There is little question that 2012 is an important year for most retailers and manufacturers, as they must now include mobile at part of their marketing communications campaign. With the growth of mobile there is a ‘get on board or be left behind’ mentality that must be addressed.
Many companies have not kept up with the consumers who have embraced mobile devices for a growing array of activities. As Chantal Tode in Mobile Marketing & Advertising expressed, “Now companies need to catch up or be left behind. What they are being faced with is their own mastery of a wide array of new capabilities and issues including, but not limited to, compatibility, mcommerce, messaging, location-based services, tablet optimized experiences, being adept at integrating mobile with CRM programs and creating experiences for in-store, at home and onthe- go consumers.”
How many companies understand this? How many care?
The plight of the home furnishings industry is not whether it can design and produce excellent product that will meet the needs and budgets of today’s consumer but, as it always has been in the past, it has a hard time understanding how to sell the product without giving it away. To do that today, companies need to know where the customer is.
They are within their ‘Mobile Zone’. You have to learn how to penetrate it. Now both manufacturers and retailers must integrate mobile into their legacy and digital marketing plans. It is the only ‘pro-active’ weapon there is to reach those who would, should or could purchase your product. All of the others are passive.
Passive marketing communications will not win in the 21st Century.
Mobile needs to be integrated in whatever you are doing today. This means that mobile must be integrated into search marketing, search engine optimization and how it creates the digital strategy for clients.
Rachel Pasqua noted, “This is not a trend but a fundamental shift in how we consume media. There is a mobile component to everything your audience does and you need to plan accordingly.” We are at the beginning of the new year. Now is the time to put mobile to work for you.
Think MOBILEFirst.
Lance Hanish is Chairman/CEO and Chief of Imagination at Sophis1234 Data.Digital.Direct. He can be reached at Lance@Sophis1234.com; facebook:
Sophis1234; twitter: @Sophis1234; linkedin: Lance Hanish; YouTube: LBC Advertising
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