chatbots, social media, and other technologies to enhance customer experiences.

Does mobile marketing have the features your business needs to thrive? Almost certainly! Keep reading to learn why it works so well and how you can make it a critical part of your customer support, customer service, and customer experience strategies.

Why Is Mobile Marketing Important?

Mobile marketing has become increasingly critical because nearly everyone owns some type of mobile device; mobile is here to stay and will continue to be on the rise. According to Statista, “the number of mobile users worldwide is projected to reach 7.49 billion in 2025.” Perhaps even more importantly, many people rely on their mobile devices to visit websites and use apps.

More than 50% of all global web traffic has come from mobile devices since 2017. With so much traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s not surprising that businesses are utilizing mobile marketing, as it is vital in reaching a wider audience. The percentage of people that own smartphones (85%), cell phones (97% when you include smartphone owners), and tablets (53%) dwarfs the percentage of people that own laptops and desktop computers (77% combined).

Additionally, between 15% and 20% of U.S. adults depend on smartphones to access the internet. They own smartphones, but they don't have home broadband services. That means that some people don't even have the option to browse websites with laptop or desktop computers. Without mobile marketing, you miss the opportunity to reach at least 15% of U.S. consumers.

Benefits of Mobile Marketing

The potential of mobile marketing goes beyond reaching smartphone-dependent consumers. Going mobile means that you must start using digital marketing strategies. That unlocks a wide range of opportunities for your business.

Some benefits of digital, mobile-focused marketing include:

• Answering customer questions faster.

• Accepting orders 24 hours a day.

• Hiring fewer customer service reps (AI-based chatbots can do a lot of the work without human intervention).

• Saving business costs (fewer employees means paying fewer people).

• Reaching a global audience and increasing scalability.

•   Fostering long-term relationships with customers.

• Personalized conversations that address customer concerns and lead people through the buying process.

• Taking advantage of omnichannel marketing that meets current and potential customers where they hang out, such as social media platforms or mobile games.

3 Types of Mobile Marketing Strategies

All of this might sound great, but you can't expect mobile marketing to do all the work for you. You need to know about the popular and most impactful mobile marketing strategies so you can choose the right ones specifically for your business that will reach and motivate your target audience and better your customer experience (CX). So what are some main mobile marketing strategies that work well and that your business should consider?

1. Chatbots

Different types of chatbots can serve unique functions within your mobile marketing strategy. The most basic kind of chatbot provides basic customer services by answering common or repetitive questions, supporting customers beyond business hours, and helping consumers complete purchases.

AI-driven chatbots are considerably more sophisticated. For example, Clickatell's chatbot solution can:

• Activate accounts and confirm a customer's authenticity.

• Update personal details.

• Send mobile payments links within the chatbot and get businesses paid.

• Engage consumers that interact with promotional campaigns.

• Lead customers through a series of questions and answers to reach the desired outcome.

•   Converse with customers in authentic ways that feel human instead of robotic.

Chatbots can't handle everything, of course. Some situations still require a person to step in and help. Clickatell’s chatbot solution can actually recognize these more complex situations and automatically transfer customers to live agents through their call center integration solution. It's a seamless transition that most consumers don't know even notice. The two solutions used together complement one another and provide the customer with superior CX, support, and service.

2. SMS Text Messaging

People prefer texts to emails and calls. When you really want to reach a consumer, or more consumers, choose SMS text messaging. It is proven that you would get higher open and response rates and, just as importantly, you won't annoy your customers with phone calls and long hold times. SMS messaging takes away the hassle when it comes to customer service, allowing for a more direct, simple, and convenient way of marketing to and connecting with your audience.

Clickatell can help your business use one-way and two-way SMS messaging to provide personalized and meaningful communications. If you need to send a simple message that lets subscribers know about a new product or upcoming sale, it makes sense to send a one-way text. But to take customer experience to the next level, starting a conversation with two-way SMS messaging provides you with a competitive advantage. Implementing an SMS API into your marketing strategy allows you to efficiently scale your business, send and receive real-time, secure messages from customers anywhere in the world, and boost brand loyalty and engagement.

3. In-App Messaging

Nowadays, it’s a relatively simple matter to add messaging to your app. Customers who already have your app installed on their mobile devices should have the option to communicate with you and purchase products from within the app. That way, you can grow your branding and give customers the security they need to complete purchases without concern. The convenience of in-app messaging is a huge benefit for both consumers and businesses, as it acts as an all-in-one communication and service tool.

How to Create an Effective Mobile Marketing Strategy

Creating an effective mobile marketing strategy that funnels multiple conversations to one platform takes some time. You might need to do some A/B testing to find the proper responses to questions and monitor feedback to see how well your campaigns work. Your first attempt won't give you perfect results, but every small step invested a mobile marketing strategy and elevated customer experience takes your business closer to success.

Clickatell Can Help!

The digital marketing tools you choose will play a critical role in every campaign's results. Set yourself up for success by reaching out to Clickatell. A representative will help you compare your digital strategy options so you can choose chatbots, in-app messaging, SMS text messaging, and other technologies that work best for your business and industry. Get started today!