Common Mobile Marketing Mistakes
1. Sharing links to non-mobile friendly content
Like a video that their phone can’t download or the desktop version of your website, which takes too long to load and far too much scrolling to use on their device.
2. Non mobile-friendly landing pages
When you send a text message with an offer for someone to visit your site, make sure the web page (landing page) you’re sending them to works well for someone on a phone.
3. Using QR Codes to link people to the home page of your website
A QR code is that barcode-like symbol that someone can scan with their smartphone to link them to a web page. If you are sending a text message, you know it's going to someone's phone so set up a specific landing page for the QR code that is something different than a link to your website. Don't use a QR code to direct people back to your home page or put a QR code in an email. You can't scan a barcode while using email. When someone goes to the trouble to scan a QR code they expect something special and better than a typical website home page.
4. High unsubscribe rates for text messages
If someone gives you permission to contact them on their mobile/smartphone, then you'd better treat that as very special access. It's very, very easy for them to unsubscribe from your text messages. What are you doing to tailor your text messages to individual customers and/or clusters (segments) of customers so they will be most relevant to the individual? To use mobile marketing most effectively, you'll want to think about how not to blast the same message and offer to everyone and instead tailor your offers and messages to be more relevant.
5. Low subscribe rates for permission to send text messages
If you want customers to opt-in to give you permission to contact them on their phone, you need to reassure them they won't get over-communicated with (aka spammed) and that they will get something of real value to them like special discounts and offers only available to people who opt in for text messages and better yet, messages and offers that will be most relevant to them based on what they have purchased in the past.
6. Not optimizing your desktop website For mobile users
The mobile version of your website should be more than just a stripped down version of your site on a desktop computer. A mobile website should be created for a customer coming with a different intent. People visiting your website from their mobile phone aren't browsing. They're looking for specific information. Your website analytics (Google Analytics) can help you quickly learn what your mobile users are clicking on and not clicking on. Use those insights to tailor the mobile customer's experience. Test new ideas of what you think they may want and adjust quickly based on customer behavior.
More Mobile Marketing Techniques
Mobile Advertising
If you're interested in learning about advertising on mobile phones...
- Mobile Cell Phone Advertising that explains how that works, what it costs and who can help you develop ads for this. You must have someone's permission to present an ad on their cell phone so you'll want to understand the legal requirements and obstacles in using this type of advertising.
- Coupons on Cell Phones A mobile marketing technique is to send text messages and promo ads to people on their cell phone. This may be an effective marketing technique to attract new customers and get repeat business from your existing customers. Learn about how to do this and share your experiences to help others.
- Foursquare is one well-known mobile marketing service. Read the MarketingZone article on this service to understand how it works, along with the pros, cons and cautions of participating as a merchant.
- There are about 400 companies that offer Groupon-like services for different local markets, types of customers and for b2b. This how-to article explains what you need to know about Deal-a-Day Coupon Sites
- Top Mobile Marketing Suppliers We've done the research to identify reputable top suppliers, tools and services for creating cell phone apps, mobile websites, QR (quick response) codes, mobile payments, testing mobile sites to make sure they work on all the different mobile devices. Also learn about some cool tools to attract people to your store, restaurant, event or office.
- Mobile Marketing Trends
- Smartphone Apps Learn how to create an app to attract people using their phones.
- QR Codes How-to Guide for Small Business
The ClippingZone
The best marketing articles, blog posts and reports from around the web
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Your Mobile Site May Be A Lot Less Mobile Than You Think - great post by Brian Klias on Search Engine Land.
- "Any smartphone shopper who’s tried to take advantage of the mobile Web will nod incredulously with Google’s recent survey that found 79% of marketers still do not offer mobile-ready content. For consumers, that’s a real letdown. But marketer antipathy towards mobile shoppers isn’t the only reason the mobile Web sucks. The fact is, most of the mobile site content offered by the other 21% also lacks the “smarts” to auto-connect with smartphone shoppers. How prevalent is this problem? Worse than you might think."
- Two Thirds of Moms Shop with Their Smartphone according to this article on Mashable
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eMarketer article Mobile Activities Rival PC for SmartPhone Users
- People are using their Smartphone (iPhone and other web-enabled mobile phones) like they use their PC to surf the web and to watch videos. Is your website set up for mobile phones? It needs to be.
- Learn about Google's ZMOT, Zero Moment of Truth on how the buying process is changing and the importance of mobile phones.
- Kleiner Perkins (Venture Capital firm) Partner Mary Meeker's Analysis of Internet and Mobile Marketing - good article summarizing the relevant findings for mobile in TechCrunch - also has a link to her presentation