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Not embracing mobile? If you’re a marketer, you should be

If you’re a CMO who hasn’t tapped into the power of mobile yet, you’re in trouble – at least, that’s what creative content strategist Steve Olenski is saying in his post for Forbes.

A new survey from BDO has found about 25 per cent fewer CMOs are going to be doing mobile marketing for the holidays this year. That’s surprising, Olenski writes, considering consumers are spending more and more of their dollars on mobile shopping, with companies like eMarketer predicting a 15 per cent jump in mobile sales.

As strange as it may seem that CMOs would jump ship from mobile marketing, it’s possible CMOs just aren’t confident about all of the possibilities in the space. So they’re waiting and watching to see what their peers do and hoping they can just try whatever sticks in the future.

Sounds like a reasonable strategy, right? Well, Olenski would disagree with you. He cites a story from USA Today, depicting Thanksgiving in the U.S. to reach new records for mobile sales. This year, mobile netted about 40 per cent of the online traffic on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But three years ago, that number sat at just four per cent of Cyber Monday’s total online traffic.

“There’s way too much at stake here …. So just looking at Cyber Monday only, you’re looking at an increase of over 700% in just three years. Does that sound like something where you can just on the sidelines and wait?” Olenski writes.

“I am just trying to make a point which is marketers can no longer sit idly by as their competition reaps the mobile benefits. It boggles my mind, quite frankly, to know that so many CMOs are spending less on mobile marketing this holiday season or any season for that matter.

Basically, what Olenski is trying to say is that CMOs need to have a holistic marketing strategy that includes mobile. While it’s unwise to throw all of your resources at mobile, it’s important to be smart about it.

In creating mobile marketing messages, customers need to receive highly relevant offers, and they also need to hit consumers where they actually care – for example. that can be based on price, or if it’s a time-sensitive offer, or if it’s based on the consumer’s location.

The point is, CMOs can’t afford to wait around for mobile to figure more prominently in the marketing landscape, Olenski writes. Mobile is where the consumers are, so that’s where they need to be, too.

Click the “Original Article Source” link for more.

Candice So
Candice Sohttp://www.itbusiness.ca
Candice is a graduate of Carleton University and has worked in several newsrooms as a freelance reporter and intern, including the Edmonton Journal, the Ottawa Citizen, the Globe and Mail, and the Windsor Star. Candice is a dog lover and a coffee drinker.

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