Introduction
Mobile marketing refers to a type of marketing that facilitates direct communication between business enterprises with its customers. It is through mobile marketing that tools such as cell phones are supported. Time and location barriers are limitations that have been eradicated by this form of marketing. Wireless networks are involved, and they provide information that enhances the promotion of goods and services thus creating value (Scharl et al. 163).
Advantages
According to (Viswanathan), mobile marketing comes along with numerous advantages. First, the employment of wireless media in this form of marketing promotes its existence. Wireless media supports mobile devices that enable business enterprises to deliver time sensitive and location-based information to their customers at real-time. For this reason, it keeps the customers up-to-date with the needed information thus promoting the services and goods offered. Moreover, with mobile marketing the business enterprise can easily monitor trends by understanding the type of services their customers request in most cases. Lastly, mobile marketing diversifies the payment methods thus virtual wallets can be incorporated as part of SIM functionalities by the providers making it easy to conduct business.
Disadvantages
Despite having various advantages, mobile marketing comes with various disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that this type of marketing is only suited for people with mobile education. This means some of the advanced features incorporated into cell phones demand users be well conversant with the working of their devices. Moreover, the level of privacy, especially in networked environments for users, is highly limited. Lastly, the alienation between the company and the customers can force some of them to quit using marketing communication links since most of them might choose to rely on their phones for information (Viswanathan).
Examples of how small business are using mobile marketing
Small businesses are heavily employing mobile marketing as one of the current marketing strategies. Through built solutions such as Huzzah Media, small businesses are now able to connect with their customers and interact easily. The customers are easily sent notifications via text messaging on their phones. Moreover, we have Mogreet Express, which is a platform that small businesses are using to automate their nature of campaigns. Lastly, platforms such as Converto are available for small business to make well-informed decisions concerning their marketing strategies (Businesses).
Works Cited:
Businesses, 11. "11 Mobile Marketing Solutions for Small Businesses". Business News Daily. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Scharl, Arno, Astrid Dickinger, and Jamie Murphy. "Diffusion and success factors of mobile marketing." Electronic commerce research and applications 4.2 (2005): 159-173.
Viswanathan, P. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing." Quoted on 15 (2012). Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
