Mobile Marketing: Know Your Audience
Maarja Semevsky
One of the most important questions that the organizer of an sms-campaign faces is the one about the target group. Who is the consumer of the product and what is their relationship to mobile phones? ComScore, an internet marketing research company with offices in New York, Toronto as well as London, has released a study of mobile users. From the survey conducted in the USA it became evident that at the moment the users of mobile phone can be divided into three groups:
1. The Older Generation – aged 35 or more. This group of people had their first contact with mobile phones in their adulthood. They expect from their mobiles only basic functions and do not get excited about new technological developments.
2. The Transition Generation – aged 25 to 34. These people fall in between two distinct groups: those who developed with mobile phones and those who did not. They came in contact with mobile phones in their teens or as young adults.
3. The Mobile/Cellular Generation – aged 18 to 24. Those young adults have used mobile phones most of their lives and therefore got used to the idea that mobiles are a part of their life.
Serge Matta, the vice president of ComScore says that during the last decade mobile phones have changed the habits of American consumers dramatically. The youngest users grew up with the technology, those just a few years older did not. That causes considerable differences in attitudes and behaviour between different groups of users. As mobile phones constantly evolve in terms of design, functionality, and features, it is important that manufacturers understood the needs and expectations of different consumer groups.
Nowadays mobile phones enable us to do much more than just call. They offer entertainment, convey social status and express one’s personality. Both the Mobile and the Transition Generations see mobile phones as multi-functional, at the same time as the Older Generation needs only the basic functions. Almost a quarter of both the Mobile and the Transition Generations find that trendiness of a mobile phone is an important factor when buying one, as compared to 10% of the Older Generation. The Mobile Generation also places great value on the features of a mobile phone, for example 42% finds a camera to be important and for 20% an MP3 Player is important.
It does not take much for an sms-campaign to be successful. It is important to know your target group and plan the campaign accordingly.
Find out more about the study here. Click on the link below