It is inspiring to see change happen at the pace and scale that we are currently experiencing. Both businesses and consumers are changing long standing habits and adopting new technologies, tools and behaviours. But it is perhaps the transformational nature of the mobile that warrants the most attention.
If we explore the numbers we start to understand how we are becoming mobile:
- 1.08 billion smartphones [infographic]
- 1 in every 7 minutes of media is now consumed on the mobile [excellent Smartphone Report by AOL (pdf)]
- Over 250M people access Facebook via their mobile and lots more amazing facts
- Great Video explaining the rise of the Smartphone
The Lagging Business World
The unstoppable and powerful adoption of mobile by consumers is not directly reflected though in how businesses are using mobile. Less than 2% of businesses have a mobile website and it is estimated that only 16% have a mobile strategy in place. Astounding that out of over 250 retailers we surveyed in the UK less than 2% had a mobile friendly website. A further sudy in the leisure sector which covered over 150 businesses found that less than 5% had a mobile site.
Who Should be Looking At Mobile
Let's imagine that you are between the ages of 18 - 25 and interested in getting a take away. Chances are you will not fire up your laptop or PC but just simply use your Smartphone. However, if you get a mobile website where you can't easily see the menu you will click away and go to a competitors. Clearly the benefit of local and mobile searches is obvious and for takeaways and restaurants alike.
In the UK we have the forthcoming Olympics next year and whilst this may seem ages away now is the time for hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions to focus their efforts on mobile. By learning now they will be in a position to fully integrate and optimise their marketing by 2012. Something to ponder though is that many of these places have got their basic online marketing socially integrated yet at a time when people will be buying tickets and planning their trip.
Some retailers though are leading the way:
The Wave of Change to Come
Perhaps it is the inevitable influence of mobile payments that will give the necessary push that will move businesses forward. The reality of mobile payments has been a strategy of the banks and subsequently has had huge investment and support resulting in the first mobile payments service.
Near Field Communication (NFC) will change not only how people make payments but also provide innovative approaches to marketing and to get an insight into this we can look at Japan.
What businesses need to do
Many businesses need to on-board a strategy as to how they are going to harness the mobile and integrate into their marketing strategy. The early adopters and learners will gain advantage over those that lag behind. Technology is becoming easier to deploy and knit together but establishing an understanding of how to design for your customer is the critical factor. Users are looking for seamless and secure touch points and ways to be involved with a business.
Undoubtedly two key focus areas for business need to be making building their capabilities using social media and mobile. At TribalCafe are goal is to help businesses cut through the clutter and capitalise on the technologies that can deliver smart solutions that help them grow.
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