Opinion: Consumers have gone mobile – so should your business!

mobilebanking

Robert Ndlovu
LOOK around you and you will notice that more and more people now have a smart phone. This was not the case a few years ago. More people cannot afford smart phones let alone access to data services such as GPRS, 3G and very soon 4G or LTE.

In simple terms the increased penetration and adoption of mobile phones especially smart phones is mainly due to the falling prices of the devices, the increased network coverage and availability of internet access and the shifting power from supplier to end user.

Today more and more mobile phone users are able to pull what they want from whom they want and when they want. In the past service providers, retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and the like have always had the monopoly of pushing down the consumer’s throat what they wished.

Those days are numbered.

Mobile marketing is marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a smart phone. This can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalised information that promotes goods, services and ideas. Very compact precise and to the point. This is pretty brief and to the point.

You offer services or you want to disseminate information about your latest product prices, availability and promotions and what to reach as many numbers but of course targeted users. SMS – A very simple and effective way to achieve this has been through the use of Bulk SMS. This mobile engagement method assumes that you already have a database of mobile numbers to send to.

This is one of the simplest and most straight forward way of reaching out to any mobile client – provided you know their number. You can use a regular pre-paid SIM card in your device (any) to send thousands of text messages.

Alternatively use internet based SMS service that are pretty cheap and easy to use. The latter is what most corporations use to send their SMS alerts, reminders and product promotions. You can use your product or service name as the sender ID.

SMS is very cheap and can be very annoying. This means that you need to make an SMS marketing plan for your business and realise maximum returns from its use.

The entrance of Whatsapp and other instant messaging tools have brought interesting threats and opportunities to both businesses and customers alike. Use of Whatsapp or FB groups has proved to be very effective in terms of mobile reach and cost.

Smartphone penetration stats should give you an idea. The adoption of smart phones over the last five years has been very steep. By the end of 2015 South Korea had the highest penetration rate of 88 percent with the US at 72 percent Brazil at 41 percent and Kenya at 26 percent.

Now mind you that these are numbers were captured more than six months ago and that’s a very long time in mobile communications technology.

Developing and under-developed countries lag behind and always play the catch up game. What you should be more worried about is your business readiness when the numbers in Zimbabwe reach critical mass. Do not be caught flat footed with no mobile business strategy. It really does not matter what business you are in.

Mobile technology is an enabler. Are you a clearing agency, hair salon, pharmacist, solar technician, flea market owner or kombi owner it matters not. The technology is a means to an end and not an end itself.

Mobile Applications – With more and more people using smart phones it means that a new market by default has been created. Mobile apps are applications that make end users interact with back end services with much ease.

You know the most favorite app – Whatsapp. But you have thousands more apps out there that do different things with very rewarding results.

It matters not how you follow your clients be it Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, Viber, Instagram, Skype or G-mail just remember that they are mobile.

Mobile applications are increasingly viewed as a business-differentiation tool to increase customer engagement, reinforce brand value and provide better customer service.

The bottom line is that as I type this the average customer today has a cell phone, which is very personal. This does not mean you stop sending them flyers and charts but it means that in the next five years or so your customer will NOT only be tech savvy , but very mobile too and spoiled with choice.

Mobile is not only affordable and easy to use but is measurable quickly and collects impactful data in real time. The data you collect is the basis of the business decisions you make.

In a country with more 60 percent of the population under the age of 35 it needs no rocket science as to the calibre and type of your consumers now and in future. It should not surprise you that an 18 year old high school student knows nothing about a print classifieds advert.

It is always best to stick to what you know best if you are NOT yet comfortable with deploying your own mobile marketing business strategy and rather engage companies that specialise in just that.

While receiving visitors at your ZITF stand or touring stands at the ZITF make sure you use the power of mobile phone to capture and or disseminate as much data as you can. You are mobile and so is your customer.

Today’s customer is very mobile and powerful. Customise, contextualise her experience and above all leverage on social media platforms, which have driven the mobile usage.

Let me see if I can make a “Stokvel App” for ama Sunday. If you do not know what this is ask around or text someone. Also text a friend somewhere to get today’s copy of the Chronicle!

Robert Ndlovu is an IT expert based in Bulawayo. He can be contacted on, [email protected] App – 077600 2605

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