Mobile marketing is better suited for customer engagement than acquisition
Published October 26, 2010
With more than 55 million Americans owning smartphones, one-third of businesses have adopted mobile strategies into their overall digital marketing efforts, a new report from Forrester Research indicates.
While a number of brands are using the channel to reach on-the-go consumers, many are still experimenting with mobile marketing. Nearly half of respondents (45 percent) have just begun their mobile outreach, while 12 percent currently don't have a plan in place that leverages the platform.
Companies are also experimenting with how to best use mobile marketing. While it has traditionally been thought that the platform would be useful for customer acquisition, many businesses are leveraging it to boost customer loyalty and brand engagement.
"I do believe that mobile is opening up plenty of new opportunities beyond direct revenues," said Forrester Research senior analyst Thomas Husson. "I was surprised to see the lack of integration of mobile into companies' broader corporate strategies."
Recent reports from comScore show that consumers are using their phones for a growing number of mobile activities. As of August, web browsing and application use were up significantly from earlier this year.