If you sell directly to U.S. customers or provide marketing services to clients who do, pay attention. A recent report says a growing mobile market is already generating billions in U.S. sales. And businesses are also spending billions to market to customers via mobile channels.
The Mobile Marketing Association, a global trade association for the mobile marketing industry, says those numbers are only going to increase.
Consider that last year mobile marketing generated an estimated $139 billion in U.S. sales. This figure takes into account both business to business and business to consumer sales.
The association claims the “MMA Mobile Marketing Economic Impact Study” released last month, is the first comprehensive study of U.S. economic performance across the mobile marketing industry.
Huge Growth Projected
Most impressive is that this amount is expected to grow by more than half during the next two years. The report says sales generated through mobile marketing will top $400 billion by 2015, an amazing 52 percent rise.
But it’s not just sales that are increasing. The MMA study suggests the amount U.S. companies are willing to spend on mobile marketing is increasing too.
For example, in 2012 the study estimates retailers and marketers spent $6.7 billion to reach customers via mobile channels. That’s considerably less than the amount generated by mobile sales, but still represents a huge opportunity for businesses providing mobile marketing services.
The study projected that amount would also increase, reaching $19.8 billion by 2015.
Mobile advertising, mobile direct response or enhanced traditional media and mobile customer relationship management were all considered in that expenditure.
What it Means to You
While the MMA study was aimed at demonstrating the economic stimulus and job creation potential of mobile marketing, there is a clear message here for small businesses and entrepreneurs as well.
USA Today reported recently on how small businesses are already putting mobile marketing to work to generate additional sales.
We’ve reported previously on the importance of mobile technology to small business operations.
But the MMA study demonstrates the importance of mobile technology for growing your business too.
For many small businesses, this could include focusing on making sure you have a mobile friendly presence. It could also include focusing more attention on social media marketing, much of which is accessed via mobile devices by your customers.
You could also focus on developing mobile apps for your business. And, of course, if you provide marketing services to other business clients, it also means you should consider including mobile marketing services among your other offerings.
How is your business using mobile marketing to reach customers?
Mobile Photo via Shutterstock
[“source-smallbiztrends”]