A New Year Means New Options for your Mobile Marketing Program

Happy New Year! Forget getting back to business “as usual”, there is already a new trend on the very near horizon poised to advance the options for business to business, B2B marketing as we know it.

According to eMarketer.com, an obvious but long-awaited marketing direction is snowballing across the spectrum. Mobile commerce and business oriented applications for smart phones (e.g. iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.) are growing the potential of B2B mobile marketing for the next decade.Forbes Insights tells us that “Among C-suite executives surveyed in October 2010, 82% had a smartphone—far above smartphone penetration in the population as a whole, which eMarketer estimated at 19.4% this year. And for a majority of executives, their mobile device is considered their primary business communications tool.”

This isn’t to say that all executives in all age ranges are walking around with a smartphone, but those in the 30-49 age ranges are. This younger, more tech-savvy and increasingly mobile market is driving business Smartphone applications and mobile commerce to become the norm and not the anomaly.

Proceed with White-Hatted Caution

While B2B mobile has a lot of potential for would-be marketers, it’s important to remember the rules of engagement when beginning a mobile marketing plan. White-hat guidelines for mobile are similar to those of email marketing, so always be sure to obtain your contact information legally (don’t buy lists) and allow for an opt-in, if not double-opt-in option for your marketing messages. In other words, ask permission to send your contact list messages and allow for an opt-out in the mobile marketing message in case they change their mind at any time during your contact.

Remember Your Audience

B2B marketing needs to keep in mind the mentality and time constraints of its audience, especially within the mobile realm. Like any other marketing campaign, be sure to include information your audience wants to have, avoid straight-promo spots that are aimed at only promoting your services or business with no real benefit to the reader unless you are completely sure that it will resonate with those you target. Executives like those targeted in a mobile marketing B2B campaign tend to “live on their phones”, so be sure not to waste their time with marketing that does not apply to them.

In other words, while the potentials are huge for B2B mobile marketing and mobile commerce, be selective with your campaigns and target market segments to ensure the highest rates of return.