Mobile commerce and communications enabler Netsize has published its latest market report, Netsize Mobile Marketing Survey 2009: Can companies and brands rise to challenge and cash in on the mobile marketing opportunity?
Drawing on an online survey of 221 professionals and practitioners from Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific/Australia and Africa/Middle East, the report identifies the chief drivers and obstacles impacting mobile marketing growth. It also highlights the exciting business opportunities ahead for companies and brands that use the current economic climate to rethink marketing strategies and ramp up activities.
The report finds that mobile is part of the mix to attract and keep customers: 56% of respondents currently use mobile to acquire new customers. But that will change as respondents follow through on their plans to boost customer retention and loyalty through mobile marketing (64%), streamline transactions (37%) and enable commerce and sales using a mobile device(37%).
According to the report, messaging is essential. It notes that usage of MMS is poised for significant growth, with 22% of respondents planning to double deployment in the next six months. The use of SMS messaging is also on the rise, but will move from a one-way message to a two-way conversation.
Theres also a marked interest in more innovative formats. Respondents reported that the use of branded content will increase from 29% to 35%; the use of branded apps will rise from 23% to 35%; and the use of mobile coupons and QR codes will jump from 20% to 31%.
47% of respondents outsource mobile marketing projects to providers that can meet their requirements for a fully-managed marketing solution. Campaign execution services was the most sought-after skill (57%), followed by measurement, analytics and reporting (54%), technical services and integration (52%), and mobile campaign management (52%).
Finally, the report finds that the quality of opt-in campaign databases is a concern, with 32% of respondents expressing concern over the quality of the customer mobile phone numbers stored in their opt-in databases.
Market adoption of mobile marketing is accelerating, says Netsize Chairman and CEO, Stanislas Chesnais. The survey results and analysis show companies and brands recognize the business benefits associated with mobile marketing and are serious about integrating mobile in their strategies. Respondents told us they are increasing use of messaging to engage in conversations with consumers on their mobile phone, and stepping up efforts to harness other exciting formats and approaches such as WAP sites, mobile websites and branded content. This momentum can only grow as the economy picks up steam.
The report is available for free download from the Netsize website.