Mobile B2B Marketing
More than 50% of new phones purchased by businesses are smartphones, and this trend seems to be accelerating quicker than Usain Bolt being chased by a hungry lion. It’s not just about BlackBerry as iPhone and Android are joining the party too. Android has an amazing number of business apps, from Tasklists managers to DocumentToGo (to create documents on the fly), to Mileage trackers, restaurant recommendations, booking engines, note taking (Evernote), document sharing (Dropbox), accessing your PC from your mobile, and, of course, sector specific goodies: engineering apps allowing users to easily translate electrical values using different units, PocketJustice for lawyers, medical apps doctors and even ‘rehearsal’, an app for actors to learn their lines!
Smartphones can also be used to create a sense of belonging for sales force members on the road. We’ve just launched an app for a major FMCG brand, to push company news, keeping the sales force in the know, fill in questionnaires on the move, publishing sales reports and more. The smartphone app becomes a powerful business tool when the user is on the move and the fact it can detect where the user is makes it doubly useful.
Gaming, interestingly, is also an area of innovation in B2B mobile marketing. After all, why should work be boring? Potential uses include making the order process much more playful, without of course making it harder to go through. This ‘ProSocial Gaming’ is actually gaining momentum in the US, with more and more apps moving away from the typically dry interfaces of B2B systems to a more enjoyable experience.
Of course, keeping in touch with colleagues is something the business environment has picked up quickly – for instance, by using LinkedIn on the go or other networking tools. The smartphone is also used as a loyalty card, and even organising impromptu meetings at a conference with the ‘In Person’ feature. A status update can then be pushed to the other people in the room, facilitating conversations and deals. A scanning app such as Business Card Reader is also a handy app, avoiding the hassle of entering contact details manually.
Money as we know makes the world go round, so our last app recommendation is BizExpense, which simplifies the whole process of claiming expenses. Something we could all use!
Well we hope you got a buzz out of our mobile report... who knows you may have even read it on the move! Do give us a call if you’d like to discuss any of the issues we have raised.