2013 The Year of Mobile Marketing

We have crossed a threshold that will change how businesses do business and get customers from here on out -- and more companies don't even realize it! Here are facts that will forever change marketing:

• As of July 2012 Google acknowledged that so many people were searching from mobile devices that it started tracking their metrics separately from desktop search, as well as give their advertisers the ability to do marketing campaigns specifically to the mobile user.
  
• As of 1/10/2013 the tipping point occurred. It is official.  51% of all Internet-based searches came from a Mobile Device. And mobile computing is growing at breakneck speed.
  
• As of  2/15/2013, 62% of online searches for finding a local restaurant came from a mobile device.
  
• By the end of 2013 the experts are predicting that 95% of ALL internet searches and uses will come from mobile devices. But get this, to date, every single prediction they have made regarding the timing of mobile marketing has been wrong -- because it has been too slow and too conservative.

Suffice it to say that your customers are more than merely "online", they are "mobile". Are you? Is your business optimized to be visible and friendly to your mobile customers?

Mobile Search: The Age of "Hyper Local Search" has not only officially arrived, it is in full swing.

Let me explain: we don't just want to know of a service in our general city; we want to know what is right around us in the specific neighborhood we are currently in.

Marketing for products and services has evolved from:

• Yellowpages and Newspapers - long dead along with rotary phones, Rolodex cards, hand-cranked card door windows and the Dewey decimal system.
• Online Search and Online Yellowpages  -- dynamically finding what you need on the fly from Google, Yahoo and Bing/MSN.
• Local Search - 2010 (that means that often times Google knows your location, the city you are in, and factors that into the search results) The closer the company is to your search location the more relevant it is likely to be for your needs, and the higher up it ranks in visibility.
• Hyper Local Search - 2012  -- Google increased the weight given to proximity between the searcher and the service. More than ever, mobile search has given rise to local search, that is, finding the solutions most convenient and near me to my purchasing needs.

The Mobile Revolution

Given that all the information you need to make buying decisions is now fast and conveniently right in the palm of your hand, it is no wonder that mobile search dominates the way the vast majority of your customers will find and do business with you.

Face it, finding your products and services through mobile devices is now easier, accessible and more convenient than a traditional Internet search on your desktop computer. There's no reason or need for consumers to reach farther than their own pocket to (a) find products or (b) locate services or (c) check reviews on local business services to inform their purchases.

This extends to every need - the lowest gasoline price near you, the local engagement ring store, finding a roofing company, how to find your real estate agent and more... well everything, actually!

What Made this Possible? Bandwidth.

Just as higher bandwidth (fast Internet access for home and office at affordable prices) made the online video revolution of 2010 possible (rocketing YouTube the #2 search engine on the planet because larger video files no longer are slow to download and view) so likewise the recent fast speeds for mobile devices of 4G and 4Gs makes your mobile device a very quick and responsive tool to get information about the products and services you are already looking for.

With these faster 4G Smartphones and Tablets, being affordable enough and widespread enough, everyone from business executives to housewives use them to search for their needs. Mobile devices are ubiquitous and mobile search is everywhere.

Mobile means Action

When you are merely researching information, for academic needs or brushing up on your hobby, desktop search still dominates. You are not wanting to "do" anything, just browse.

But when you are ready to take actual action and go and purchase goods or services, mobile rules. In fact, a whopping 90% of people who use their mobile device to look for a product or service make their purchase in less than 24 hours! (source: Google)

Nothing else can say that and not even word of mouth begins to come close to the power of mobile-optimized marketing! Mobile equals results.

After all, these days, mobile devices and the widespread embrace of iPads, Kindles, and the iPad Mini mean that (unless you need hardcore computing as an engineer or programming nerd) all your activities online are now handled with ease through your mobile device:

• Communicating via Emails/Messages
• Searching for Products
• Watching Videos
• Getting your News
• Connecting with friends (Facebook, etc.)
  (source: PewInternet.org)

These are the very tasks for which mobile devices excel. There's no reason to use anything else! So it is no mystery that Mobile marketing is now king – given that 97% of what people use the Internet for is conveniently done with the device already right in their hands. Mobile devices are indeed a handy and compellingly friendly fit for our lives that changes how we access information and who we end up doing business with.

And here's the Kicker!

Google, forced to adapt to the massive surge of traffic from mobile devices, realized that all these mobile users hated the awkwardness of tiny type, unfriendly menus and when trying to view the website of a company they were interested in doing business with. In contrast, when the information they were seeking was mobile-optimized 67% of them choose to contact that business.

Here is the kicker: Even once a prospect gets to your website, if the information is not easily assimilated in a mobile-friendly way, 3 of 5 customers will actually leave within a few seconds and go on their mobile device to contact the next company – your competitor.

And for the good news: realizing that mobile users want a mobile-friendly experience, Google will reward your company with better visibility in their organic search engine results. That's right - simply by having a mobile website, you increase your chances of being found by your prospects.

Because your customers are increasingly finding (or not finding) your business through mobile devices, your mobile presence is fast-becoming even more vital than your main website. Of course, both your website and your mobile website need to be strong and strategic when it comes to customer service and so forth, but when it comes to getting new customers, Mobile is now the undisputed champion!

Presently over half of your prospects are on mobile, and by the end of the year, virtually ever prospect will be either finding your mobile business presence or passing you by for

If you are not mobile-optimized and marketing your services on Mobile, not only have you already lost many customers and profits, you are setting your business up for extinction sooner than you know it!

The Opportunity Is Now

Mobile is the new King and it is only getting smarter, faster and more responsive to customers needs. The opportunity is now to beat your competition to the punch and embrace mobile marketing in a big way. Reality is that those who hesitate will struggle or see their business die, while those who do embrace mobile marketing will enjoy the lion's share of the profits from market dominance.

The good news is that Promise Productions is an integrated marketing company. We're already up to speed with Dallas mobile marketing. We partner with you to take your business where you want it to go. We can help your main website, your mobile website, your marketing strategy and your business development needs.

Written and © by Marcus Kaiser, President of Promise Productions Marketing Communications – a Dallas-Based marketing firm using smarter technology for higher profits nationwide. Call 877-858-0071 for more clients and profits.