Should Companies Use Mobile Marketing?

Clever business owners are always looking for new ways to market their services and products. In the past, methods as crazy as advertising on bathroom stalls have been utilized. The current trend in marketing is mobile marketing via smart phones. More people are purchasing smart phones which means that more people are downloading applications for their phones. This opens a whole new avenue for savvy business owners to employ new marketing techniques.

One technique used for mobile marketing is to send information via SMS or MMS text messaging. Businesses can collect cell phone numbers and then send mass text messages to the database of cell phone numbers they have gathered. Some of the recipients are not upset about being targeted by text, but others do get upset. If the cell phone owner has purchased an unlimited messaging plan through their carrier, it is a minor inconvenience to receive the solicitations. However, if their text messages are limited by their plan it can be frustrating and cause overages resulting in a higher phone bill for the recipient. Cell phone carriers have few methods in place to limit this type of messaging from occurring and some less conscientious businesses are exploiting that fact by constantly spamming text messages.

Games provide another method for marketing to cell phone users. Game applications for smart phones are extremely popular and almost every user has at least one game downloaded on their phone. Advertisements can be placed within the gaming program so that the users of the game will be exposed to the ads. Games are not the only source of smart phone entertainment that is subjected to advertisements. Many developers will produce a free version of an application and include advertisements on the free version. These developers usually offer a paid version of the same cell application that does not include the advertisements. This gives the consumer some choice about whether or not they are subjected to unsolicited advertisements. This method is also less intrusive than sending text messages as it does not cost the user money.

While it is tempting to use a method of advertising as inexpensive and far reaching as mobile advertising, companies should continue to employ ethical means of advertising. If a company is viewed in a negative light, no matter how many consumers they reach it will only hasten their reputation being soiled. It is fine to employ useful marketing tactics, but companies should always weigh the consequences with the benefits.