While it’s often tempting to think of all your internet customers sat behind a desk in their house, or lounging on a sofa with a laptop, increasingly this is not the case. Or rather, although the majority still are, over the next year or so industry experts believe we will see more people browsing the internet on their mobile phones. Increasingly, people may be online wherever they go, whether on trains or at work, and this opens up some great opportunities for marketers.

While currently the numbers using mobile search are comparatively small (current stats show that the number of searches is in the millions), it really is a growing market and, as phones come equipped with more features and functions, having internet access on them is likely to be as common as finding one that can send text messages.

The million dollar question that marketers need to start asking is if this mobile marketing revolution is worth pursuing at this stage and in the future. 

Mobile marketing is all about immediacy.  As this is the case, is this a good marketing channel for holiday operators?  Afterall, a holiday is a big investment, needing extensive research and not something idly booked because your train has been delayed. This is true to a certain extent, (although ideal for last minute holiday specialists!) but there is also a tremendous benefit involved in being visible to a mobile customer - a benefit that comes down to the very device that you are advertising on: The phone itself.

In traditional PPC advertising, the idea is to get people to click into your site from search engines.  In mobile marketing this represents a challenge as most websites are not built for such a small interface and, as a result, look terrible.  Building a compatible site is a potentially very expensive process and not recommended until this new medium has proved itself. 

However, the problem actually presents an amazing opportunity.

In mobile marketing, one is allowed to advertise a telephone number.  This means that for those who type in, for example, ‘holidays to peru’ your message could read something like “Call 0800 123456 for Greats Deals to Peru”.  When mobile users click on the ad on their mobiles, instead of being directed to a website, they will be directed to your call centre and speak to a real salesperson. 

We have long been aware that many of our clients have exceptional sales teams and, when on the phone, boast impressive conversion rates.  Often this ability to sell at such a good rate is lost in translation on the website itself, and without the enthusiasm and pressure of a ‘live’ salesman, a booking can slip through your fingers.  With mobile marketing, not only can you address the immediacy issue but improve your sales conversions by getting your best sales people to do what they do best:  Sell!

While this certainly sounds promising, an issue that is still of concern, is the amount of traffic that exposure in mobile search results can deliver to your site.  Most industry analysts predict that this will grow but, for now, the question is if the current traffic levels justify the effort.  However, the flip side to this argument is that, while the traffic might not as yet be up to scratch, it might be worth considering that the level of competition for this market niche is still very low.  This means that you can generate calls directly into your call centre at a very low cost per call.

When it comes to mobile marketing, as far as we can see from comments on the web, the jury is still out.  However, in terms of increasing sales, mobile marketing represents a potentially large audience and there is every indication that it will grow.  For now, my view on this is that, if you have the other areas of your site optimised for customers and have already exploited the PPC and SEO models, then it is certainly worth getting on board and starting to ride the mobile marketing revolution early.