inside mobile
text local Business mobile messaging
Research The Great British Mobile Marketing Report In association with
ŠTextlocal 2012
Foreword by Alastair Shortland Mobile continues to grow at a rapid pace and marketers are continually implementing mobile messaging, mobile web, QR codes, mobile advertising and applications into their marketing efforts to reach consumers on the move. Narrowcast channels such as mobile are out-gunning email and other direct response media due to targeting accuracy, cost efficiencies but it is the incredible open rates and response rates of mobile messaging that wins every time. However, over the past few years, with the continual rise of smartphone usage, and more people accessing information online via their phones, mobile has become a major player in the overall marketing mix, and nowadays the majority of campaigns out there have a mobile element to them. There are many ways mobile can be used for businesses to boost profits, communicate with customers and run efficient operations, but this year mobile messaging has come out on top. Ofcom have even stated that texting has overtaken talking in the UK, but are businesses underestimating how mobile can support, compliment and boost their marketing strategy? One thing is clear its here to stay. Alastair Shortland, Textlocal CEO and Founder
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Contents Page 3……………………………A bit about us Page 4&5……………………….About the report Page 6……………………………Educate me Page 7&8……………………….The power of text Page 9……………………………Digital marketing rules Page 10………………………….Time to embrace mobile messaging Page 11………………………....Communications. Its confirmed Page 12………………………...Mobile marketing on the rise Page 13………………………….SMS Vs. Email Page 14………………………….SMS & mobile web trump apps Page 15……………………......Most used mobile marketing services Page 16………………………....The mobile marketing budget Page 17………………………….The future
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
A bit about us… We are Textlocal. We provide online mobile marketing and communication services for businesses. We enable UK businesses from small SME’s to multi-national companies, to instantly communicate on mass with customers, members or staff through the medium of the mobile phone. Founded in 2006, Textlocal’s goal has always been to bring text message marketing to the UK business market and unlike its competitors, enable any size of business to do this with costs starting from as little as 2.4p. The Textlocal ethos is about providing businesses with a Do-It-Yourself automated system, putting the power in their hands. The result is ‘Messenger’ an award winning online messaging platform. The user can craft mobile marketing campaigns, develop messages, and pay online in a matter of minutes. Messenger offers a variety of easy to use services enabling clients to easily communicate with customers in just a few clicks. Today, we work with over 96,000 businesses from all sectors and of all sizes, from councils and universities, to big clients like Google, Marie Curie, English National Opera, Shell, Pizza Hut and Greenpeace. Through Messenger we now send millions of text messages every month, making other businesses more profitable through mobile marketing and communications.
3
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
About the report… in association with…
With the support of Mobile Marketing Magazine, we developed the questions in this survey to obtain information about the business sector and its approach to mobile marketing, and was derived to meet the following key objectives.
Survey Objectives •
Consultative questions to explore attitudinal and budgetary factors
•
Understand general marketing channels used and where mobile marketing fits within the marketing mix
•
Explore business’s current and future use of
mobile
marketing by type of activity (promotional, customer service etc.) •
Explore mobile service adoption and the propensity to purchase new services (apps, location based, rich content etc.)
•
Understand their views on the success or otherwise of mobile marketing activity
•
Explore buying behaviour in terms of selecting mobile marketing providers
•
Gather information on the company and decision making process 4
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
About the report‌ in association with‌
This report is based on a survey of 600 client-side respondents. We used our own research to uncover the changing needs and uses of mobile marketing for SME’s across various business sectors and regions. We canvassed opinion at a granular level to provide you with knowledge and insight, backed up by statistics and cutting edge thinking. This report will prove invaluable to business professionals, marketers and anybody making a decision on whether business mobile messaging is for them. It has been designed to be practical and thought provoking, and to help you drive your mobile strategy forward, based on fact and real opinion. It focusses on needs, preferences, as well as current and future usage of
mobile marketing
amongst
UK
small
to
medium
enterprises. Interestingly, the reports uncovers that narrowcast channels such as mobile marketing are out-gunning email and other direct response media due to targeting accuracy and cost efficiencies, but businesses are still unaware of the incredible open rates and response rates of mobile messaging. From this research we know that there needs to be more education for businesses to dispel any misconceptions and unveil the true power of mobile.
5
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Educate me Q1. How would you rate the understanding of the potential uses and benefits of mobile marketing to your business?
Even though 40.6% of respondents understand the use of the mobile marketing, 59% still aren’t using it. We know that most businesses will be aware of mobile messaging, but the gap in the level of understanding indicates that there needs to be a focus from suppliers to educate businesses about its full potential.
6
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Understanding the power of text Q2. Are you aware that over 97.5% of all text messages are read within five seconds of being received? Source: Ofcom
The open rate for mobile messaging is higher than any other marketing channel. The DMA compared it to email stating that only 20% of marketing emails are opened and read. Ofcom even stated that consumers are choosing text over calling these days, so it becomes obvious that businesses need to communicate with customers in this way, to give them what they want and boost ROI. The true power of mobile messaging is the fact that 97.5% of all recipients will read what’s been sent. Only 24.4% of businesses were aware of the high readership rate, meaning many could be missing out. 7
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Understanding the power of text Q3. Did you know that the average SMS response rate typically ranges from 15% to 30%, compared to 5% for email and 2.61% for direct mail?
The fact that 85.71% of businesses don’t know the high response Source: Mobile Data Association 2011
rates of SMS, suggests again that suppliers need to educate the masses of its clear advantage over other marketing channels.
8
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Digital marketing rules Q4. Which marketing channels are more and less important to your company? 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
67.21% of businesses feel that mobile and internet marketing are the most important channels in the mix, with 53% ranking mobile as their number one. Email and social media follow closely with around 48% feeling its more important than direct mail, TV, billboards, telesales and promotional flyers, showing a clear shift to digital marketing.
9
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Time to embrace mobile messaging Q5. How frequently do you use mobile messaging?
Too many businesses sitting on the fence
Only 25.7% admit to never using mobile marketing, with 42% stating that they use it occasionally. The frequent users should be a larger group here, and this maybe again, due to negative perceptions or a lack of knowledge as to the benefits and uses of mobile messaging.
10
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Communications. Its confirmed Q6. What do you use mobile marketing for at present?
60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
We can see that the most common uses of mobile marketing for businesses is for sending confirmations, reminders or alerts and also for sales promotions. Business tend to use mobile marketing less frequently for lead generation, m-commerce and delivering rich media. The rich media aspect is interesting, as we feel many businesses don’t realise that you can send shortened links to mobile websites, brochures and videos in a simple text message, therefore extending the 140 character limitation associated with a plain text mobile message. 11
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Mobile marketing on the rise Q7. Do you see your focus on mobile marketing increasing in the next 12 months?
69.8% state they see their frequency of mobile marketing activity increasing in the next 12 months, while 10.3% say they would start using it for the first time. This shows a definite trends towards businesses realising its importance in their marketing strategies.
12
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
SMS vs. Email. The showdown Nearly
Q8. How effective have you found SMS text marketing?
two thirds
felt SMS was more effective than email
69% said that they found SMS text marketing either effective, quite effective or extremely effective. 69% suggest SMS text marketing is effective
Q7. If you have tried SMS and email, how effective have you found SMS text messaging in comparison to email marketing?
63% said that SMS text marketing was more effective than email marketing. 13
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
SMS and mobile web trump apps Q9. What mobile marketing services do you consume?
80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
SMS and mobile web are the two top mobile marketing services used by businesses individuals frequently, and as the chart shows, 67.27% state that SMS is their preferred mobile marketing communication channel.
14
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Most used mobile marketing services Q10. Which new services do you think you will start to use over the next 12 months?
15
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
The mobile marketing budget Q11. What percentage of your current marketing budget is appointed to mobile marketing?
It’s clear how cost effective mobile marketing is when we look at the majority of businesses spending less than 10% of their marketing budgets in this area. Making your budget work harder in the current economic climate is paramount for businesses both large and small.
Q11. Is this planned to increase next year?
16
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
The future Q12. Do you have any plans in place to use mobile marketing services in the near future?
30%
of businesses will be likely
to use mobile marketing in the next 3 to 12 months
Q.11 What kind of information would be most likely to influence your views in favour of mobile marketing?
Top 10 1.
Relevant case studies
2.
Word of mouth
3.
Benchmarking competitors
4.
Relevant testimonials
5.
Not open to influence
6.
Press articles
7.
Online video demonstrations
8.
Face to face demo
9.
Telephone demo
10. Online reviews
17
Research
The Great British Mobile Marketing Report 2012
Call us: 0845 009 3180
Visit us: www.textlocal.com
email us: sales@textlocal.com
Follow us: