The mobile Internet is a daily activity for many consumers. Mobile phones are attached to your belt or within an arm's reach 80% of the day. Today, there are over 70 million mobile Web users in the United States. They want instant access and a way to look up information while they are out and about - in fact the average iPhone user spends just 45% of the time making calls. Smart marketers realize that making it easy for mobile users to engage in conversations is critical. Companies and brands that are becoming early adopters of mobile marketing - ensuring that their websites and portals support mobile devices - will benefit from an uncrowded presence and have significant advantages over their competitors.
Smart marketers also know that mobile users can become frustrated having to manually type long URLs into their browser into to arrive at their desired content. Quick Response "QR" Codes and Tags provide the simplest way to bridge the Online World with the Offline world. These mobile barcodes can contain - or link to - any information that the marketer wants - the latest product or brand video, a coupon offer, links to transparent consumer reviews, ringtones, store location maps, physician finders, SMS messaging....the possibilities are endless.
When the Tag in the above magazine ad is "snapped" by a mobile phone's camera it opens up the targeted web page in the phone's browser.
In order for your customers to read the code, they just need three things:
- Camera phone
- QR Barcode or Tag reader --these are freely available for all smart phones.
- Internet Service
Remember that mobile is a great direct marketing tool. However, mobile marketing alone will fail if it does not reach and involve the consumer. Integration is necessary to ensure success.
How are you planning on reaching your mobile customer?