Mobile Benchmarking 2008

I am always searching for mobile data and find it difficult to get a relatively up to date snap shot. So here is my contribution to those seeking this info.

In North America 91% of house holds held by Generation Y'ers have a cell phone.
RIM and Windows Mobile are part of the top companies I wrote about in my previous posting .
These guys and IPhone make up the heaviest used OS's in the market today.

Just a couple of high level stats I want to point out:

· Four out of five households have a cell phone, and most have more than one. Cell phone
penetration hit 80% of households in 2008 — and a whopping 91% of Gen Y homes. The average
North American household has 1.7 mobile phones today; among households with at least one phone,
the mean number is 2.1 — fueled by cheap family plans. These low-cost shared plans mean that there
are 2.4 phones on average in Younger Boomer households with a phone, but homes led by Gen Xers
are those least likely to make do with just one phone.

· High-end phone owners are the heaviest mobile Internet users. Apple’s promise of the Internet
in your hand apparently resonated with those who bought an iPhone — across all phone brands,
they are the most likely to use the Internet on their phone and the most frequent users. But they’re not alone: Palm and RIM owners are nearly as likely to browse on their phones. While these three brands represent a paltry 4% of the overall market, they represent four times as large a share of mobile Internet users.

· The operator market continues to consolidate. Whether in the US or Canada, the largest operators dominate the market. North of the border, the top three carriers — Rogers, Bell Mobility, and TELUS — hold at least 83% of the subscribers.1 In the US, at least 78% of subscribers get their service from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile — and that number will tick up five percentage points should Verizon’s announced acquisition of Alltel pass regulatory muster.

· Data use is accelerating, especially among Gen Yers. Mobile phones are clearly no longer about
just voice. Half of all subscribers now use text messaging, more than a third use picture messaging, and more than one in six access the Internet on their phone. Gen Yers are not only more likely to use data applications on their phone than the overall population, they’re more likely to do so with greater frequency. For example, while only 5% of all mobile phone owners download or stream music to their phone every month, the corresponding number is more than twice as high — 12% — among Gen Yers.



Stewart Severino
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Mobile Marketing

What does 'open platforms' mean for us marketers?

Would an open standard really accelerate adoption of mobile media by giving users more innovative content and apps?

I guess it comes down to what the consumer wants.
I mean, everday consumers want to do more and more with their mobile devices.
That to me is the true definition of 'open standard'.

Question is, how can we as marketers and consumers get into this medium and do the things we want to do?
From a programmers perspective, how can one create the apps that can allow the consumer to do all the things they want to do?
To accomplish such a feet we have to have a platform that will allow for the max amount of innovation.
Carriers have to realize they are in a whole other business. In the begining it was a communication business and now it is about engagement, interaction...a fully comprehensive media biz.
Realize that this is a personal device! This industry is going to be driven by the advertisers who create useful and innovative stuff.

I think this is one of the last mediums to be explored. Being that your mobile device is personal, companies have to be good at building audiences. No doubt about it.
And remember, TEST TEST TEST!

Stewart Severino
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sseverino@gmail.com

Real Estate Marketing - Focus on a niche

I have seen many real estate sites that try to cater to the whole, when focusing on a particular segment would provide the realtor with a much more focused audience.


You want to attract prospects that are actually interested in a particular area.

This makes it easy for you to market to them by providing them with a level of detail

that is not provided by other realtor sites.



Building your site for your customer is the first step.

So be sure to identify the persona you are going after. Make a list of personas that would be interested in lets say a lake community.

From there you can build content on your site or blog that answers their every question and concern.

Come up with topics that they wouldnt think of searching for.

For example; write about what is being built in the area (new stores or schools), talk about how that may affect the taxes. You get the idea.



When you begin pumping out lots of valuable content (blogs), the reader or in this case the perspectice client will see you as the expert in your field and will want to contact you for more information.

Speaking of contact; make sure at the end of your blog you provide some info about the author (that's you). Provide some contact information.

Give them a reason to contact you! Every blog should have a 'call to action'. Simply stated, give them a reason to call or email you.



This blog for expample can become a 100 page series of tips and maybe I will keep posting more tips. There are so many scenarios I am sure I will leave something out.

Just check in with my blog series for more updates.



Or...Feel free to contact me for more info on Real Estate Marketing

To learn more: About Author Stewart Severino, a marketing consultant who specializes in helping business owners and company's with marketing and advertising utilizing different customer touch points. Stewart is the author of the educational blog covering the topics in online, mobile and direct marketing. To learn more about this topic please visit, http://www.maddockmedia.com/

Permission Marketing- Build your own email list?

Do It Yourself -
Many businesses build their own lists by harvesting the names and e-mail addresses of visitors to their Web sites and their stores. This is probably the most effective way to assemble lists of qualified prospects.
Ask visitors to your site to check a box and enter their name and e-mail address if they want to receive related mailings. And be careful to protect the names once you collect them. Do not sell or distribute them for others to use (or misuse) unless you give fair notice on your Web site.
Build a list of your current customers, and include each new customer on future mailings and promotions. It is important, however, to obtain the permission of each and every person. It’s basic business marketing and it works.

Go with the Pros
You can rent e-mail lists just as you would a direct-marketing list, and they can be targeted by the industry and/or topic. Companies that provide direct-mail lists will even handle the details of the mailing — for a fee. CAUTION-This isn't permission marketing but it can be a good starting point to weed out those non qualifying leads.


Make sure that the rented lists contain only names of people who have agreed to receive targeted mailings. Ask the companies offering the lists how they acquired the names and addresses. Under no circumstances should you use bulk lists, often sold on CD-ROMs. They typically contain names of people who have not agreed to receive unsolicited e-mail. Be aware that if your ISP receives complaints about your company's e-mailing practices, they could shut down your account.



To learn more:
About Author Stewart Severino, a marketing consultant who specializes in helping business owners and company's with marketing and advertising utilizing different customer touch points. Stewart is the author of the educational blog covering the topics in online, mobile and direct marketing. To learn more about this topic please visit, http://www.maddockmedia.com/

Mobile Marketing for Businesses

First consider the mobile phone. It is by far the biggest factor when considering mobile marketing. The mobile phone is personal, you take it wherever you go and you can't picture being without it. Remember, since this decive is so personal you MUST always request and gain the permission to communicate with a customer. If you dont you end up invading their personal space.
We can break mobile marketing down easily leaving out ringtones and downloadable wallpaper.
1)Mobile Customer Service
I'm sure you have seen these services around; Bank alerts, News and weather updates, Flight or Hotel alerts, etc...

All of the above serve 3 common threads.
1) You must have permission to communicate to your customer. They must give their consent.
2) You must give them the opportunity to Opt Out.
3) You are giving your customer more CHOICE. You are providing them with an aditional way of doing something. They get to choose one that is most convenient for them.



To learn more:
About Author
Stewart Severino, a marketing consultant who specializes in helping business owners and company's with marketing and advertising utilizing different customer touch points. Stewart is the author of the educational blog covering the topics in online, mobile and direct marketing. Check Stewart Severino out at