15 Reasons You (and Your Clients) Need a Mobile Strategy

The number of smartphones, mobile devices and mobile web users is increasing at a very fast pace. You can ignore this demographic and hope your online presence does enough to bridge the gap on its own, or bolster yourself with data and begin to develop a mobile strategy for your business.

And let’s not forget about the clients you develop websites and applications for, or those you consult as they develop their marketing campaigns. If you don’t mention the impact of mobile accessibility and make recommendations on how they can maximize their mobile presence, you may be missing a huge piece of the puzzle.

An effective mobile strategy isn’t just about creating a mobile-friendly version of a website, either. You need to integrate a mobile plan into the overall business strategy, build in analytic tools and metrics, and continue to monitor and modify the strategy as the technology changes.

Sound like a lot to take on? It is, but before you dismiss the idea, take a look at these statistics.

Why a Mobile Strategy?

These 15 stats should be reason enough to at least think about creating a mobile strategy, or recommending one to your clients.

There are an estimated 82 million U.S. mobile Web users. (Millennial Media)
83% of U.S. adults have either a cell phone or a smartphone. (Pew Internet)
35% of U.S. adults have accessed the Internet using their phone. (Pew Internet)
450 million smartphones are projected to be shipped in 2012 – more than notebook and desktop computers combined. (Brandanywhere and Luth Research)
One in two consumers would give preference to a brand that has a mobile site. (Brandanywhere and Luth Research)
40% of U.S. women own smartphones. (comScore)
32% of moms in the U.S. owned a smartphone in 2010. (comScore)
1/3 of U.S women use the mobile web at least once a week. (comScore)
Only 4.8% of U.S. retailers have mobile-specific websites. (Brandanywhere and Luth Research)
By 2015, worldwide mobile advertising revenue will rise to about $24.1 billion. (Informa Telecoms & Media)
12.3 million U.S. mobile users have clicked on a mobile advertisement and then went on to purchase the item. (Lightspeed Research for mobileSQUARED)
U.S. mobile ad spending will reach $1 billion in 2011. (eMarketer)
Eight in 10 U.S. mobile users currently use or will use mobile text coupons within 24 months. (IHL Group)
94% of mobile phone owners have text included as a part of their phone plan. (IHL Group)
85% of U.S. retailers support the iPhone/iPod platform and 88% plan to do so. (IHL Group)

Ready to Get Started?

Here are a few articles worth reading through as you begin to plan and develop your mobile strategy:

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