Mobile for B2B
Thanks to the consistent belief that mobile marketing is more suited to the B2C market, the B2B sector has been somewhat slow to adapt and is often known for sticking to more traditional marketing tools. At 4Ps Marketing we believe that a successful digital strategy is driven by more than just technology, but no B2B business can afford to ignore the huge growth in mobile usage. Mobile phones are set to overtake PCs as the most common way to access the internet in 2013, so devising a comprehensive mobile strategy for 2013 is vital.
The Smartphone is now a business staple and the tablet market has exploded in the past 2 years, so it is no wonder that 70% of CFOs under the age of 40 now consider mobile as their primary email tool (Econsultancy, 2012). A recent study into the online behaviour of IT buyers for large companies revealed that more than half accessed work-related content on their mobiles outside of work hours, making it an important tool for research (Cisco, 2012). The UK has the highest rate of mobile web use in the world and those B2B companies without mobile sites and apps risk missing out on this audience.
It is also necessary to consider your B2B mobile strategy in terms of paid advertising. 28% of paid search ads are clicked on through mobile devices and, this is only set to rise. It is true that at present, only 4% of current internet browsing is done on mobile devices but this expected to dramatically increase over the next 4 years. By the end of 2016, mobile devices will account for more than a quarter of all internet browsing (Cisco, 2012).
One of the biggest differences between desktop and mobile is space. “Content is king”; every marketer is familiar with this particular maxim and while it still holds true for B2B mobile web, a slimmed down version is necessary.
Here at 4Ps Marketing, we have several business clients who have benefitted from developing mobile websites, responsive designs and apps. If you’d like to speak to 4Ps Marketing about developing your mobile marketing strategy for 2013, please contact us on [email protected] or tweet us @4PsMarketing.
Good points Phoebe
I think e-mail wise I feel that mobile adoption was perhaps 3-5 years ago with the rise of Blackberry, what’s interesting is as other Smartphones have caught up businesses are looking for more functionality.
Personally, I am a big believer that strategy, integration and responsive user-centric design is the way forwards, not only in the mobile space but huge SmartTV market emerging.
As you say Content is King and businesses need to start looking at how (device) and what content their users are interacting with.