B2B Marketing

Are you Using Mobile as a Lead-Gen Tool to Reach Target Audiences?

Current scenario:

The invasion of laptops, smartphones and tablets has transformed the way people communicate or do business. Apple laid the foundation of smartphone and tablet market and from there onwards there is no looking back. The introduction of these mobile devices in the tech world has given shape to a landscape where consumers can connect and communicate with anyone and almost anywhere. Smartphones, being at the top, are at the forefront of this change. [Fig. 1] [Source: The Economist]

Fig. 1

According to The Economist, the sale of connected devices – specifically smartphones – will reach nearly 700 million by 2013. What’s more, there are likely to be 10 billion mobile connected devices by 2020, compared to just one billion PCs in 2008. [Fig.2]

Fig. 2

The upward curve in gadget sales is clear, which is an indication of people using their mobile devices for various purposes other than sending or receiving calls, messages or emails. And smartphones are most common devices for users to initiate online activities, which are further continued on the PCs and Tablets. According to Google, 65% users search for information about the product on the smartphone and later on 60% of them carried forward their search on a PC and 4% of them looked for the info on a tablet. [Fig. 3]

Fig. 3

Users are constantly using their mobile devices, which show they are more engaged on these devices as compared to other devices.

Top business objectives for mobile marketing

Mobile brings new opportunities for B2B marketing as well. 

According to a report by Ogilvy & Mather, “Mobile makes B2B marketing more effective, sales interactions more productive, distribution partners more successful and customers more engaged. The impact is enormous and grows all the time.”

According to Mobile Marketing Benchmark Report by MarketingSherpa, “marketers are concerned primarily with 3 stages of the marketing funnel. 63% of marketers revealed that increase sales conversion and revenue is their top priority, and increase in lead generation trailed closely behind 55%.” [Fig.4]

Fig. 4

Mobile devices let marketers bridge their offline marketing efforts by creating mobile apps that direct prospects through an industry trade show.

Why marketers are opting for Mobile for B2B?

Businesses are opting for mobile devices in B2B marketing for the following reasons:

I) Growth: Mobile devices growth rate is unprecedented and seems unstoppable at present. With mobile devices overtaking PCs as the most common web access device worldwide by 2013 [Figure 1], the growth opportunities are very high for the marketers. With users turning to mobile devices, its marketers turn to integrate mobile into their marketing initiatives.

II) Engagement: In their pursuit of being in touch with their businesses and teams, professionals use their internet connected device constantly. Mobile devices have become a preferred way for the businesses to fulfill their consumers’ needs and their own personal activities simultaneously. Marketers can develop mobile solutions for these business professionals so that they can work faster and smarter. And they connect to their audiences and engage them with their brands and increase their brand’s ROI.

III) Reach: With a high percentage of traffic on mobile apps [Fig. 5], mobile presents B2B marketers with a new channel to pull more prospects to their businesses. With mobile apps marketers can reach worldwide audience – no matter where those prospects are physically located.

Fig. 5

IV) Lead Generation: Earlier, direct mail, print and broadcast media were the most preferred channels for lead generation for B2B marketers. However, the scenario has transformed completed with the introduction of mobile devices and its various services such as, mobile apps, GPS services, mobile sites and SMS. Marketers can use these tools to reach the widespread audiences and pull the potential customers. According a report by Panvistamobile, “Lead generation is an essential function of B2B mobile apps as it helps to produce a direct ROI from the initiative.”

The rise of tablets and smartphones also reflects a big shift in the marketing world. Mobile devices are becoming more versatile with each passing day. Inclusion of features such as, larger screen size, clearer picture quality and shop-on-the-go, are proving rewarding to the consumers as well as the retailers. Whether it is B2C or B2B, businesses have started focusing on refining their mobile marketing strategies and are looking for ways to achieve success through mobile revolution.

For more information on app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com