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February 20, 2012
Digital
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 People are hooked on mobile communication. There's a much-quoted statistic that people on average take 26 hours to notify the police if their wallet goes missing, but just 68 minutes to report the loss of a mobile phone. As a result, mobile is a gift to business-to-business (B2B) companies looking for new ways to strengthen existing relationships and build new links with busy and often overworked customers. Above all, mobile is personal, and that makes it ideal for permission-based marketing.
Here are some suggestions on how to get your B2B mobile marketing strategy up and running. You may also wish to download a white paper "B2B Marketing in a Mobile World" by Manifesto.
If you don't own a smartphone or tablet, get one now
That's the first step in learning how to think in mobile terms. Sign up for services from your suppliers, customers and especially and rivals (if they let you). Go to the Android and iApps stores and see what's available. Have fun with B2C apps too – you never know how they might inspire you to create exciting apps for your customers.
Start tracking mobile usage today
You may not be ready to go mobile yet, but it's still worth asking your IT staff to start monitoring how many visits you are already getting to your website from people using mobile devices. Information such as when they visit and with what handset or tablet will also prove useful when you are trying to create your mobile strategy. If your current analytic tools cannot do that, then try Google Analytics. It's free.
Create a mobile version of your website
Many of your customers are already using smartphones and tablets to access the web. Viewing a traditional website on a small screen is like looking at it through a keyhole.
Start with the most popular parts of your website, or with the most popular downloads, and make them mobile friendly.
Use grader.com to find out how mobile-friendly your website is already; ipadpeek.com will give you an idea of what it looks like on an iPad and Google's www.howtogomo.com also gives you a simulation on a variety of devices.
There is software that will take your existing web offering and reversion it automatically. But that's not an ideal solution. It's much better get a professional designer to start from scratch. The good news is that you don't necessarily need to buy a new domain with the .mobi suffix. Your existing web address with m. in front of it should suffice.
Depending on how technical you are, you might want to read World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)'s standards for best practice for mobile at www.w3.org/TR/mwabp/. You can test your new website to see how it meets standards at validator.w3.org/mobile/
Think mobile when creating fresh content
At first you're going to have to reversion existing content. But make sure your staff know that all future material must be designed with mobile in mind.
Keep your mobile content simple so that it is adaptable and can be reworked for new technologies without a lot of effort. (Short sentences and short words work best on small screens. Try “use” instead of “utilize”, “start” rather than “initiate”, for example)
Don't forget application forms and search engine optimisation. Filling in fields on a smartphone takes much more effort than on a desktop PC with a big screen and proper keyboard. So make sure you only ask for information that is vital.
Search engine optimisation is also subtly different for mobile. For example, engineers in the field may be looking for very specific information to solve a problem there and then. When they're back in the office, their search behaviour could be very different. Searchers on mobile devices will also rely more on predictive text. So make sure your mobile site and your traditional site SEO take that into consideration.
Think about audio. People use their smartphones to listen to music and podcasts. Why not produce audio versions of some of your thought leadership material too?
Stay focused on your key marketing messages
Producing material for mobile can be fun as you discover and think of new ways to tell your marketing story to customers. But it is not an end in itself.
A cool app may excite journalists and generate publicity for you in trade magazines and websites, while leaving customers unimpressed. Obviously the media coverage is welcome, but that is unlikely to generate worthwhile financial returns.
The point of mobile is to make life easier for your customers and make sure they keep coming back for more. As with much of marketing, it's all about the brand.
For more on mobile marketing, read A beginner's guide to mobile marketing |
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