Mobile Payments Continue to Rise

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Having a mobile website, or running an SMS marketing campaign, or just generally running a mobile marketing campaign at all allows you to communicate and build relationships with your fans and customers. One of the biggest benefits of conducting these relationships though mobile devices is the fact that mobile makes payments for the end user much easier and much more convenient. With today’s advanced technology, customers do not need to physically show up in your store or place of business to make a payment anymore. They can simply access your mobile website or mobile app and simply pay using their mobile device. Customers LOVE mobile payments because they are easy and require little to no work on their part. The great news is that not only is this becoming a trend, but it is also increasing each and every year and shows no signs of slowing down in the future.

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According to a recent report by Juniper Research, global mobile payments will reach close to $507 BILLION this year. This equates to a 40% increase year over year. The report also highlighted the fact that there is a huge expectation for growth and expansion relating to the purchasing of tactile goods through mobile devices.

So we know people are increasing the rate in which they are paying for goods through their mobile devices, but which mobile devices are they using? Interestingly enough, smartphones made up about 20% of all online traffic compared to the 12% of online traffic generated by tablets, however, tablets accounted for 12% of online SALES compared to only 6% from smartphones. It is also interesting to note that consumers have indicated that they like to browse more often on their smartphones than tablets, but they are still 4 times more likely to make a purchase on a tablet compared to a smartphone. This could be due to the fact that it is easier to fill out payment forms on the larger screen of tablets, but it has also been a known fact that people are more likely to spend their money inside of their homes rather than on the go. Yet they are still migrating from their PCs to tablets when it comes to making purchases.

So what should you, as a mobile marketer, take from this? Well if you don’t have a mobile website, or at least a mobile app for your customers and fans to access your business via a mobile device on, you will want to think about doing that as soon as possible. Your competition is already optimized for mobile, if you aren’t already you WILL inevitably fail as a business. You also want to make sure, once you DO have a website or app for mobile devices, that it is responsive. You want people to be able to access your business on a smartphone or a tablet and get the same great, convenient experience. If one or the other is lacking as far as functionality and ease of use, you WILL lose out on business, especially to other companies who DO have responsive websites that perform equally well across all devices.

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There is a HUGE untapped market out there for your business. Think about it; there is going to be $507 BILLION dollars sent through mobile devices this year. If your customers and fans can’t find your business on their mobile devices, you are missing out on ALL of that money. Don’t wait! Mobile marketing is no longer just a trend or a fad. It has become a way of life for a majority of people around the world. Take advantage of this!

 

In Car Mobile Search Optimization Is Now A Reality!

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We all have our dream car picked out, for me I’d choose the Audi R8. It’s hip, it’s stylish and really cute (from a girl’s perspective). When it comes to cars though, I’ll admit I dont know much about them. As long as they go fast and look “cute,” I’m in. This is different though, it’s not about what’s on the outside anymore, it’s about what’s on the inside. What’s so fascinating about today’s world and all the technology we have going on is that car’s such as the Toyota Camry are now coming equipped with the BING in car mobile search application. Yes, that BING.

Mobile search has officially reached an all new level.

Imagine being stopped at a red light, no car’s behind you and then BAM! all of a sudden there’s a line behind you and it scared you a little bit. This is Bing! It’s officially snuck up behind us, excpet we’re not scared, we’re ecstatic, elated, intoxicated, blissfuly happy.

Most Toyota cars already come equipped with “Entune” which is a form of in-car technology which keeps you connected and updated with the most popular apps. Apps, such as bing, iheartradio, pandora and opentable to name a few. The app also keeps you updated on fuel prices, movie tickets, sports, traffic and weather. All of these services are delivered through smartphone or bluetooth services.

-The new search application requires connection to a smartphone, and the data will likely be included in the mobile segment.

-The app is not browser based, meaning the SERP is built-in.

-Search queries seem to be only local search, as of right now.

The fact that this technology will become very popular if results are positive and people enjoy it. As I stated earlier this takes mobile search to a new level, if this catches on it would raise and see that level (for all my poker fans) go bye-bye-bye.

So what is so great about this? (I assume you are asking yourself.) How would it make you feel if I told you, gone are the day’s of traveling all across the county to find a certain store. Gone are the day’s of having to search and search and search to find a good place to take a hot date.

Bing is here to help. 

No longer do you have to make a suggestion and then your date makes a suggestion and you go back and forth trying to make a decision while working a phone and driving. This makes the roads safer for others around you and you (personally) go from having a stressful date to a cohesive decision making date.

Now, I’m a St. Louis girl born and raised. We love our Anheuser-Busch, Cardinals Baseball and Toasted Ravioli. Let’s say you pick your date up and you ask her where she wants to go for dinner. After she had a long hard day at the office she say’s “I want to go somewhere where I can have an ice cold bud light, watch the birds on tv and enjoy a nice plate of ravioli.” You say okay and turn to your bing application.

Once in the application, you select restaurants, then a list will appear on the screen, American, Italian, Japanese, etc. (Too bad they don’t have a place for hole-in-the-wall sports bar, those are the best.) You select American, then another list pops up. This list will list all of the restaurant’s that fall under the “American Cuisine” category. You search for a place that sounds interesting like Patrick’s at Westport Plaza. Over 60 TV’s throughout the establishment, with the Cardinals game guaranteed to be on at least half of them. You select Patricks and viola, your map kicks into gear and guides you in the right direction on how to get there.

Next thing you know, you’re enjoying your date and the best team in baseball has forced a game seven with a walk-off in extra innings by David Freese.

Believe it or not, in-car mobile search may just be the new break through for the modern world. Bing has made a wise decision, car’s are purchased every day here and they chose the most popular car in America at the moment to market their new technology with. They themselves are also “capturing hearts of more people every month.”

Mobile Marketing Factors

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A recent study was conducted on the types of behavior to expect from mobile users and how they are using their mobile devices. The 2012 Online User Behavior and Engagement Study, conducted by The Search Agency and Harris Interactive, shows that there are noticeable differences in the behavior of users by age groups as well how they are using mobile devices. There were also other dynamics such as disposable income and children which were found to influence consumer mobile device behavior.

Mike Solomon, Vice President of Marketing Strategy at The Search Agency, stated, “It’s no doubt that a plethora of smartphones and tablets are increasingly being used by consumers, so mobile marketers and advertisers need to think beyond the device when they’re providing content to the consumer.” Solomon continued, “The time of day, the device, their location, their age, and whether they’re single or married, all must be taken into account when serving content.”

Solomon also went on to point out that, “Marketers can now also map consumer intent, which is driven by a combination of device type, time of day and day of week; for example, a home buyer’s behavior is different on a smartphone during the weekday when they are researching than on the weekends when they are ‘in market.'”

“The number of resources and devices on which consumers perform research, communicate and shop is rapidly growing and mobile marketers need to understand each of these factors when creating their campaigns.”

One surprising fact drawn from the survey was that baby-boomers are actually a bit more tech savvy than people who are slightly younger than them because of their children pressuring them to use today’s new technology. The study also suggests that time of day and the closeness of mobile devices has an effect on when and how end users use these devices to shop, search, or socialize. Using this information, researchers are suggesting that advertisers and marketers need to focus on matching content with the time of day and specific devices to better reach end users.

Other significant findings were that 49% of single people own a smart phone, while only 43% of married couples own one. However, 45% of married couples own a tablet compared to 36% of single users who own a tablet. So it is apparent that married couples are more likely to be using a tablet while single people are more likely to be using a smart phone.

The statistics also point to consumers using their computers and mobile devices more to research products and services they see on television. Age was the most noteworthy aspect influencing the type of product or service they eventually chose.

Diving further into the numbers, it was found that 78% of all people go to their computers for information on products and services while 66% of tablet owners stick to their tablets. However, it is important to note that people ages 18-34 used their tablets 71% of the time to research while people ages 35-44 used their tablets 81% of the time. But remember, even though more married couples own tablets than single users, single people are more likely to use their tablets to research products and services (76%) than married couples (63%).

It is pretty clear that people are now turning to their mobile devices, regardless if there’s a computer close by or not, to get their information. Telling numbers are 59% of ALL people are using their smart phones when a computer is close by, while that number jumps up to 74% when only figuring in people ages 18-34.

Finally, one of the last major things found by the study is that younger people are much more likely to shop at work (53%) than their older counterparts (42%) who are 55 or older. It is also clear that younger people browse social networks at work more (52% of 18-34 year olds) than older people (41% of 35-44 year olds, and 30% of those 55 and older). So younger people are much more likely to multi-task at work than the older generation.

Mr. Solomon concluded, “This study is helping us learn a bit more on how usage on desktops to mobile is evolving, and it all depends on who you are, if you’re married, how old you are, or where you’re located.” Using these numbers, you should be able to get a glimpse of how your consumers are getting the information that they need, and how you can take advantage of these behaviors.